For a long time, student cards were among the worst offers the credit card companies could dream up.  They would hit their younger customers with higher interest rates, more fees and fewer extra benefits, reserving the “good stuff” for their older clientele with proven credit histories.
Fortunately, competition within has increased in that segment of the market.  Today, the major players are issuing much stronger student options than in the past.  One strong performer is the Discover® Student Card.

The Discover® Student Card gets the job done by offering perfectly reasonable core terms and complementing them with the kind of cashback rewards program you’d expect to see in a higher-end card designed for more established customers.

The basic terms for the Discover® Student Card compare favorably with most of the other cards in this niche.  They don’t charge the cardholder an annual fee.  As of the time of this article’s writing, the APR was set at 14.99%.  Discover extends a 0% interest rate for six months on new purchases.

Based on these facts alone, the Discover® Student Card warrants attention.  When you begin to look at the extra benefits, you’ll quickly realize that it really is a cut above the others.

The Discover card designed for students offers cash rebates.  If you spend more than $3,000 per year, you qualify for a full 1% cash rebate.  If your card use doesn’t reach that level, you still qualify for rebates at a lower percentage.  You can earn up to a whopping $500 per year via the rebate plan.

The plan is actually even more valuable than it appears.  That’s because Discover provides an impressive 5% cash back plan in special categories, which change every three months.  These aren’t outlandish categories, either.  Past quarters have featured travel and gasoline, restaurants and movies, and other things for which you’d really use the Discover® Student Card for anyway.  That’s like getting extra cash back for living your life the way you normally do.

Then, the Discover turns it up another notch.  If you make purchases with Discover Partners (and that includes a number of major retailers), you qualify for the 5% mark and even double value rebates when you’re buying gift cards.  With a little bit of smart shopping, one can save a small fortune thanks to this unique feature.

That rewards program comes on the top of all of the other features you’d expect from a major credit card offering.  You have full online account management capabilities, fraud protection and even a second card number set up exclusively for online purchases–a great way to enhance your online shopping security.

You’re also dealing with a well-recognized and reputable lender.  Discover is accepted virtually everywhere these days.  It’s remarkable market penetration is a direct result of the way they attract and take care of their customer base.

If you’re looking for a student card, it’s hard to beat the Discover® Student Card.  It’s anything but a watered down card for a younger demographic.  It’s the real deal, custom-tailored to meet student needs and featuring a very good rewards program.