Credit cards for college students
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CK Editors’ Tips††: Student credit cards may offer rewards and other features to help you start your credit journey.Read more
What to consider when choosing a student credit card
Student credit cards can feature valuable rewards, but they’re primarily for helping students establish a credit history. Try to pick a card that helps you maintain good credit habits, like paying on time and in full. Ultimately, establishing quality credit with a student card is more likely to help you in the long term than any rewards you earn now.
Student credit cards can feature valuable rewards, but they’re primarily for helping students establish a credit history. Try to pick a card that helps you maintain good credit habits, like paying on time and in full. Ultimately, establishing quality credit with a student card is more likely to help you in the long term than any rewards you earn now.
How we picked the best student credit cards
The best student credit cards come with useful rewards, but they also help students develop good credit habits. When selecting these cards, we focused on various rewards goals and the kinds of features that reward you for your card use, like extra cash back for paying on time. Read more about our methodology for picking the best credit cards.
Jump to editors’ picksThe best student credit cards come with useful rewards, but they also help students develop good credit habits. When selecting these cards, we focused on various rewards goals and the kinds of features that reward you for your card use, like extra cash back for paying on time. Read more about our methodology for picking the best credit cards.
Great for rewards with no credit history††
Great for rewards with no credit history††
Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card
Rewards rate
1% - 10%Cash backAnnual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1% - 10% Cash back
Annual fee
$0
- No annual fee– in fact, no fees of any kind
- Up to 1.5% cash back on unlimited everyday purchases (1% right away increases to 1.25% after 6 monthly on time payments and 1.5% after another 6 monthly on time payments)
Great for commuter students††
Great for commuter students††
Discover it® Student Chrome
Rewards rate
1% - 2%Cash backAnnual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1% - 2% Cash back
Annual fee
$0
- INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 cash back into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
- Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically. Plus earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Great for choosing your top category††
Great for choosing your top category††
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students
Rewards rate
1% - 3%Cash backAnnual fee
$0Welcome bonus
$200
Rewards rate
1% - 3% Cash back
Annual fee
$0
Welcome bonus
$200
- $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, automatic 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases) and unlimited 1% on all other purchases.
Great for students who fly††
Great for students who fly††
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students
Rewards rate
1.5xPoints per dollarAnnual fee
$0Welcome bonus
25,000PointsEditors' bonus estimate
up to $250
Rewards rate
1.5x Points per dollar
Annual fee
$0
Welcome bonus
25,000 Points
Editors' bonus estimate
up to $250
- Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open.
- 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases.
Great for simple cash back††
Great for simple cash back††
Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
Rewards rate
1.5% - 5%Cash backAnnual fee
$0Welcome bonus
$50
Rewards rate
1.5% - 5% Cash back
Annual fee
$0
Welcome bonus
$50
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day
- Early Spend Bonus: Earn $50 when you spend $100 in the first three months
Great for simple cash back††
Great for simple cash back††
Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students
Rewards rate
1.5%Cash backAnnual fee
$0Welcome bonus
$200
Rewards rate
1.5% Cash back
Annual fee
$0
Welcome bonus
$200
- $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Great for rotating cash back categories††
Great for rotating cash back categories††
Discover it® Student Cash Back
Rewards rate
1% - 5%Cash backAnnual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1% - 5% Cash back
Annual fee
$0
- INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 cash back into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
- Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Great for access to unsecured credit††
Great for access to unsecured credit††
Petal® 1 Rise Visa® Credit Card
Rewards rate
2% - 10%Cash backAnnual fee
$59
Rewards rate
2% - 10% Cash back
Annual fee
$59
- No security deposit required
- 2-10% cash back at select local and national merchants
Great for high cash back rates††
Great for high cash back rates††
Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
Rewards rate
1% - 8%Cash backAnnual fee
$0Welcome bonus
$50
Rewards rate
1% - 8% Cash back
Annual fee
$0
Welcome bonus
$50
- Earn unlimited 3% cash back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, plus 1% on all other purchases
- Early Spend Bonus: Earn $50 when you spend $100 in the first three months
Great for gas and grocery rewards††
Great for gas and grocery rewards††
Citi Rewards+® Student Card
Rewards rate
1x - 5xPoints per dollarAnnual fee
$0Welcome bonus
5,000PointsEditors' bonus estimate
up to $50
Rewards rate
1x - 5x Points per dollar
Annual fee
$0
Welcome bonus
5,000 Points
Editors' bonus estimate
up to $50
- Earn 5,000 bonus points after spending $500 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $50 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you received a new account bonus for a Citi Rewards+® account in the past 48 months or if you converted another Citi credit card account on which you earned a new account bonus in the last 48 months into a Citi Rewards+ account.
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†† The opinions you read here come from our editorial team. Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors' opinions. Our marketing partners don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when it’s posted.