Credit Cards Blog

Yesterday, I touched on what the Credit Card Act of 2009 (CCA) means for students. I’ll try and delve more deeply into it today. We’re all familiar with student credit cards at this point. Now, for those that are in a Greek organization, student organization, or are graduating/have graduated or are part of an alumni association, I’m sure at some point you’ve received an offer for a credit card related to your individual group.

Credit card companies approach your organization to gain legitimacy of your organization to convince you to sign up. Now, these are legit offers, but in signing up, the CCA wants to make sure you know what you’re getting into and not blindly trusting your new credit card just because you got it through, let’s say, your alumni association. Ever wonder how the credit card company got your information?

Now, all higher education establishments and their respective alumni associations must disclose the existence and details of any contracts they sign with credit card companies whereby your contact information is provided to them for solicitation. Whenever a contract is signed with any such college or association or student organization, the credit card company must keep record of it to be submitted to the Federal Reserve Board detailing all terms and conditions of the agreement.

Why is this in the CCA? It’s put in here to help protect students from unfair targeting practices, i.e., getting you to sign up for a credit card you don’t necessarily need just because it is now affiliated with a source that you trust. The agreements made between the credit card companies and the different organizations are submitted to the Federal Reserve Board to make sure that everyone is in compliance and everyone (hello students) is protected. The fewer credit cards you open, the better your credit score as well, BTW.