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LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appears on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.
LendingTree is an advertising-supported comparison service. The site features products from our partners as well as institutions which are not advertising partners. While we make an effort to include the best deals available to the general public, we make no warranty that such information represents all available products.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students Review
Sign Up Bonus
Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening
Rewards Rate
Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishing.
APR
0% Introductory APR for the first 18 Statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account. on purchases and balance transfers, then 16.24% - 26.24% variable.
Published: October 3, 2022
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through a credit card issuer partnership.
Who is the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students best for?
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students offers a tiered cashback rewards program, which lets you select among six different spending categories that can be changed every month. The card also comes with a nice sign-up bonus and $0 annual fee.
Plus, if you need to make a large purchase, like a laptop or school supplies, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students offers an introductory APR of 0% Introductory APR for the first 18 Statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account. After the promotional period, the standard APR of 16.24% - 26.24% variable variable will apply.
- Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, from online shopping to off-campus dining and more
- 3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings
- 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
- You’ll earn 3% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter, then earn 1%
- Digital Wallet technology
- Overdraft protection
- Contactless chip technology
- Free FICO Score updated monthly
Intro Purchase APR
0% Introductory APR for the first 18 Statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account.
Regular Purchase APR
16.24% - 26.24% variable
Intro BT APR
0% Introductory APR for the first 18 Statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account for transactions made within 60 days of opening your account.
Regular BT APR
16.24% - 26.24% variable
Cash Advance Fee
Either $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
Foreign Transaction Fee
3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each transaction
Balance Transfer Fee
3% of each transaction (minimum $10)
Pros and cons of the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students
Pros
- $0 annual fee
- Cash rewards tailored to your spending
- Sign-up bonus
- Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
Cons
- Cap on spending to earn highest rewards rates
- Foreign transaction fees
- Limited benefits
- High penalty APR if you make a late payment
What we like about the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students
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Easy-to-earn sign-up bonus
With the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students, new cardholders can earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.
This bonus can offset the cost of a big ticket item, and the spending requirement to earn it is low compared to other cash back rewards cards.
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Intro APRs on purchases and balance transfers
Save on interest charges for more than a year with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students. The card offers an 0% Introductory APR for the first 18 Statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account. After, a 16.24% - 26.24% variable variable APR will apply.
If you’re looking to move high-interest debt to another card offering a lengthy intro period, you can move that balance to the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students.
The balance transfer offer is a 0% Introductory APR for the first 18 Statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account for transactions made within 60 days of opening your account. After this period, a variable APR, ranging from 16.24% - 26.24% variable will apply.
Note that a balance transfer fee of 3% of each transaction (minimum $10) will apply.
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Cash rewards tailored to your spending
What’s unique about the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students is that you can rotate spending categories every calendar month depending on where you’ll be spending the most.
Cardholders can earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishing.
The six categories that earn the higher rewards rate are: online shopping, gas, drugstores, dining, travel or home improvement/furnishings.
The downside, however, is the $2,500 cap in spending each quarter to earn the higher rewards rates — once you hit that cap, your rewards rate will drop to 1%.
What to watch out for with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students
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High penalty APR for late payments
If you happen to miss a payment due on your card, you’ll not only be charged a late fee of up to $40, but your card’s APR could also shoot up to a whopping 29.99% variable.
Unlike some issuers that will revert a penalty APR after consecutive on-time payments, be aware that Bank of America offers no such relief if you’re hit with the penalty rate. According to the card’s terms and conditions, the penalty APR will apply indefinitely once it’s increased.
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Complicated rewards program
While it’s great to have six cashback categories with an elevated rewards rate to choose from with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students, you do have to make the effort to remember to select which category you want every calendar month (though you can leave your category unchanged).
This requires some forward thinking — so if you’re not organized or don’t want the extra burden of having to remember to switch categories, you may be better off with a card that offers a flat cash back rate on every purchase or one that offers an elevated rate in categories that rotate quarterly.
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Foreign transaction fees
If your college adventures take you abroad, you’ll want to get a card that charges no foreign transaction fees. That’s because the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students assesses a fee of 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of each transaction on every purchase you make abroad.
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Few cardholder benefits
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students is a little light on ancillary benefits. For example, there is no cellphone insurance, nor are there any travel protections, like lost luggage insurance, roadside assistance or auto rental insurance.
Alternate student credit card
Compare it to the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appears on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.
The Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is a good credit card for students who want to build credit while taking advantage of a simple cashback program and $0 annual fee.
This card offers a flat rewards rate of 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day; 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through capital one travel (terms apply) — and its competitive rate is better than the 1% cash back rate many cashback credit cards offer on general purchases.
There are four ways to redeem your cash back: as statement credits, checks, credits towards previous purchases or gift cards. You can also set up automatic redemptions, either at a set time each calendar year or whenever your rewards reach a certain threshold ($25, $50, $100, $200, $500 or $1,500).
Rewards don’t expire (though if your account is closed, you’ll lose any rewards you haven’t redeemed yet), and there’s no limit to how much you can earn on purchases.
As for foreign transaction fees — the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card has none. The card also offers a complimentary concierge service and travel accident insurance, but no cellphone or car rental insurance.
Compare the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students to similar cards
- Viewing 1-2 of 4
Comparison of four different credit cards
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| | | |
0 Reviews | 0 Reviews | 0 Reviews | 0 Reviews |
| Review Coming Soon | Apply Now on Capital One's secure site | Apply Now on Discover's secure site Rates & Fees | Apply Now on Capital One's secure site |
| $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| $200 cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening | Earn $100 when you spend $100 in the first three months | Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match. | Earn $100 when you spend $100 in the first three months |
| 3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishing. | 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply) | 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and when you pay using PayPal, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically | 3% Cash Back on dining and entertainment; 3% Cash Back on popular streaming services; 3% Cash Back at grocery stores; 1% Cash Back on all other purchases. Earn 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases and tickets at Vivid Seats |
| 0% Introductory APR for the first 18 Statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account. | N/A | 0% Intro APR for 6 months on purchases | N/A |
| 16.24% - 26.24% variable | 17.99% - 27.99% (Variable) | 15.99% - 24.99% Variable APR | 17.99% - 27.99% (Variable) |
| Good | Fair/Limited | Fair/Limited | Fair/Limited |
| Additional card details unavailable | Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card | Discover it® Student Cash Back | Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card |
Is the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students right for you?
There’s plenty to like about the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students — including its easy-to-earn sign-up bonus, $0 annual fee and intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers.
Plus, if you’d like the option to select from six different cashback categories with which to earn the highest rewards rate, as well as earn a competitive rate on food and wholesale club purchases, then the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students could be a good fit.
Just know that the accelerated rewards rates are capped at $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter. As such, the most you could earn in cash back at those rates would top out at $75 every quarter, or $300 a year (minus the first year signup bonus).
That said, if you’d prefer a rewards card that takes a little less work, or one that has more handy benefits, you may want to check our our list of the best student credit cards.
The information related to the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.