Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students Credit Card Review 2023

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Credit card rewards are often a tradeoff between simplicity and value. The most basic rewards structures provide a flat cash-back percentage on all purchases, which requires no thought or planning, but rarely maximizes your return. More complex reward structures can offer much higher returns, but only at certain times or on select purchases.

If you want a card that outperforms basic cash-back rates but is still easy to use, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only is a reasonable compromise so long as your spending tends to align with the card's bonus categories.

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students Review: Is It the Best Credit Card for You?

The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only' long 0% introductory APR is a standout addition to a card that also offers a welcome bonus and ongoing rewards. You can get a card with a 0% APR that lasts even longer, but the rewards you'll earn from this card are worth the shorter introductory period unless you need those extra months to pay down your balance. If you don't plan to carry a balance, then the 0% APR provides little value, and you'd be better served by a card that offers more useful long-term benefits.

One unusual aspect of the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only is its relatively stringent credit requirements for approval compared to other student credit cards. You'll want a FICO score in the good to excellent range, which disqualifies students with no credit. If your credit falls short, consider other options like a secured credit card or a starter credit card that gives you a better shot at approval.

Bank of America Customized Cash for Students Rewards

Student and no-fee credit cards don't always come with welcome bonuses or earn rewards for ongoing spending, but the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only offers both.

Welcome bonus offer

You'll earn a Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Intro Bonus. The bonus cash is on top of the cash-back rewards you earn from purchases, so you're effectively getting an extra 20% back on your first $1,000 of spending. There are more lucrative welcome bonuses to be found, but most of those come with higher spending requirements and are attached to cards with annual fees. This bonus from the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only is competitive with bonuses on other no-annual-fee cards, and has a minimum spending requirement that's realistic for student budgets.

How to earn rewards

The rewards structure on the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only is not complex, but the return varies depending on what you buy. At the top of the scale, you'll earn 3% cash back on spending in your choice of one of six categories: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings.

Those categories cover a lot of ground: For example, online shopping includes both web-based and mobile app purchases from Amazon, Target, Walmart, and a variety of other retailers. Similarly, travel includes larger outlays like airfare and hotels as well as everyday expenses like parking and public transportation. You can change your selection once per calendar month, making it easier to maximize your return based on upcoming purchases.

Apart from the 3% categories, you'll earn 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (like Costco and Sam's Club). The 3% and 2% cash-back rewards are limited to the first $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter; you'll earn 1% on purchases beyond that amount, and on all purchases in non-bonus categories.

You can get an even better return on spending through the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program, which offers bonuses as high as 75% to cardholders who also have banking and investment accounts with Bank of America or Merrill. However, the balance requirements start at $20,000, which is too high to be useful to most students.

How to use rewards

You can redeem cash rewards easily as a check, statement credits to your card account, deposits to a linked Bank of America checking or savings account, or credits to an eligible Merrill account (including 529 college savings accounts). You'll get the same return in each case, so you don't have to worry about trying to maximize the value of your rewards.

One-time redemptions for a check or to a qualifying 529 account have a $25 minimum, as do automatic redemptions to Bank of America checking and savings accounts, and to other qualifying Merrill accounts. However, your rewards don't expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing, so you can save up until you reach the threshold with no risk of losing what you've already earned.

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students Benefits and Features

The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only doesn't come with luxury benefits like airline and hotel status or expedited airport security. Like most student credit cards, it doesn't offer even lower-level perks such as purchase protection. However, it does have standard credit card features like zero liability for fraudulent transactions, contactless payment capability and mobile wallet compatibility, paperless statements, FICO score updates, overdraft protection, and account alerts. Those features shouldn't influence your decision to get (or not get) the card, but they're nice to have.

The card's most noteworthy benefit is its Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Intro APR, followed by a Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Regular APR APR.

Some credit cards offer a 0% introductory APR for as long as 21 months, but the 18 months you get with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only is above average. You can use that long introductory period to avoid interest charges on expenses like moving costs or tuition even if you don't have enough cash on hand to pay them upfront. The 0% APR may also help if you're already carrying a balance on a credit card with a high interest rate, since the money you save on interest payments can more than offset the balance transfer fee.

While a 0% APR offer enables you to borrow money at a minimal cost in the short term, it's not an excuse to spend beyond your means. Any remaining balance will start accruing interest as soon as the introductory rate expires, so aim to spend only what you'll be able to repay in the allotted time.

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students Annual Fee and Other Costs

You won't pay an annual fee for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only, but you may incur other fees, including foreign transaction fees for transactions made in a foreign currency — this may apply to online purchases from merchants abroad even if you're in the country when you buy. That added expense makes this card ill-suited for international travel.

Beyond that, there are fees for other types of transactions, including:

• Balance transfer fees
• Cash advance fees
• Late payment fees

How the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students Compares

Customized Cash Rewards for Students vs Other Bank of America Student Credit Cards

*On the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only, earn 3% and 2% cash back on up to the first $2,500 spent in these categories combined each quarter, then 1% cash back

***Eligible Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only 3% categories are gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings

Customized Cash Rewards for Students vs Student Credit Cards From Other Banks

*On the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only, earn 3% and 2% cash back on up to the first $2,500 spent in these categories combined each quarter, then 1% cash back

***Eligible Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Editorial Name Only 3% categories are gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students Frequently Asked Questions

What credit score do I need for the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students?

To be approved for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Product Name Only, we recommend at least a good credit score. That means a FICO score of at least 670.

How old do I have to be to get the BoA Customized Cash Rewards for Students?

To get the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Product Name Only, you must be at least 18 years old.

Is the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students worth it?

The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Product Name Only is worth it if your spending habits match the card's bonus categories. As long as you're OK with a no-frills card, it's a solid choice for earning cash back on spending, as long as you can meet the credit requirement for approval.

Methodology: How We Reviewed the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards for Students

We compared the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - Product Name Only to similar student and 0% APR credit cards from Bank of America and other card issuers, and evaluated several factors, including:

• Rewards earning potential — Does the card earn rewards at competitive rates? Is there a welcome bonus for new applicants?
• Benefits — Are the card's benefits useful? Are there any features that stand out?
• Fees and other costs — If there's an annual fee, do the card's rewards and benefits justify paying it? Does the card offer competitive rates on interest and other fees?

You can read more about how we rate credit cards at Insider for a closer look at our methodology.