A couple weeks ago, I received a credit card in the mail. I was confused because I already have a credit card. The new one looks exactly like the old one and has the same number. I thought it was strange so I put it in my desk and forgot about it.

Last week, I got a mysterious letter from my bank saying I have been upgraded from a “College Card” to a “Free Cash Something Awesome Rainbow Card.” The note said my card was upgraded because I’ve been doing a good job maintaining my credit.

I was flattered, and then suddenly suspicious (as I always am with compliments) so I read further. It said I didn’t have to do any work to make the change and my limit is doubled. I started to look for a catch, and realized I had no idea what a credit card catch would look like because I have no idea what a credit card is.

I got one when I went to Mexico for a summer in case I lost all my cash and debit card, but no one really briefed me on what they do. I understand credit cards caused a lot of problems in 2012. I know they look deceivingly like debit cards but aren’t. I also know they can’t actually crack a lock but do a decent job of scraping frost off a car window. That pretty much wraps it up. I’ve been pretending to be knowledgeable about credit so long that I feel like it’s too late to ask about it.

So here I stand with two credit cards and no understanding of what that really means. I suppose I’ll do what I’ve been doing for two years, only use the new one for groceries and pay it off the next day.