Life today to a large extent revolves around plastic money. Credit or debit cards are used to buy tickets, pay for holidays or purchases, and even pay college fees. Children are given a credit or debit card the minute they turn 18 and, more often than not they tend to keep the same card for many long years.

On logging onto sites like Creditcards.com or other online sites offering credit cards one will find an amazing variety of credit card and debit card options even for students. By browsing the World Wide Web one can get a clear idea of the many options and the advantages as well as disadvantages. By comparing the various offers it is possible to determine which card is most suited to a student's needs.

?A student credit card is issued by Visa, Master Card, Discover, or American Express Card. These credit card giants and their associates generally fix a credit limit of around USD 500-1000 to begin with. While some grant a card without a guarantor others request the parent or guardian to cosign and agree to take on complete responsibility for the card.

?A debit card is issued by Visa or Master Card and is prepaid. Such a card does not need a consignee and a debit card requires no credit history to be eligible. Further more, used up money can be replenished online, through an ATM, and via a phone. In the case of debit cards the bank or financial institution is not offering a credit line it is just issuing a card for the amount held in security by them.

Essentially, a debit card is a card that accesses your own money. It adjusts expenditure against money in your savings account or against the amount pre paid. In this case instead of paying cash you are swiping a card and paying out of money already held by you. On the other hand in the case of a credit card it is a buy now pay later business. It is a kind of borrowing where you promise to pay the credit card company in full or part when the money arrives. Interest on the amount spent is payable only if you do not settle the bill in full.

The advantage of plastic money, debit or credit card is:

?You do not have to carry hard cash around and can use the credit or debit card to pay for expenses.

?Cards are accepted internationally while personal checks are not.

?Banks charge for use of checks but not for use of debit/credit cards.

Debit or credit cards are universally accepted and one can even purchase plane or train tickets or pay for unforeseen medical or hospitalization expenses using them. They are extremely useful as a stand by and can be used to establish a good credit report and score. A student credit or debit card trains kids in the effective handling of finance and puts them on the path to becoming responsible adults.