Best Student Credit Cards

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How We Chose the Best Student Credit Cards
Best student card for cash back rewards Best student card for travel Best student card for going out Best student card for encouraging responsible use Best student card for encouraging good grades Best student card for benefits
Best Student Card for Cash Back Rewards
Our Pick for the Best Student Card for Flat Rate Cash Back Rewards: Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
Earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases No annual fee No foreign transaction fees Valuable benefits
No new account bonus Higher than average APR for purchases
Our Pick for the Best Student Card for Bonus Cash Back: Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards for Students
3% cash back on a spending category that you choose each month 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs 15 months of 0% APR financing on new purchases and balance transfers No annual fee
Need to manually change the spending category you want to earn 3% cash back with Bonus cash back limited to the first $2,500 spent
Best Student Card for Travel
Our Pick for the Best Student Card for Travel: Bank of America® Travel Rewards for Students
Earn points towards travel or dining purchases Travel rewards are easy to redeem New account bonus worth $250 No annual fee or foreign transaction fees
Promotional financing offer could encourage debt Must spend $1,000 in 90 days to earn the new account bonus
Best Student Card for Going Out
Our Pick for the Best Student Card for Going Out: Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
3% cashback on dining, entertainment, groceries and purchases from popular streaming services 1% cash back on all other purchases No limits on the amount of cash back that you can earn No annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
Higher than average standard interest rate Large bonuses for dining and entertainment could encourage overspending and debt
Best Student Card for Encouraging Responsible Use
Our Pick for the Best Student Card for Encouraging Responsible Use: Journey Student Rewards from Capital One
Increased rewards for on-time payments $5 per month credit towards entertainment streaming purchases with on-time payments Automatic credit line reviews in as little as six months No annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
Lower than average cash back rates, even with on-time payments Higher than average standard interest rate
Best Student Card for Encouraging Good Grades
Our Pick for the Top Student Card for Encouraging Good Grades: Discover it® Student Chrome
Good grade rewards encourage academic excellence Valuable cash back offers for gas and restaurant purchases Discover doubles your cash back earned in your account’s first year No annual fee, and no foreign transaction fees
Earning rewards could encourage overspending and debt The Discover card isn’t as widely accepted outside the United States compared to Visa and Mastercard
Best Student Card for Benefits
Our Pick for the Best Student Card for Benefits: Deserve EDU
One year of free Amazon Prime Student Cell phone protection plan 1% cash back on all purchases No annual fee or foreign transaction fees
Not affiliated with a major bank No welcome bonus or promotional financing offer
Pros and Cons of Student Credit Cards
Student Credit Card Alternatives
Get a prepaid debit card: First, you could consider a prepaid debit card. The advantages of debit cards are that it’s impossible to incur debt, as you can only spend the money that you’ve already deposited. But because you can’t use a prepaid debit card to access a line of credit, you also can’t use these as a card to build credit. Become an authorized user: Another alternative is to become an authorized user on another person’s card, like a parent or family member. Being an authorized user allows you to make charges to another person’s account, and the primary cardholder is always responsible for repayment. Due to this, it’s extremely important that the primary cardholder comes to an agreement with the authorized users on how to use the card. However, hopping on with someone who has a good or excellent credit score can be a good way to achieve credit score improvement for yourself. Consider cards not specific to students: Students with an established credit history can also consider applying for one of the many cards not specifically marketed to students. These cards can come with more generous rewards, more valuable benefits and lower interest rates. However, these cards can also have annual fees, while most student cards do not. Look into a secured card: Conversely, students who have already had problems with their credit might consider a secured card. Secured credit cards work much like standard, unsecured cards, but they require the payment of a refundable security deposit before the account can be opened. These cards are available to people with poor or bad credit, but with responsible use, many secured card holders are able to upgrade their card to a standard, unsecured card within a year.
Thinking of Applying for a Credit Card?
About the Author
Jason Steele has been writing about credit cards and award travel since 2008. One of the nation's leading experts in this field, he has contributed to dozens of personal finance and travel outlets and has been widely quoted in the mainstream media.
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