The
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students is a good option if you’re in school and happen to already have top-tier credit. It has a
$0 annual fee and offers
1.5 - 3 points per $1 on purchases, plus an initial bonus of
25,000 points for spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. This particular travel rewards card for students even has an elite low introductory APR promotion.
The combination of generous rewards and a 0% intro APR is unusual for a student credit card, as is the
Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students’s credit score requirement. For good approval odds, you’ll need a 750+ credit score. Most other student credit cards are available to applicants with limited credit history.
What I Like About Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students
25,000 points-point initial bonus
The
Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students offers
25,000 points for spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. Those bonus points can be used to cover $250 in travel purchases, which would be great for a student under normal circumstances.
Since this card is currently competing for the business of people with excellent credit, it’s worth mentioning that the average initial bonus among new credit card offers right now is
35,350 points/miles or
$238.74 cash back, according to WalletHub’s latest
Credit Card Landscape Report. The
best signup bonuses are a lot bigger, too.
1.5 - 3 points per $1 spent
The
Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students rewards cardholders with
1.5 - 3 points per $1 spent on every purchase, with no limit to the amount you can earn. You get 3 points per $1 spent on travel booked through the Bank of America Travel Center and 1.5 points per $1 on everything else. That works out to 1.5% to 3% back when you redeem for any travel or dining expense charged to your account, which is good but not great considering the card’s requirements.
The average rewards card gives
1.2 points/miles per $1 spent or
1.18% cash back on purchases. In addition, people with excellent credit can get 2%+ back on every purchase from some cards.
$0 annual fee
This saves you
$28.25 per year compared to the average credit card offer in WalletHub’s database of 1,500+ cards. It’s the norm for student credit cards, though, so don’t get too excited.
Intro APR of 0% for 15 billing cycles
New cardholders can temporarily avoid interest charges with the
Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students’s offer of
0% for 15 billing cycles on new purchases and
0% for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. Such a generous offer is extraordinary for a student credit card, but requiring excellent credit makes it less appealing.
The
best 0% APR credit cards offer interest-free periods lasting at least as long, and they’re generally available to people with good credit or better.
What I Don’t Like About Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students
Balance transfer fee & high regular APR
Avoid carrying a balance from month to month when the regular APR is in effect, as it could be anywhere from
17.49% to 27.49% Variable depending on your overall creditworthiness. Subjecting a balance to such a rate would quickly get very expensive.
If you’re considering a balance transfer, you should also account for the card’s transfer fee (
3% for 60 days from account opening, then 5%).
WalletHub’s balance transfer calculator makes this easy.
Excellent credit needed
The
Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students currently requires excellent credit, which means you need a credit score of 750 or higher to have good odds of being approved. With most other student credit cards, you don’t even need a credit score to qualify.
You can
check your credit score for free right here on WalletHub to see what type of student card is best for you. You can also check to see if you pre-qualify on Bank of America’s website.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
