In exchange for giving up your most personal of information and agreeing to a credit card, free T-shirts, posters, blankets and sweatshirts are offered to those who signed up. The affinity card is most appealing to alumni looking for a way to connect with the Tech community and students who provide false information, in exchange for an XXL T-shirt.
The card is hyped at football games because of the relationship the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and JP Morgan Chase Bank have.
Because the Alumni Association carries this affinity card, the association receives a percentage of the money spent on the card by cardholders. Tech alumni are happy to have an affinity card in exchange for helping the Alumni Association. According to the CT, "The card has a 0 percent fixed Annual Percentage Rate for the first six months, the rate skyrockets to between 18.24 percent and 23.24 percent. There are high fees for customers who go over their credit limit and for late payments that add to customer woes."
The affinity card is by no means a good deal for cardholders. While the majority of cardholders are most likely alumni, the credit card company targets students as well.
As college students, we would like to think of ourselves as mature and grown up, wise with all the knowledge of the world, but the fact of the matter is that credit card companies are trying to rip us off.
Since the Alumni Association has an agreement with JP Morgan, Tech is making it even easier for us to fall into the trap of credit card interest rates. Students need to be careful when signing up for these programs, regardless of whether they are providing accurate information – once companies have even part of your correct information, they can easily piece together everything else.
The other credit card booths that are set up around campus each fall and spring also unfairly target students at a disadvantage with little knowledge of the way credit cards work and the implications that come along with owning one.
They are scamming us, assuming we have little knowledge of credit card debt. As students, if we aren't knowledgeable already, we need to learn more about credit cards before we innocently sign up for something, without knowing the hefty fees later down the road, and become locked in. It is important for students to inform themselves and never give away personal information without full knowledge of what they are signing up for.
The affinity card can reach an APR of close to 25 percent. People are willing to put up with these fees, all in the name of a credit card associated with Tech. We are all for school spirit, but be careful to not get ripped off in the process.
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