There once was a time where credit card issuers would line up at the campus breezeways, enticing thousands of students to apply for cards by offering gifts to attract their view of the stereotypical college student. Typical incentives included a free duffel bag, tee-shirt, or Frisbee, and with shiny objects in view and no experience with the finance industry, students often didn’t — and don’t — bother to read or understand what they were getting themselves into. Today however, credit card issuers are prohibited from advertising on college campuses. Students who want to sign up for a credit card must seek out information on their own, and that usually results in online research.
One of the best college student credit cards available today is the Citi Forward® Card for College Students. Unlike many other cards that blatantly take advantage of young adults with high rates and hidden fees, this card encourages and even rewards good financial behavior. Cardholders get up to a 2% purchase APR reduction when they make a purchase, stay under the credit limit and pay on time three billing periods in a row. All students who own the card can earn up to 1,200 bonus points per year for paying on time and staying under the credit limit.
The Citi Forward® Card for College Students offers a 0% introductory APR on purchases for seven months. After the introductory period, purchase APR’s will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate, and is currently between 13.99% to 23.99% variable, depending on the student’s credit history. The card also offers a good rewards program for students that includes one ThankYou point for every dollar spent on purchases as well as a special bonus of five ThankYou points per dollar spent in the following categories, popular for student spending.
- Restaurants
- Books
- Movies
- Music
Citi Forward® Card for College Students does not have an annual fee. No student should ever pay an annual fee for a credit card.
For students looking to sign up for their first credit card, Citi offers a good variety of options, including the Citi Forward® Card for College Students. Citi does not require applicants to have a cosigner, so students can apply without the help of a parent or guardian. Student credit cards can be a great way for someone to begin building a credit history. To apply online or read more information, visit the Citi Forward® Card for College Students application.
Updated November 28, 2012 and originally published July 8, 2011. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The best part to this card is likely unnoticed at first. The 5% back on books. Most cards categorize Amazon as books. This card would make for great for those that do a fair amount of shopping on Amazon.com.
If, in fact, Amazon.com is coded as a book seller, that bonus could prove to be valuable indeed.
Anyone out there with a Citi Card that can tell us how Amazon purchases are categorized?
My Discover and Chase cards both call Amazon purchases books. The best would be someone with one of the Citi Forward (student or not) Cards that can confirm. I bet all Citi cards classify things the same way.
i am almost certain that all transactions from amazon are classified as books. i have the non-student card. this is how it has been, but i have not made a purchase and checked recently.
That’s a great idea…