Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students Review

The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students offers a tiered cashback 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 an introductory APR of 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases After the promotional period, the standard APR of 18.74% - 28.74% Variable APR variable will apply.

• Easy-to-earn sign-up bonus

  With the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students, new cardholders can 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 bonus can offset the cost of a big ticket item, and the spending requirement to earn it is low compared to other cash back rewards cards.

• Intro APRs on purchases and balance transfers

  Save on interest charges for more than a year with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students. The card offers an 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases After, a 18.74% - 28.74% Variable APR variable APR will apply.

  If you’re looking to move high-interest debt to another card offering a lengthy intro period, you can move that balance to the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students.

  The balance transfer offer is a 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days After this period, a variable APR, ranging from 18.74% - 28.74% Variable APR on balance transfers will apply.

  Note that a balance transfer fee of 3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4% will apply.

• Cash rewards tailored to your spending

  What’s unique about the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students is that you can rotate spending categories every calendar month depending on where you’ll be spending the most.

  Cardholders can 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.

  The six categories that earn the higher rewards rate are: online shopping, gas, drugstores, dining, travel or home improvement/furnishings.

  The downside, however, is the $2,500 cap in spending each quarter to earn the higher rewards rates — once you hit that cap, your rewards rate will drop to 1%.

• 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 of up to $40, 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.

• Complicated rewards program

  While it’s great to have six cashback categories with an elevated rewards rate to choose from with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students, you do have to make the effort to remember to select which category you want every calendar month (though you can leave your category unchanged).

  This requires some forward thinking — so if you’re not organized or don’t want the extra burden of having to remember to switch 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.

• Foreign transaction fees

  If your college adventures take you abroad, you’ll want to get a card that charges no foreign transaction fees. That’s because the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students assesses a fee of 3% on every purchase you make abroad.

• Few cardholder benefits

  The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students is a little light on ancillary benefits. For example, there is no cellphone insurance, nor are there any travel protections, like lost luggage insurance, roadside assistance or auto rental insurance.

Compare it to the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

 

The Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is a good credit card for students who want to build credit while taking advantage of a simple cashback program and $0 annual fee.

This card offers a flat rewards rate of 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day; 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through capital one travel (terms apply) — and its competitive rate is better than the 1% cash back rate many cashback credit cards offer on general purchases.

There are four ways to redeem your cash back: as statement credits, checks, credits towards previous purchases or gift cards. You can also set up automatic redemptions, either at a set time each calendar year or whenever your rewards reach a certain threshold ($25, $50, $100, $200, $500 or $1,500).

Rewards don’t expire (though if your account is closed, you’ll lose any rewards you haven’t redeemed yet), and there’s no limit to how much you can earn on purchases.

As for foreign transaction fees — the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card has none. The card also offers a complimentary concierge service and travel accident insurance, but no cellphone or car rental insurance.

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, if you’d like the option to select from six different cashback categories with which to earn the highest rewards rate, as well as earn a competitive rate on food and wholesale club purchases, then the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students could be a good fit.

Just know that the accelerated rewards rates are capped at $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter. As such, the most you could earn in cash back at those rates would top out at $75 every quarter, or $300 a year (minus the first year signup bonus).

That said, if you’d prefer a rewards card that takes a little less work, or one that has more handy benefits, you may want to check our our list of the best student credit cards.