EDITORIAL – Credit card awareness vital

Free sandwiches, Frisbees, burritos and T-shirts: These are just a few of the many… Free sandwiches, Frisbees, burritos and T-shirts: These are just a few of the many enticements offered up by credit card salespeople who loom around Oakland, hoping to sign students up for their promotions.

And many of us fall into their trap. It seems fairly innocuous, right? Fill out an online questionnaire and get some free food in return.

The only problem is that days later, the same company sends us a credit card – or information letting us know how easy it would be to apply for one – in the mail. And then, inevitably, some of us will accept the credit card offer. And, unfortunately, out of those of us who do, some will fall into credit card debt.

This trend isn’t limited to Pitt, either. Across the country, credit card companies have turned to college campuses for promotions, targeting students who are often ill informed about the risks of applying for a credit card – and who have parents who will probably bail them out if they get in trouble.

Now, consumer advocacy groups are attempting to crack down on credit card companies and raising awareness about the student credit card trap. This month, The United States Public Interest Group began a campaign that urges colleges to restrict credit card companies from soliciting students on campuses, according to The New York Times.

We applaud this movement, although it’s hard to say what kind of effect it would have on a city campus like Pitt’s, where local businesses are often the hosts of credit card promotions.

So rather than putting limitations on colleges, these advocacy groups – or the colleges themselves – should work to raise awareness among students. While putting a limit on credit card venders might lower the amount of students applying for and using credit cards, its not going to eliminate the trend. And for those who are already using credit cards and find themselves in debt, a credit card seminar or class could be helpful.

The reason that so many students fall into credit card debt is that we often don’t understand what we’re getting ourselves into when we sign up for credit cards. Terms like annual percentage rate, annual fee and average daily balance are foreign to many students – including those of us who have and use credit cards.

Of course, we can’t entirely label ourselves as the victims in this situation. While many of us are uninformed when we sign up for credit cards, we know what they do, and we know the danger of accruing debt. We can restrain ourselves from using credit cards, particularly when we know we are spending money that we don’t have.

Using and learning about credit cards can be an important skill, particularly because a good credit history is often required to make large purchases, like a car or a house. But just as important as having a good history is not having a bad one. While signing up for a credit card can be as easy as checking a box and collecting a free t-shirt, paying for one isn’t.

We need to learn the details of credit cards – before we spend and swipe.