The Best Student Credit Card Rewards and Offers
Updated List Of The Best Credit Cards For College Students and Graduates To Learn Credit Responsibility
If you are a college or graduate student, it’s important to understand that proper credit card management is a trait and skill that should be developed sooner than later in life. If you are the parent of a teenage child who is currently a college student, it’s very important to teach him or her the importance of building up a good credit history while he or she is still in school, before entering the real working world where credit card mistakes and shortcomings are more brutal. The FICO credit score is heavily dependent on the length and quality of each person’s long term credit history, so it’s in the student’s best interest to develop good credit usage habits and responsible management skills early on. Avoiding credit altogether out of fear or mistrust of credit cards is a misguided approach in my opinion. How else will a student develop the financial management skills he or she will need to succeed in this technologically and financially driven world?
Knowledge and Education Is Power, So If You Are A Parent, Be Sure To Teach Your Student Or Teen Financial Responsibility Early and Often
Many parents today are afraid of giving their college age teen the huge financial responsibility of using a credit card. But shielding them away from this altogether may hurt them in the future due to their lack of exposure to basic finance skills and their lack of credit history. They may be at a disadvantage if and when they choose to purchase a home or a car on their own. Of course not all credit cards are suitable for students, teens, and credit novices, but with the right student credit card, it can be an invaluable financial teaching tool. Here are some ways and ideas to help your college age child or teenage student better understand the financial basics of using a student credit card:
- Keep the initial credit limit under $500 – It’s best not to give the student too high of a credit limit initially to discourage overeager spending or purchases beyond their means or needs.
- Teach them to make timely online payments – This is the internet age we are in so students need to know how to timely pay off their credit card balance online. Setting up automatic debit payments is a convenient option as well.
- Set rules on what they can use the credit card for – Students need to learn to discern what they should buy and what they should not. They need to know the rules of responsible spending.
- Make sure they know that they must pay off the balance in full each month – New credit card holders may initially have statement shock, having no experience at knowing how high their accumulated monthly statement balance may be each month. The student needs to learn how to mentally keep tracking of his or her spending and know the importance of paying the statement balance off regularly.
- Teach and explain credit terms such as finance charges, fees, annual percentage rates, and grace periods.
- Show the student how to track their cash back earned and reward points so they learn the benefits of reward credit cards and understand why responsible use can help one maximize overall financial potential. The key phrase here is “responsible use”.
Most of the uniquely designed student credit cards out there may be advertised and promoted as for college students only, but usually any type of student can qualify for them, including those attending graduate school. Frequently, the card application will request some form of student status identification, such as a copy of your tuition bill, student ID card, or simply a signed affirmation that you are indeed a student.
The ideal college and graduate student credit card will contain No Annual Fee, a 0% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) introductory purchase or balance transfer period to offer the student a trial usage period, and cash back rewards or other usage incentives to teach them the benefits and rewarding aspects of responsible credit card use. Pursuant to these characteristics, none of the following suggested student credit card offers below have minimum income or co-signer requirements either – ideal for college students or recent graduates who usually have minimal income information to offer anyway. Of course, make sure you can afford what you buy with your newly applied for credit cards. Be smart, pay off your monthly balances, and don’t fall into the trap of unpaid credit card debt.
Here Are The Student Credit Cards Determined To Be the Best and Most Appropriate For College and Graduate Students:
- Citi mtvU Platinum Visa for College Students – Earn 5% back (5 Thank You points for every $1 spent) for purchases made at restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, music stores, movie theaters, and video rentals. Get 1 Thank You point back for everything else (essentially up to 5% back on card purchases). Also enjoy a 6 month 0% APR introductory period for all purchases and balance transfers if you qualify.
- Citi Forward Student Card – Earn 5% back (5 ThankYou reward points for every $1 spent) on books, movies, music, and at restaurants. Get 1 reward point for every $1 you spend on everything else. For a limited time, new applicants get to earn bonus points upon sign up – enough to redeem for a $100 gift card reward. Also, make a purchase, stay under your credit line, and pay on time for 3 monthly billing periods in a row and reduce your purchase APR by 0.25% each time. For 6 months after sign up, cardholders also enjoy a 0% interest rate offer on both purchases and balance transfers.
- Discover Student Card – Earn 5% unlimited cash back in popular categories that rotate quarterly in categories such as gas stations, restaurants, clothing stores, and travel. Earn 1% for everything else. 6 month 0% introductory APR on all purchases.
- Discover Open Road Card For Students – Earn 5% cash back on gas and auto repair purchases. Both of these are pricey expenses so the high reward earning percentage is sure to result in some nice cash back savings in the long run. The cash rebates never expire and there is no limit to the amount you can earn. There is also a 0% APR purchase offer for 6 months.
- Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards For Students – Earn 1% cash back on all purchases with no purchase category restriction. You’ll also earn an annual bonus of 25% on the cash back rewards you earn for the year. There is no limit to the amount of cash back money you can earn and your cash rebate rewards will never expire. Currently the card is also running a 0% APR promo offer until June 2009.
December 9th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Those look like really good options. My parents were too nervous and even though I was very careful not to overspend, they wouldn’t let me have a credit card. They did put me on their account, but this has led to all kinds of headaches as I try to untangle my credit from theirs.
December 10th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Great article. It is so important to teach our children financial sense and college is a great time to make it happen – if it hasn’t already.
I was so surprised when a young colleague told me she couldn’t get a loan for a car because she didn’t have 5 (!) credit sources.
Our daughter (a sophomore in college) is constantly telling her friends they need to have credit cards to begin building their credit. Otherwise, when they go to rent and apartment or buy a care, they will have to ask their parents to co-sign. That’s usually enough to convince everyone of the need to take action!
Most families are so concerned about paying for college that credit cards scare them.
December 10th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
I didn’t get a credit card until I was twenty, mostly because I was nervous and afraid that even after many years of managing money sensibly that I’d suddenly overspend and go into debt. I really like my USAA Mastercard even though I’m getting less than 1% back since I spend so little. Their customer service is fantastic, and they actually make an effort to educate students about budgeting and using credit responsibly. If you’re eligible for membership, I highly recommend them.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Awesome article! When it comes to student credit cards, I wish credit card companies were more responsible with students when signing them up. I think it would be great if colleges around the globe would offer mandatory credit classes for a hour or so to show the effects of how a credit score affects you and your life.
Besides the responsibility point, the MTVU card is simply amazing. On top of the thankyou rewards and the cash back power, they also offer a lot of thankyou points just for getting good grades, which should be another great highlight for the card.
May 1st, 2008 at 12:38 am
It is so hard to get credit, and if you make bad choices, it is even harder to clean up. I was never really taught how to handle finances, and still struggle with it. I have worked hard to get my credit cleaned. We now both have good credit scores, but if we had learned how to budget and use finances wisely, we may not have been in our thirties before our credit cards were paid off and we were not just living paycheck to paycheck.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:21 am
I don’t it still….what’s the point of a student crdit card compared to a regular consumer card. I guess the no income limitation and the lack of a co-signer requirement are the primary reasons for college students like myself to go for student credit cards right?
July 14th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
A recent CNN article discussed the prevalence of credit cards on campus targeting college students. These credit card companies are definitely trying to target these unwitting and financially unprepared students who have no idea how to handle the use of credit. But it’s hard to really sympathize of many of these students who are no longer teenagers who simply shouldn’t be having a credit card in the first place. They are young adults and need to take greater responsibility over their lives. All they do is cry to mom and dad for more money to help pay off their credit card debts. It’s always a spend first, think later mentality and I’m getting sick of it. I received my first student credit card – a Citibank one back in college and I did just fine
January 2nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
This is an excellent editorial by Money Blue Book! It is refreshing to read an informative blog article like this. It is important to inform students of their options in obtaining student credit cards as credit card companies still set up tables on campuses enticing students to apply for one specific credit card by giving away free items such as T-shirts and free soda. This has a negative impact on students because they are starting off in the credit world on the wrong foot by getting their first credit card not because they want to, or are ready, but because they simply want a free gift. These companies on campus also leave out the option for students to choose from a variety of student cards. Credit education and information is often left out and the student is likely to take their newfound financial responsibility less seriously then if they had originally sought credit themselves, without incentive and when they feel they are ready.
May 30th, 2009 at 2:13 am
Can I apply for student credit cards even with no credit history? Just wanted to be certain before I apply since I’ve been told that it’s bad to seek credit too often. I’m a college freshman right now and have never held a credit card account. I don’t even have a bank account in my own name as my parents pay for everything. Can I still qualify for these student cards? I’ve asked around and most people have been telling me that it should be okay since the point of student cards is to allow college students like myself the chance to build up credit scores and reports from scratch.
June 5th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Mariah-
Yes most of these student card offers are available to those without any credit histories. After all – they are student cards and almost by definition, students generally don’t have much of a FICO credit score to speak of. I got my Capital One and CitiCard student cards when I was just a college student so I can testify to that fact.
While these are definitely not credit cards that help or offer their programs in our best interest, they do allow us students to have a way of building up our credit from nothing
October 29th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Citi didn’t give me a card. They said my credit wasn’t good
October 30th, 2009 at 12:02 am
Citi credit cards are pretty good for students. They have this popular mtVU that pays you cash back rewards for eating out which for me is a huge monthly expense. Sorry you got denied because of bad credit. Strange that they’d deny you though. Did you have a history of not paying your bills?