Background - Citi Forward Launched In Cooperation With MySpace - Before we review this card, here is a quick background of this card. It was launched in 2009¹ by MySpace as an innovative card that had features that were unique (and they still are today) would appeal to the younger generation. (Remember that MySpace was really hot then until Facebook became the 800 pound social networking gorilla).

Unique APR Reduction Feature - This card has been through a couple of feature changes in it's relatively short life. But one of the key attractions of this card is that you can actually reduce your APR by 2% a year if you meet certain criteria. So what do you have to do?

Well, first, you have to make a purchase, stay below your credit limit and pay on time for three months in a row. You will then receive a 0.5% reduction in your APR. If you do that for twelve months, that works out to a 2% APR reduction.

Pay On Time Bonus - Furthermore, if you pay on time every month, you will receive 100 bonus ThankYou Points. That works out to 1,200 extra Citi ThankYou Points if you pay on time every months.

Rewards Formula - To top it off, this card allows you to earn Earn 5 ThankYou Points for every $1 that you spend at restaurants, on books, movies and music. For other regular purchases, you earn one point for every dollar that you spend on the card.

Bonus Points when you sign up for wireless statements - Citi is offering 1,000 ThankYou Points when you sign up for Paperless Statements within 3 months of account opening (sending mail statement costs money for the bank!).


Should I get the Citi Forward Card?Before I touch on whether this is a good card to get, let me state an opinion here. If you are a student, this is probably the only time you could get a no annual fee credit card without having any credit history. And that being the case, I would suggest getting either a card with rewards (be it points or cash back) since you might as well be getting something back from your credit card.

The thing that I really like about this card is that it encourages you to pay your bills on time. I would suggest even going further : pay your bills in full every month and forget about even paying an interest.

This card will also suit a college student because they will let you earn extra points when you spend on items that you will most likely be spending on anyway.

If you decide to get a rewards card, then the Citi Forward Card for College Student would be at the top of our list because it has great features that will suit a college student and also because there really aren't many rewards card for students in the market. Mainstream issuers like Chase or American Express do not have student cards like that. And those that do have rewards student cards do not have as good a program as the Citi ThankYou program.

References

1. Press Release of Citi Forward Launch