Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students: Useful Benefits, If You Qualify
The Bottom Line
4.0
The card offers bonus cash-back categories that are both useful and broad. However, you need good credit to qualify, which can be a roadblock for many students.
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1%-3%
Bonus offer
$200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
Intro APR
0% intro APR on Purchases for 15 billing cycles and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days
Ongoing APR
APR: 18.74%-28.74% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: See Terms
Penalty APR: 29.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4%
Foreign transaction fee
3%
More details from Bank of America
- $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, automatic 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases) and unlimited 1% on all other purchases.
- Choose 3% cash back on gas and EV charging station, online shopping/cable/internet/phone plan/streaming, dining, travel, drug store/pharmacy or home improvement/furnishings purchases.
- No annual fee and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
- 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.74% - 28.74% will apply. A 3% Intro balance transfer fee will apply for the first 60 days your account is open. After the Intro balance transfer fee offer ends, the fee for future balance transfers is 4%.
- When handled responsibly, a credit card can help you build your credit history, which could be helpful when looking for an apartment, a car loan, and even a job. Access your FICO® Score for free within Online Banking or your Mobile Banking app.
- Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
- This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Pros and Cons
Pros
No annual fee
New cardholder bonus offer
Rotating bonus categories
Relationship rewards for customers
Intro APR period
Cons
Requires good/excellent credit
Complicated rewards
Spending caps on bonus rewards
Best rewards limited to certain customers
Detailed Review
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students offers extra cash back on your choice of spending category, from a list of useful options. You can change your category each month, too, allowing you to line up the card with whatever you plan to buy in the near future. Add to that a sign-up bonus and a $0 annual fee, and you’re looking at a solid option for students who are relatively new to using rewards cards.
However, there are some limitations to keep in mind. First, you need to have good or excellent credit (a FICO score between 690 and 850) to qualify for the card. Second, you can only earn the elevated cash-back rate on up to $2,500 in quarterly spending. After that, you’ll earn just 1% cash back.
Click to see the four Bank of America® student cards compared side by side
Card name | Rewards | Sign-up bonus | APR |
|---|---|---|---|
BankAmericard® credit card for Students | None. | None. | 0% Intro APR for 18 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days of opening your account. After the intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that's currently 16.24%-26.24% will apply. |
Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students | Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. | $200 online cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening. | 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.74%-28.74% will apply. |
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students |
| 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases. | 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.74%-28.74% will apply. |
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students |
| $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. | 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.74%-28.74% will apply. |
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students: Basics
Card type: Cash back.
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
Ongoing rewards:
3% back on a category of your choice, from the options listed below.
2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs.
1% back on all other purchases.
You’ll only earn 3% and 2% cash back for the first $2,500 of combined spending on your bonus category, grocery store and wholesale club spending per quarter. After hitting that limit, you’ll earn 1% back on those purchases.
The 3% back bonus categories to choose from are:
Gas/EV charging.
Online shopping (including cable, streaming, internet and phone plans).
Dining.
Travel.
Drugstores.
Home improvement and furnishings.
You can change this category once each calendar month, and your selected category will remain the same from month to month, unless you change it. If you don't make a selection, the default 3% cash-back category will be set to gas.
If you’re a Bank of America Preferred Rewards® member, you can earn 25% to 75% more cash back on each purchase with this card, depending on which membership tier you’ve attained. But to qualify, you must have a balance of at least $20,000 in an eligible Bank of America® account. Keeping that kind of money in a checking account is tough to do at any age, especially when you’re a student and may be working limited hours or have an entry-level job — if you're employed at all.
APR: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.74%-28.74% will apply.
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Useful 3% categories
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students offers a broad range of student-friendly 3% cash-back categories to choose from.
For example, the “online shopping” category includes merchants such as Apple.com, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Bestbuy.com and Target.com. And the “home improvement and furnishings” category includes merchants such as IKEA and Bed Bath & Beyond. That’s helpful for anyone who’s outfitting a dorm room or apartment, or purchasing a laptop.
Sign-up bonus
A welcome offer allows you to get even more value out of a card in the first year you have it. With the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students, you’ll earn a $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
Flexible reward redemptions
If you redeem your cash back for a statement credit, or a direct deposit into a Bank of America® checking or savings account or eligible Merrill account, you can redeem any amount. There’s no need to earn a minimum amount of cash back first.
You can also opt to redeem a minimum of $25 worth of rewards for a check, or as a contribution to a qualifying Merrill 529 account. Or set up automatic contributions to eligible Bank of America® or Merrill accounts whenever you accumulate $25 in cash back. (Note that you can’t set up automatic contributions to 529 accounts, or automatically get a statement credit or check.)
Introductory no-interest offer
If you’re planning on using your card to make a major purchase, you have a long time to make payments at 0% interest. Pay 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.74%-28.74% will apply.
Drawbacks and Considerations
Good credit required
For students who are new to building credit, this can be a hurdle. But there are a number of student credit cards for fair credit, as well as other cards for fair credit, which may be more appropriate for you while you establish your credit history. The $0-annual-fee Discover it® Student Cash Back earns 5% cash back on spending categories that rotate each quarter (activation required). After you spend $1,500 in the bonus category, you’ll earn the base rate of 1% back.
You must choose categories
If you neglect to select a 3% category when you first get the card, the default category is gas — not helpful if you spend more in other areas, or you don’t have a car with you on campus. And last month’s category will roll over into the next month, unless you change it, so you’ll need to be on top of your spending plans enough to know which category to choose going forward.
The Venmo Credit Card automatically earns 3% cash back on your top eligible spending category, 2% cash back on your second most-spent category, and 1% on everything else. Eligible bonus categories include transportation, travel, groceries, entertainment, dining, bills and utilities, health and beauty, and gas. The annual fee is $0.
Spending cap limits rewards
Once you spend $2,500 for the quarter in your 3% and 2% categories combined, you’ll earn just 1% cash back. That means one major purchase, like a laptop, can leave you stuck at 1% back for three months. The Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card earns an unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, purchases at grocery stores and popular streaming services. Other purchases earn 1% cash back. The annual fee is $0.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
For many students, the appeal of a student-specific credit card is that it generally has a lower credit score bar for entry. But in this case, you'll have to already have good to excellent credit in order to get approved. This is a perfectly fine choice, but if your credit score is at least 690, you can qualify for other cards that may be more rewarding.
And if you're still building credit, you have other options available that might be easier to get. Check out our picks for best student credit cards for fair credit.
Automatically earn 3% cash back in your top eligible spending category for the month, and 2% cash back in your second-highest eligible spending category. Other purchases earn 1% back.
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Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
Frequently asked questions
How do Bank of America® customized cash rewards work?
You can select a new 3% cash-back category each month from a list of eligible categories. The default category on a new card is gas. If you don’t change the category from the previous month, it will stay the same the next month.
How often can you change the cash rewards category?
You can change the 3% cash-back category once a month with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students.
Does the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students have an annual fee?
The annual fee for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students is $0.
What credit score do I need for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students?
You need good credit to qualify for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students, which corresponds to a FICO score of at least 690.
How old do you have to be to get the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students?
You must be at least 18 years old, or at least 21 years old if you’re a permanent resident of Puerto Rico.
