The
Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card has a
$0 annual fee and decent rewards, including an initial bonus of
2,500 points for spending $500 within three months of opening an account and ongoing earning rates of
1 - 2 points / $1. But there’s also a glaring problem with this offer: The Citi Rewards+ Student Card requires at least good credit for approval, and most college students have limited or no credit history. Plus, Citi’s student credit card does not compare nearly as well to the best credit cards for people with good credit as it does to the best student credit cards.
The Citi Rewards+ Student Card is certainly worth considering for older students or those who’ve built good credit as an authorized user on a parent’s account. If you plan to spend more over the first few months you have your card, you should also consider the
Citi Rewards+® Card.
Below, you can find a quick summary of all the key details you’ll need to decide whether or not to apply for the Citi Rewards+ Student Card.
Citi Student Credit Card Review Highlights:- No Annual Fee. The Citi Rewards+ Student Card is $20 per year cheaper than the average credit card. Student credit cards hardly ever charge annual fees, though.
- Small Initial Bonus. Charge at least $500 to the Citi student rewards card within three months of opening an account, and you’ll get 2,500 points. That’s worth $25. The average card's initial bonus is 22,318 points/miles.
- Bonus Rewards at Gas Stations & Supermarkets. Cardholders earn 2 points per $1 on up to $6,000 spent at supermarkets and gas stations each year, then 1 point per $1. Citi Rewards+ rewards all other purchases with 1 point per $1 spent. The average rewards card with points or miles gives 1.17 points/miles per $1.
- Nice Round-up & Rebate Deals. Citi Rewards+ for Students rounds up the points you earn on each purchase to the next multiple of 10. It also returns 10% of the first 100,000 points that you redeem each year.
- Uncompetitive APRs. The Citi student card’s regular APR could be anywhere from 14.49% to 24.49% (V), depending on your creditworthiness. But since you need at least good credit for approval, it’s only fair to compare that range to the average APRs among credit cards for people with good credit (20.68%) and excellent credit (14.08%). That’s not a favorable matchup for Citi Rewards+ for Students. Similarly, the Citi student card offers 0% for 7 months on new purchases, but not for nearly as long as the average 0% APR credit card (about 11 months).
- 3% Foreign Transaction Fee. This means the Citi student credit card should not be your travel companion when studying, spring-breaking or backpacking abroad. There are too many good credit cards with no foreign transaction fees to ever pay a 3% surcharge.
The biggest sticking point for many would-be applicants will be the Citi student credit card’s credit-score requirement: good credit or better. You can get a sense of your approval odds by
checking your latest credit score for free on WalletHub.
If you’re like most college students and have limited credit history, you can also compare
credit cards for students with no credit to find a better fit.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.