The Impact of Free Credit Card Offers on University Students’ Financial Well-Being

Abstract

This study looks at whether the attractiveness of free credit card offers and students’ financial literacy are related to their financial well-being. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted among university students in Bangladesh. Data were gathered through a Google Forms questionnaire containing 15 measurement statements rated on a five-point Likert scale. A total of 108 usable responses were processed in IBM SPSS Statistics. The analyses covered descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and principal component analysis (PCA). Free credit card offer attractiveness showed a positive relationship with financial well-being (r = .696, p < .001). Financial literacy showed an even stronger relationship with financial well-being (r = .851, p < .001). In the regression model containing both predictors, financial literacy remained significant (β = .787, p < .001), whereas the unique contribution of offer attractiveness was not significant (β = .082, p = .319). Together, the predictors accounted for 72.7% of the variance in financial well-being. The results indicate that financial knowledge is more strongly associated with students’ reported financial well-being than offer attractiveness when the two predictors are considered at the same time.