Credit cards open up a realm of potential purchases for a typical consumer. That temptation is all too strong for many Americans, at least according to research statistics. Nearly 144 million individuals keep a credit card, maintaining an average of $8,000 in month-to-month debt. By the end of 2007, Americans carried nearly a billion dollars in credit card balances with interest accruing on a large portion of that amount.

College students add to the growth in credit card debt each fall. In their freshman year, college students receive credit card offers even before they reach campus. By the time they graduate, more than 70 percent of students have begun using a card, adding an average of $2,000 of debt beyond any student loans they may have borrowed.

Students are good credit risks for banks, despite the fact that they have student loans and often do not have jobs. Research shows that students stay loyal to their first card and continue to make purchases with it far into the future.

According to Forbes, the amount of credit card debt among students more than doubled between the mid-1990s and 2004 as a result of a massive marketing campaign aimed at college students.

A recent study released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) shows that 76 percent of students say credit cards have been marketed to them through tables set up on or near college campuses, and nearly a third of these students have been offered a free gift ranging from t-shirts to blankets to iPod™ shuffles.

The report criticizes credit card companies' practice of "renting" tables from campus organizations to reach students. Students are given credit card applications and free gifts while they learn about different activities and clubs on their campus.

Typically, the student club gets a flat fee or a commission for every application completed. Club members may also be offered a commission to get friends, roommates and neighbors to apply for credit cards.

College students also receive an average of five mailings and four phone calls each month urging them to apply for credit cards. U.S. PIRG's findings are based on a nationwide survey of more than 1,500 college students at 40 colleges in 14 states.

Though it didn't reveal how common the practice is, the report also condemns agreements that some card companies have with alumni associations through which the card issuers gain access to students' names and addresses. USA Today reported that by 2006, each of the largest 10 colleges and universities — through their alumni or athletic associations — had partnered with a bank to issue cobranded credit cards to alumni and students, earning the colleges millions in annual fees.

When asked how they use their cards, more than half of students (55 percent) reported that they use them for "day-to-day-expenses." The same number (55 percent) reported using them for books. The next highest categories reported were "weekends and pizza" and "emergencies" but very few consumers limited their response to "emergencies." Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) reported that they had used their cards to pay for college tuition.

Chansone Durden is a Regional Account Team Manager with TG serving schools in MASFAA. You can reach Chansone at (800) 252-9743, ext. 2513, or by e-mail at chansone.durden@tgslc.org. Additional information about TG can be found online at www.tgslc.org.