Student credit cards
A student credit card is very useful for the student as it helps them to build credit at a very early age. Also, it is very easy to qualify to get the students credit card as the lenders understand that the students can’t fulfill all the requirements as they are still studying and can’t afford much.
Choosing the best student credit card
People want to build their credit, but generally they are unable to do so, because they have a poor credit score, but it is an advantage for the students that they can build their credit easily with the help of student credit cards. It is easy to qualify for the reward as compared to the premium rewards.
Best student credit cards?
Discover it student cash back
The CNET rating of the Discover it student cashback credit card is 8 out of 10. It is a great advantage to students that this card does not charge any kind of annual fees from the students.
The cashback rewards and the welcome bonuses provided by this card are one of the best among all other cards.
The intro balance transfer APR for six months is 10.99%. If you use this card for different purchases such as grocery stores, restaurants etc. you get a cashback of 5% and a cashback of 1% on all other purchases.
Bank of America customised cash rewards card
The CNET rating of this card is 8.6 out of 10. Also, it is a great deal for the students as the annual fee charged is $0. The reward rates generally lie between 1% to 3%. It is very useful for the students as the spending limit of this card is very low and also the reward program is very flexible.
This card helps the students to earn rewards on their most common purchases such as gas, online shopping and dining. It helps the students to keep a control on their expenses and allows them to make easy payments using the app.
The intro purchase APR for the first 15 billing cycles is 0%. you can earn up to 3% cashback on purchase in any category of your choice and 2% cashback on purchases from the grocery stores etc.
Petal 2 visa credit card
The CNET rating of the petal 2 visa credit card is 7.2. The annual fees charged by this card is $0. The reward rate lies between 1% to 1.5%. Actually, this card is not a student credit card, but it functions in the same way as a student credit card. This card is issued by the Web bank and it is very easy to qualify for this card as compared to other credit cards.
Also, the fee charged by this credit card is very low. It is a very helpful card for those students who are planning to move abroad. You can earn up to 1.5% cash back on the eligible purchases after you make 12 months payments.
Discover it student chrome
The CNET rating of the Discover it student chrome credit card is 8 out of 10. The annual fee charged from the students is $0. The reward rate lies between 1% to 2%. You can get the best cash back rates available for purchases at gas stations and restaurants.
The intro purchase APR for six months is 0% and intro balance transfer APR for six months is 10.99%. Also, you can earn 2% cashback on gas station purchases and 1% cashback on all other purchases.
Chase freedom student credit card
The CNET rating of this credit card is quite low. It is 5.25 out of 10. Like all the other cards that we discussed, this card also does not charge any kind of annual fee from the students. This card provides less rewards as compared to other cards and is a little more restrictive.
But if the students use this credit card responsibly, then they can easily build credit and earn welcome bonuses. You can earn upto 1% cashback on all your purchases and $20 in the form of good standing rewards.
How to responsibly maximise card benefits?
You will get benefits in the form of rewards if you use your student credit card in a responsible manner. You can either be offered annual bonuses or get an increased rate at which rewards are earned. To get the benefits you must pay your bills on time. Also maintaining a low credit utilisation ratio helps to improve your credit score.
Building credit with student credit card?
In order to build credit, use your credit card responsibly. Also you should not build credit card debt. Using your card responsibly means
Make your monthly payments on time
You should pay your credit card bill on time if you want to avoid any kind of interest on it. You should follow this every month. If you do not pay on time and make payments late then this may cause a decrease in your credit score and you might have to pay a penalty or interest for the late payment.
Avoid applying for several cards
When you apply for a new card, it causes a decrease in your credit score, and if you apply for too many cards in a very short period of time, your credit score would fall very badly. Thus to avoid this, you should not apply for too many cards in a short interval of time. Give appropriate time between before you apply for two different cards.
Maintain a low Credit utilisation ratio
If you maintain your credit card balance below 30% then it will help you to maintain a good credit score.
Track your monthly spending
You should keep a check on your monthly statement and your monthly transactions regularly in order to track your monthly spending. This will help you to know whether you are overspending or not, and if you find that you are overspending using your car, then you should limit this.
Applying for a student credit card
You should choose a credit card which fulfills your requirements.
After this, you have to fill the application in which you have to provide some personal details.
After you get approved for your credit card, you can use your credit card to make purchases and enjoy the rewards.
Do students credit cards work internationally?
Most of the credit cards including the student credit cards can be used for international transactions, but there are some cards which charge a foreign transaction fee.
This foreign transaction fee is charged whenever you make a purchase in the currency of some other country. So if you want to travel abroad or study abroad, then you should choose a student credit card, which does not charge the foreign transaction fees.
Best credit card for everyday use
Wells Fargo active cash card
The CNET rating of the Wells Fargo active cash card is 8.8 out of 10. The annual fee charged by this credit card is $0. You can also earn welcome bonuses using this card. By using this card, you can earn unlimited 2% cashback on all purchases.
Blue cash preferred card
This card has a CNET rating of 8.1 out of 10. This card charges you an intro annual fee of $0. The reward rate lies between 1% to 6%. It helps you to avoid interest charges for a fixed time interval. It charges 0% intro purchase APR on purchases that you do within 12 months.
Chase freedom flex
The CNET rating of the chase freedom flex credit card is 8.1 out of 10. It charges an annual fee of $0. The reward rate lies between 1% to 5%. You can get many rewards if you purchase using this card. You can use this card for your daily expenses such as grocery purchase, gas stations and Walmart. You can get 5% cash on the travels purchased using Chase Travel.
US bank altitude go visa signature card
The CNET rating of this credit card is 7.2 out of 10. This card also charges an annual fee of $0. The reward rate lies between 1x to 4x. In America, people spend a lot of their money on the food. So if you use this card, you can earn 4x points on dining and restaurant delivery. The intro purchase APR is 0% for 12 billing cycles.
Citi custom cash card
It has a CNET rating of 7.4 out of 10. It charges an annual fee of $0 from its users. The reward rate ranges between 1% to 5%. The intro purchase APR is 0% for 15 months on all purchases. Also, you get 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, etc.
Choosing the best everyday credit card
Spend categories
You should choose the credit card, which best fits your needs. Most of the credit cards provide rewards on gas stations, groceries, etc.
Welcome bonuses
You should also look at whether the card that you choose provides a welcome bonus to you or not. Welcome bonus is that amount that you get when you purchase something from your card for the first time.
Annual fee
You should also look at how much annual fee is charged by the card. Most of the cards do not charge an annual fee.
Conclusion
In this article, we looked at the best credit cards that you must go through in this month of June. We first looked at the student credit cards and came to know about what a student credit card is and how it is helpful for the students.Then we discussed five best student credit cards.
Along with this, we studied how to maximise the benefits of your card and how to build your credit using the students credit card. The process of applying for a student credit card is also mentioned. At last, we studied the best credit cards for everyday use and the factors to consider while choosing the everyday credit cards.