Beware of scamming credit card companies bearing gifts

They lure you in with free T-shirts, mugs and water bottles. You think they’re free, but… They lure you in with free T-shirts, mugs and water bottles. You think they’re free, but ultimately you are paying a hefty fee – getting swallowed up in years of debt even worse than your college loans. They are the credit card solicitors, and if you’re not careful, they could come after you next.

But it’s easy to fall into their clever little trap of freebies. My sister is one student who fell victim to the scandal. After walking by one credit card vendor, she was presented with an offer. The catch: filling out a little form. But nothing comes for free, she later learned.

I remember her coming into the house with all this cool merchandise. Along with the usual offerings, she got tote bags, mouse pads, pens and more. I couldn’t believe that there were people out there actually giving this stuff away. The best part, she explained, was that she didn’t even have to get the credit card.

If they denied her approval, she could just sign up for the same cards over and over again. That meant more free stuff.

After filling out more than 20 credit card applications – and being denied every time – my sister thought she had come out the ultimate winner. She didn’t have to keep the credit card but she got to keep everything else. Then one day she got approved, and that’s when the all the real trouble started.

She racked up her bills by spending money on food, clothing and other college necessities all on credit. The interest rate was higher than any other card she could have gotten because she didn’t bother to read the fine print. She slowly sank deeper and deeper into debt. Finally, after revealing all of her spending mishaps to my parents, they figured out a payment plan that would let us keep our house.

Eventually, my mom and dad bailed her out of her financial troubles. Years passed before she was stricken with even more consequences of her greed for freebies. When it came time for her to move out on her own and buy her own car, she was denied vehemently by the car dealership. It seemed that each time she was denied, her credit history became worse.

Not knowing how to make it better, she again called upon our parents, who co-signed on the vehicle, and she was able to drive it off the lot.

With thoughts of owning her own house running through her head, she decided to see how she could make her credit better. It’s been almost 10 years since her financial troubles started and she has just begun to clear up her credit history.

This story is one of many. Most college students aren’t equipped with the knowledge it takes when signing up for a credit card. This is why there are so many solicitors anxious to entice their unknowing victims.

But the ultimate weapon against being tricked into signing up for credit cards is knowing how it all works. I don’t claim to know everything about credit scores and credit history but there are a few basics that I’ve learned and it’s helped me thus far.

The first rule is not to over-apply for these credit cards. Companies today are smarter, and they’ve realized it’s advantageous to approve youngsters with reckless spending habits immediately.

The second thing you should do is compare different card companies’ interest rates. You want to know what you’re getting into before you sign up for anything. Read through the brochures that are available.

The lowest interest rate I’ve come across is 9.99 percent, but there are possibly even lower rates available to college students without a credit history.

Another thing you should look at is the variable rate, or the interest rate a company can apply to your charges after a certain period of time. Most credit card companies fix their rate according to the Wall Street Journal. Some will sneak it in the fine print that they have their own variable rate that they can implement at any time.

That brings me to my next point: Always read the fine print. The print is fine because they want you to overlook it.

So next time you see an offer for a free T-shirt, think about why they’re so anxious to give it to you. Remember, nothing is free in life. You’ll be paying for that shirt one way or another.

E-mail Jennifer your credit card sob stories at mjk18@pitt.edu.