Five Credit Card Tips Every College Graduate Should Know Bankrate Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. SHARE: Lorraine Boogich/Getty Images May 17, 2022 Checkmark Bankrate logo How is this page expert verified? At Bankrate, we take the accuracy of our content seriously. "Expert verified" means that our Financial Review Board thoroughly evaluated the article for accuracy and clarity. The Review Board comprises a panel of financial experts whose objective is to ensure that our content is always objective and balanced. Their reviews hold us accountable for publishing high-quality and trustworthy content. Nicole Dieker has been a full-time freelance writer since 2012—and a personal finance enthusiast since 2004, when she graduated from college and, looking for financial guidance, found a battered copy of Your Money or Your Life at the public library. In addition to writing for Bankrate, her work has appeared on CreditCards.com, Vox, Lifehacker, Popular Science, The Penny Hoarder, The Simple Dollar and NBC News. Dieker spent five years as writer and editor for The Billfold, a personal finance blog where people had honest conversations about money. Dieker also teaches writing, freelancing and publishing classes and works one-on-one with authors as a developmental editor and copyeditor. Mariah Ackary is a personal finance editor who joined the Bankrate team in 2019, excited by the opportunity to help people make good financial decisions. Send your questions to Brady Porche is an editorial director for Bankrate Credit Cards and CreditCards.com. He has two decades of professional experience as a writer and editor. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to: Meet you wherever you are in your credit card journey to guide your information search and help you understand your options. Consistently provide up-to-date, reliable market information so you're well-equipped to make confident decisions. Reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible, so you can make the right decision for you. At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Congratulations, graduate! You’re about to launch yourself into the real world, navigating new experiences like jobs and apartments—and, in many cases, applying for your first credit card. Why should you consider getting a credit card? Establishing a is an essential part of post-college life—especially because your credit score could determine how much interest you pay on your car loan or whether or not you get approved for your next apartment. We’ve put together a list of five credit card tips every college graduate should know, from how to build good credit to how to maximize your credit card rewards. Read our list before you fill out your next credit card application—and read it again once you get approved for your new credit card. 1 If you don t know your credit score check it for free
The first thing you’re going to want to know as a new college graduate is . Many credit card issuers offer free credit scores to cardholders, making it easy to know where you’re starting from and track your progress over time. Log into your credit card account to check whether your issuer provides your credit score. If you don’t have a credit card yet, there are other ways to check your credit score for free. , for example, is a free app that monitors your credit history, provides updated credit scores and offers tips to help you improve your score—and you don’t have to be a Capital One cardholder to download and use CreditWise. American Express offers a similar service called . 2 Prequalify before you apply
Many new graduates don’t realize that every credit card application they complete has the potential to temporarily lower their credit score. This is because credit issuers track how often you apply for credit—and if there are too many on your credit report, your credit score will suffer. This is tough on younger people because they often fall within the “fair” credit score range, making it hard to know whether they’ll be approved for a credit card. That’s where prequalification comes in handy. Here’s how it works: The credit issuer performs a soft credit check, which doesn’t impact your credit score but gives the issuer the information it needs to determine whether you are likely eligible for a particular card. Credit card issuers sometimes send prequalified offers in the mail or through email. Another way to get prequalified is to use Bankrate’s tool, which will tell you what cards you’re most likely to be approved for from a variety of issuers. Once you’re ready to apply for your new credit card, the credit issuer will perform a hard credit check. This credit inquiry is reported to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) and will be included in your next credit score assessment. But don’t worry—If you keep your new credit inquiries to a minimum, the impact on your score will be minimal. 3 Pay your bills on time and keep your balances low
Five impact your credit score: payment history, amounts owed, credit mix, account age and recent inquiries. Your and are the two most important factors in your FICO credit score—which means that if you miss a credit card payment or max out a credit card, you could do significant damage to your credit. So when you’re trying to , the two most impactful things you can do are pay your bills on time and keep your card balances as low as possible. Some people mistakenly believe that leaving a small balance on their credit cards will improve their credit score. This myth is not only incorrect, but it will also cause you to throw away money on interest. For good credit, pay your bills in full as often as you can, and make every payment on time. 4 Upgrade your student credit card
Many college students don’t realize they can . Instead of canceling your student credit card and applying for a new line of credit, you can call your issuer and ask to upgrade your existing credit card. There are a few reasons this is better than canceling and applying for a new card. For one, you get to keep your credit account active—which adds to the and has the potential to boost your credit score. Plus, you get to maintain your relationship with your credit issuer. If you used your student credit card responsibly during your college years, your issuer may offer you an upgraded card with a higher credit limit, a lower interest rate and better rewards. 5 If you re not earning credit card rewards it s time to start
It’s never too early to learn about credit card rewards. The more you understand about earning and redeeming rewards, the more you’ll be able to get out of your credit cards—and the have a lot to offer. There are two major types of credit card rewards. offer a percentage of cash back on every purchase (think of it as a tiny discount), and offer points and miles that can often be redeemed for travel bookings or statement credits toward previous travel purchases. Many cards offer heightened rewards in specific spending categories, like or . These types of cards can be lucrative if you make the most of them. If you’re planning on , for example, a credit card like the could save you a lot of money. It offers 5 percent cash back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market; 2 percent cash back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores; 1 percent cash back on all other purchases and a sign-up bonus worth as much as $150. You may also want to consider the —or, if you’re still working on building your credit, the . These flat-rate rewards cards offer 1.5 percent cash back on every purchase and are great introductions to the world of cash back credit cards. Here’s one last tip—if you want to get the most out of your credit card rewards, be sure to always pay your credit card bill in full. Carrying a balance comes with interest charges, which could cost you more than you’re earning in credit card rewards. Don’t make a purchase you can’t afford to pay off just because it earns 5 percent cash back! The bottom line
Knowing how to use credit cards responsibly can save you money, put you on the path toward good credit and set you up for a strong financial future. Once you understand how to track your credit score, build a positive credit history and maximize your credit card rewards, you’ll be better prepared for your post-college life—no matter what happens next. SHARE: Nicole Dieker has been a full-time freelance writer since 2012—and a personal finance enthusiast since 2004, when she graduated from college and, looking for financial guidance, found a battered copy of Your Money or Your Life at the public library. In addition to writing for Bankrate, her work has appeared on CreditCards.com, Vox, Lifehacker, Popular Science, The Penny Hoarder, The Simple Dollar and NBC News. Dieker spent five years as writer and editor for The Billfold, a personal finance blog where people had honest conversations about money. Dieker also teaches writing, freelancing and publishing classes and works one-on-one with authors as a developmental editor and copyeditor. Mariah Ackary is a personal finance editor who joined the Bankrate team in 2019, excited by the opportunity to help people make good financial decisions. Send your questions to Brady Porche is an editorial director for Bankrate Credit Cards and CreditCards.com. He has two decades of professional experience as a writer and editor. Related Articles