 TITLE: Your Guide to Getting a Student Credit Card CONTENT: How Do I Qualify?\n-----------------\nTo be eligible for a student credit card, you'll generally have to meet the following requirements:\n*   **Be at least 18 years old**: When applying for a credit card in your own name, issuers typically require you to be 18 or over. Also, as a result of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009—known as the Credit CARD Act—if you're under 21, you must show that you earn independent income. Otherwise, you must use a cosigner who is older than 21, or opt for a different credit-building strategy.\n*   **Be currently enrolled in college—usually**: Most student cards require applicants to prove they're currently enrolled in school. Credit card issuers define this differently: Discover requires students be enrolled in a \"two- or four-year college or university,\" while State Farm says you must attend a \"postsecondary educational institution.\" The Journey Student Rewards from Capital One, however, does not include college enrollment as a requirement. It's available to anyone, student or not, who meets the credit and income requirements.\n*   **Pass a credit check**: Credit card issuers will look at your credit report, which shows any accounts you have open, such as student loans, and your payment history on those accounts. If you have poor or no credit and don't qualify, you can look into alternatives to student credit cards, like becoming an authorized user on a parent's card. More on that below.\n*   **Earn income**: Anyone under 21 applying without a cosigner must show they have sufficient income to pay their credit card bill. To qualify for the Journey Student Rewards from Capital One, for instance, your monthly income must be at least $425 more than your monthly housing payment. That income can include money that a parent or other source of support deposits into a shared bank account for you to use.\n*   **Be a U.S. citizen**: You'll generally have to provide a current permanent home address located in the U.S. to apply. END