Introduction
Card Details
Intro APR: 0% APR on purchases for 12 months
APR: 15.74% to 24.74%*(v)
Foreign Transaction Fee: 0%
Rewards: Earn 1.5X points for every dollar you spend. Points can be redeemed for statement credits on travel expenses. You can purchase any airline ticket, hotel, cruise, car rentals, vacation packages and even baggage fees and there are no blackout dates.
Sign Up Bonus : Earn 20,000 points after spending $1,000 within first 90 days. 20,000 points can be redeemed for $200 in statement credits or travel.
FICO Score Monitoring: FICO from TransUnion
Peer Comparison
Card |
Annual Fee APR FX Fee Rewards Score |
BankAmericard Travel Rewards Student |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 15.74% - 23.74% FX Fee = 0% Rewards = 1.5X Score Monitoring - FICO TU |
BankAmericard Cash Rewards Student |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 13.74% - 23.74% FX Fee = 3% Rewards = 3% on gas and 2% on grocery & wholesale club for first $2500 in these spending a quarter 1% on everything else Score Monitoring = FICO TU |
BankAmericard Student |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 12.74% - 22.74% FX Fee = 3% Rewards = N.A. Score Monitoring = FICO TU |
Citi ThankYou Preferred Student |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 14.74% - 24.74% FX Fee = 3% Rewards = 2X dining out and entertainment 1X everything else Score Monitoring = N.A. |
Capital One Journey |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 20.74% FX Fee = 0% Rewards = 1.25% Cash Back Score Monitoring = Vantage 3.0 TU |
Discover it Student |
Annual Fee$0 APR = 13.74% - 22.74% FX Fee = 0% Rewards = 5% rotating categories 1% everything else Score Monitoring = FICO TU |
Discover Chrome Student |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 13.74% - 22.74% FX Fee = 0% Rewards = 2% gas and dining 1% everything else Score Monitoring = FICO TU |
Wells Fargo Cash Back College |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 11.9% - 21.9% FX Fee = 3% Rewards = 1% cash back Score Monitoring = Bankcard Score 2 - Experian |
State Farm Student Visa |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 12.24% - 19.24% FX Fee = 3% Rewards = 1X for every $2 3X for State Farm Insurance Payments (up to $4000 a year) Score Monitoring - N.A. |
SelfScore Classic |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 19.74% FX Fee = 0% Rewards = N.A. Score Monitoring = N.A. |
SelfScore Achieve |
Annual Fee = $0 APR = 19.74% FX Fee = 0% Rewards = 1% Cash Back Score Monitoring = N.A. |
The BankAmericard Travel Rewards for Students is clearly geared towards college students who want to earn reward points that can be redeemed for travel. The points are meant to be redeemed for travel rewards and because these are not specific airline miles or hotel points, there are no blackout dates and you can redeem for any flights, hotels etc. It is hard to compare the rewards with other cards because like we said, this card is all about travel rewards. But from a points earning view, it is competitive (1.5X) with it's peers.
Bank of America also takes advantage of the fact that they are a bank and encourages you to open a checking account because you can earn 10% more points if you have an active checking account. Most issuers simply do not compete that way.
Another nice feature about the card is that there is no foreign transaction fee. And I expect that given that this is a travel rewards card. This feature is great for students who are studying abroad full-time or just a semester.
This card also gives you the ability to check and monitor your fico score. Other cards like Discover it and Chrome offer it and it is good that BankAmericard offers this to all of their card holders.The FICO score is from Experian whilst Discover's is from TransUnion.
Overall, I would say that compared to it's peers, this card is very competitive.
Pros and Cons
- 1.5X for every purchase
- No foreign transaction fee
- Free FICO Score
- 0% APR on purchases for 12 months
Our Take
If you decide to get this card, we would suggest that you open a Bank of America checking and savings account because you can earn 10% more points simply by having an active account. If you do so, you can also manage both your bank account and your credit card from one website and app. From there, you can also check and monitor your FICO score.