Key takeaways

  • Signing up for your first credit card as a college student can help you start building a strong credit profile that'll serve you well in your adult life
  • That said, there are a number of predatory student credit cards that come with high fees and unfavorable terms
  • Here, we've highlighted a few good choices for student cards, as well as identified a few perks of student cards you'll want to watch out for

College can come with a whole host of expenses outside of the cost of tuition — from books and rent payments to groceries and gas. If you’re paying for these costs with cash or a debit card, you may want to consider applying for a student credit card to earn rewards for your spending while establishing the credit history that you’ll inevitably need.

A student credit card is a normal credit card, but it’s intended for students who are new to credit. If used responsibly, student credit cards can help you build your credit history. They often have no annual fees, cardholder benefits and rewards programs, to boot.

You should consider student card options that offer decent rewards structures, credit-building opportunities or student-specific perks that can ease your day-to-day life on campus. While we’ve done our best to weed out cards that have high fees, unfavorable terms or other red flags for starter credit cards, we encourage you to closely compare benefits before submitting an application.

Here, we’ll cover a few of the top perks to look for in a student card.

Automatic credit line reviews

One appealing feature of student credit cards is the opportunity to get an automatic account review, which could lead to an increase in your credit limit. As mentioned above, your credit limit with a student credit card is likely to be low at first. But if you look for a card with this feature, it may help you build up your available credit. With more available credit, you can lower your utilization ratio and, in turn, improve your credit score.

Welcome bonuses

Also known as sign-up bonuses, welcome bonuses on student cards typically come in the form of cash, points or a statement credit once you meet certain spending requirements. Almost every single student card highlighted below offers a welcome bonus — which can be an easy way to boost your rewards early on to use toward things like school supplies, dorm essentials or to simply pad your savings.

Introductory APRs

An introductory APR offer can be in the form of a low or 0 percent intro APR — which means you can pay little to no interest on your card balance for a specific length of time — and they typically apply to purchases, balance transfers or both. The two Discover student cards featured below offer such perks and can help you to pay down a large purchase over time or reduce interest on any debt you may have.

Credit-building education tools

One of the best things you can do as a student credit card owner is stay on top of your credit profile. The healthy credit habits you develop today can serve you down the road, so anything that can promote this goal can be a great asset.

For example, Capital One’s suite of student cards have access to CreditWise, a service that helps you monitor your credit profile and protect you from identity fraud — from access to Experian and TransUnion credit report change alerts to dark web scanning and Social Security number tracking.

Top student credit cards to consider

If you’re interested in getting a student credit card, there are more than a few out there to choose from. Here’s our take on the top student credit cards to consider:

Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

  • Rewards rate: Unlimited 3 percent cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target); 5 percent cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel; 8 percent cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases; 10 percent cash back on purchases made through Uber & Uber Eats, plus complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024; and 1 percent cash back on all other purchases
  • Welcome bonus: $50 cash bonus when you spend $100 in the first three months
  • Annual fee: $0

The Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card was brought on as a new addition to Capital One’s suite of student credit cards in August 2021. Not only can you rack up rewards for spending on “food and fun,” but there are other benefits to consider. The card offers extra perks like price protection, rental car coverage and no foreign transaction fees. Most importantly, after six months, you may qualify for an increased credit limit.

Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

  • Rewards rate: 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases; 5 percent back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • Welcome bonus: $50 cash bonus when you spend $100 in the first three months
  • Annual fee: $0

Another card from the Capital One student suite, the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offers an unlimited 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases, plus 5 percent cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Like the SavorOne card, you may be eligible for a credit limit increase after six months.

The Quicksilver Student has additional perks like extended warranty and price protection coverage. It also comes with travel benefits like rental car insurance, 24/7 access to a pay-per-use roadside assistance program and complimentary concierge services.

It’s also worth noting that Capital One now has a preapproval tool for its student credit cards, which includes the Quicksilver Student and SavorOne Student cards.

Discover it® Student Cash Back

  • Rewards rate: 5 percent cash back on each quarter’s activated rotating categories (on up to $1,500 in combined purchases, then 1 percent); 1 percent back on all other purchases
  • Welcome bonus: All cash back earned will be matched at the end of the first year
  • Annual fee: $0

The Discover it® Student Cash Back offers plenty of cash back on rotating bonus categories (when activated) that can be popular with students (examples of former cash back categories include grocery store spending, Walgreens, CVS, restaurants, Amazon.com, Target.com and Walmart.com). Further, the card’s introductory APR offers on both purchases and balance transfers can be useful for students with large purchases to make or previous debt to pay off.

Like other Discover credit cards, the Discover it® Student Cash Back offers a year-first Cashback Match — meaning at the end of your first year of card ownership, Discover will match all of the cash back you’ve earned.

Discover it® Student chrome

  • Rewards rate: 2 percent cash back at gas stations and restaurants (on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter); 1 percent back on all other purchases
  • Welcome bonus: All cash back earned will be matched at the end of the first year
  • Annual fee: $0

Similar to the Discover it® Student Cash Back, the Discover it® Student chrome offers rewards, but in a slightly different way. The cash back categories are fixed rather than rotating — cardholders earn 2 percent cash back for spending on gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, after which they earn 1 percent.

The Discover it® Student chrome also has a Cashback Match welcome offer and an intro APR offer. The better Discover student card option for you will depend on if you prefer a set rewards structure or a rotating rewards structure.

Deserve EDU Mastercard for Students

  • Rewards rate: 1 percent cash back on all purchases
  • Welcome bonus: Up to $59 of Amazon Prime Student subscription reimbursement after spending $500 in the first three months
  • Annual fee: $0

With the Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students*, you earn a flat 1 percent cash back on any purchases you make (for no annual fee). While there’s no introductory APR offer, you can get up to $59 back on your Amazon Prime Student subscription after spending $500 in your first three months of card ownership.

This card can also be a great option for international college students studying in the U.S., since no Social Security number is needed to apply. And if you plan on studying abroad one semester, you’ll appreciate the card’s lack of foreign transaction fees.

The bottom line

While earning rewards for your spending is ideal and building credit is necessary, these benefits can be easily negated if you don’t use your student card responsibly.

Once you choose and apply for a student card, make developing healthy credit card habits a priority. Be sure to spend only what you can afford with your card and pay off your balance each month. Carrying debt can cancel out any rewards you earn if you’re paying interest charges. Also, carrying high balances relative to your credit limit could harm your credit score.

Overall, you can use your student credit card to help support your credit-building journey and reach other financial goals. Once you master these concepts with your student credit card, you can apply your good credit management skills to other areas of your financial life as well.

*The information about the Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.