Some parents feel that providing their kids with credit cards while they are still in high school help them learn about money early in life. With proper guidance and support, obtaining a student credit card can help young people learn about how to handle their finances properly. On the other hand, a young person with a student credit card can also get into trouble. The convenience that a student credit card can bring may lead to uncontrolled spending. With just one swipe of the card, they can purchase an item easily at any time. Eating out in restaurants with friends is also just as convenient. They can easily do so without bringing with them any cash. The problem comes when it’s time to pay the bills. At the end of the month, their billing statement may reveal that they have spent more than their alloted monthly budget. It is also a possibility that a student who does not think about his spending for the past month has already exceeded his allotted credit limit. Source: http://www.buildingcreditforstudent...rticles/credit-cards-and-high-school-students
Advantage. I got a student credit card as soon as I turned 18 - it was a great way to pay for £300-400 worth of books every semester and then paying it off over the next 12 weeks. Most students, if they were like me, earned most of their money during the summer when they could work more, and less during term-time when the idea was to study more. Personally, I'm very glad I did. I have a great credit rating now and have no problem getting credit (car loans etc.. at very low APR's). I also learnt that generally you should only put "one-off" expenses onto a credit card. Living off the card for day to day stuff means paying more off it every month, leaving you nothing to live on, leading you to put stuff on the credit card.... - a horrible cycle! Compared to other people I know, they have no credit history and so can't get those loans (or loans at a reasonable APR) for their car, house etc... Credit in general is horrible, but, a necessary evil. I think the benefits far outweigh the potential problems - you just need to be sensible!
Actually, Prepaid cards are lot better. Use credit card yourself, and compare them with prepaid card. You'll find out why...
For someone that wasn't exactly financially responsible, a prepaid debit card may be a good idea. Some prepaid cards also have fees for almost everything thing you do such as balance inquiries, POS purchase, activation etc. I've never had a problem with credit cards.
Debit cards are better for most cases, there are a lot of students who don't know how to spend money in a good way, most even don't realize which disadvantages spending a lot of money with their credit card has. I would always suggest a debit card, too bad it's not supported in my country yet .