How LendingTree Rates Credit Cards?
Our experts rate credit cards based on several factors including card benefits, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers do not influence or have a say in our card ratings. Read our credit card methodology here.If you love the idea of customizing your cash back rewards to fit your spending, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students may be the card for you. It’s one of the best cash back credit cards you’ll find for students. It offers a tiered cash back rewards program, which lets you select among six different spending categories that can be changed every month. The card also comes with a nice sign-up bonus and $0 annual fee.
Plus, if you need to make a large purchase, like a laptop or school supplies, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students offers a rare feature for a student credit card: a 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases. After the promotional period, a 18.74% - 28.74% Variable APR will apply.
But, if you don’t want to keep track of spending categories, another student credit card like the or Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students might be better for you.
The average cardholder will pay $0 in annual fees and will earn around $256 in cash back in the first year.
Estimated spending | Cash back earned | |
---|---|---|
Sign-up bonus | $1,000 in first 90 days | $200 |
3% on restaurants | $545 | $16.35 |
2% on groceries | $947 | $18.94 |
1% on other purchases | $2,108 | $21.08 |
Total | $256.37 |
Based on LendingTree’s value methodology
Looking for more student credit card options? See our list of best student credit cards.
Cash rewards tailored to your spending
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students allows you to rotate spending categories each month depending on your spending habits. You’ll earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice. 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs for the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases. 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Categories that earn the higher rewards rate are:
With lucrative spending categories like gas, dining and groceries, it’s one of the most rewarding student cash back cards you can find. But there are cards that offer even higher cash back rates. The Discover it® Student Cash Back lets you earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically. Also, the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offers 3% cash back on similar categories without a quarterly cap.
As you can see from our estimates below, these cards have higher earning potential:
Generous sign-up bonus
With the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students, you’ll earn a $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
This is a large sign-up bonus for a student credit card with a fairly low spending requirement. In comparison, you’ll only earn $50 Cash Back when you spend $100 in the first three months with the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Intro APRs on purchases and balance transfers
If you’re looking to finance a large purchase or transfer a balance using your Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students, you’ll be able to save on interest charges for more than a year. There’s an intro APR of 0% on purchases for 15 billing cycles and 0% on balance transfers for 15 billing cycles. Then, a 18.74% - 28.74% Variable APR applies.
This is a big perk of the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students. Most student credit cards don’t offer a 0% intro APR, and the ones that do aren’t nearly as long. For example, the Discover it® Student Cash Back only offers a 0% Intro APR for 6 months on purchases. After that, a 17.74% - 26.74% Variable APR applies.
You have to keep track of spending categories
If you don’t want to keep track of categories, you may be better off with a card that offers a flat cash back rate on every purchase or one that offers an elevated rate in categories that rotate quarterly. For example, the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card allows you to earn 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply).
Cap on the 3% earning rate
Additionally, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students has a $2,500 cap on its elevated earnings. At most, you can earn $75 every quarter, or $300 a year in these categories before you hit the spending cap. After that, you’ll only earn 1% cash back on all your purchases.
There are student cards that don’t have a cap on rewards. For example, the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card has a solid cash back rate in several popular categories with no cap on how much you can earn.
Few cardholder benefits
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students is a little light on additional benefits. For example, there is no cellphone insurance, or any travel protections, like lost luggage insurance, roadside assistance or auto rental insurance.
If you’re looking for this type of coverage, there are student cards that offer additional benefits. The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card offer extended warranty, rental car coverage, roadside assistance and more.
High penalty APR for late payments
If you happen to miss a payment due on your card, you’ll not only be charged a late fee, but your card’s APR could also shoot up to a whopping 29.99% variable.
Unlike some issuers that will revert a penalty APR after consecutive on-time payments, be aware that Bank of America offers no such relief if you’re hit with the penalty rate. According to the card’s terms and conditions, the penalty APR will apply indefinitely once it’s increased.
Foreign transaction fee
If your college adventures take you abroad, you’ll want to get a card that charges no foreign transaction fees. The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students assesses a fee of 3% on every purchase you make abroad.
The Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students is a good choice if you’re looking for a student card to take with you abroad. There’s a $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. Plus, you can earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases. Points can be used to cover flights, hotel stays, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, baggage fees, dining and more.
Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Annual Fee | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students*
|
$0 | $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening | 3% cash back in the category of your choice. 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs for the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases. 1% cash back on all other purchases. | ||
Discover it® Student Cash Back*
|
$0 | 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 at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically | ||
Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
Apply Now
on Capital One's secure site Rates & Fees |
N/A | $0 | Earn $50 Cash Back when you spend $100 in the first three months | 3% Cash Back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply), 8% Cash Back on Capital One Entertainment purchases, 1% Cash Back on all other purchases |
Apply Now
on Capital One's secure site Rates & Fees |
Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students*
Review Coming Soon
|
$0 | $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening | 1.5% cash back on all purchases | Review Coming Soon |
However, if you plan to carry a balance, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students may be a better choice. The Discover it® Student Cash Back card has a much shorter intro APR than the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students. You’ll get a 0% Intro APR for 6 months on purchases. Then, a 17.74% - 26.74% Variable APR applies.
But, this card doesn’t come with an intro APR on purchases and balance transfers (see rates & fees). If you need to transfer a balance or finance a purchase, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students is the better card.
Deciding between these two cards depends on if you want to earn a higher rate of cash back on specific categories that you choose each quarter or if you’d prefer a flat-rate cash back card that allows you to earn accelerated rewards on every purchase.
There’s plenty to like about the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students — including its easy-to-earn sign-up bonus, $0 annual fee and intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers. Plus, you’ll get the option to select from six different cash back categories to earn 3% cash back, as well as earn a competitive rate on food and wholesale club purchases.
Just know that the accelerated rewards rates are capped at $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter. If you’d prefer a card that has more handy benefits or a card that offers unlimited cash back, you may want to check out another student card like the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card or Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by third parties such as Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as certain terms, conditions, and exclusions apply.
The information related to the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students, Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students, Discover it® Student Cash Back, Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students and Chase Freedom Rise℠ Credit Card has been collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
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