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The Discover Student Card was last reviewed on 7th January 2010
Summary - We recommend the Discover® Student Card to students because this card will allow you to earn more cash rebates than any other student credit card that is available today. This is going to be a long review because I'm going to include screenshots of all of Discover's merchant partners (I'm doing this because Discover does not disclose these things unless you are already a card holder). But here is a summary of the key features of this card before we go on to the detailed review.
5% rebates on Airlines, Hotels, Car Rentals and Cruises, Home Improvement Stores, Department Stores and Clothing Stores, Gas Stations, Hotels, Theme Parks, Zoos, Bookstores, Grocery Stores, Restaurants, Movie Theaters, Movie Rentals
5% and 20% rebates (I look at them more like discounts) at over 100 online retailers like GAP.com, OldNavy.com, Dell.com, BestBuy.com!
You can also Double the value of rebates that you have earned if you redeem them for select gift cards (over 100 partners).
Seperate card number for online shopping - extra security
Let us look at this card in greater detail.
Rebate Formula - The Discover Card for Student allows you to earn cash rebates. You can earn 1% rebate once your annual expenditure on your card exceeds $3,000. Your first $1,500 in purchases earn .25% and your second $1,500 in purchases earn .50%. Purchases made at select warehouse clubs, discount stores and their affiliates earn .25%. You can earn up to $500 in rebates in year.
5% Cash Rebate for various categories on a rotating basis - Discover gives 5% rebates on various categories that rotate once every quarter. In the first quarter, you earn 5% rebates for airlines, hotels, car rentals and cruises. For the second quarter, you earn rebates on home and fashion retailers. In the third quarter, it is gas, hotels and theme parks. In the fourth quarter, it is grocery stores, restaurants and movies.
ShopDiscover.com - Shopdiscover.com is Discover's secret gem. They have partnerhships with over 100 partners. Here is how it works. Instead of going to an online retailer's site, what you can do instead is to logon into your Discover account. From there, you can go to the online retailer site (same site - but just that it tracks you spending on your Discover Card). When you use your Discover card to make purchases at these online stores, you can get anywhere between 5% to 20% cash rebates (I look at them more like discounts). Below is a list (or rather a screenshot) of the complete list of partners and the rebates you can get with each.
Double Your Cash Back Bonus - If earning rebates for online shopping isn't enough, Discover will also increase the value (up to double) of your cash rebates if you exchange them for gift certificates of their partner merchants. Below is a complete list of these merchants and their cash rebates to gift card exchange ratio..
Annual Fee and APR - There is no annual fee* for the Discover Card for Student. The APR presently is at 14.99%*. New cardholders also get a 0% Interest on Purchases for 6 Months* .
Verdict - The Discover® Student Card is probably the best student credit card available today. You can earn more cash rebates on more items than any other card. You can also save lots of money from your online shopping. If you are a student looking for a credit card, this is the one I would recommend.
Different Designs - Discover Cards have over 150
designs to choose from. Below are just a sample of some popular choices.
Positives
Earn 5% cash rebates from Get More Purchase merchantsDouble your value of cash rebates by exchanging them for gift certificates or cardsNo annual fee
| Rebate Percentages |
Earn 5% rebate from purchases from Get More Purchase merchants
Earn 1% rebate on purchases when annual expenditure on credit card exceeds $3,000.
Earn only 0.25% for purchases at select warehouse clubs, discount stores and their affiliates |
| Rebate Limits |
$500 |
Online account access
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| Annual Fee |
No annual fee* |
| Purchase APR |
14.99%* |
| Balance Transfer APR |
n.a.* |
| Cash Advance APR |
23.99%* |
| Penalty/Default Rate APR |
29.99%* |
| Min Finance Charge |
$0.50* |
| Grace Period |
25 days* |
| Balance Calculation Method |
Average Daily Balance (including new purchases)* |
| Cash Advance fee |
3% min $5.00* |
| Over-the-credit-limit fee |
$15 on balances up to $500, and $39 on balances over $500.* |
| Late Payment fee |
$19 on balances up to $250 and $39 on balances over $250.* |
Apply for the Discover® Student Card.
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