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NerdWallet > Student Credit Cards > Journey℠ Student Rewards from Capital One®
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Journey℠ Student Rewards from Capital One®
Capital+One Journey+Student+Rewards Credit Card

(3.5/5 - 180 Votes)
Net Annual Rewards
$270
of Cash
Reward Rate
1.25%
Annual Fee
$0
Signing Promo
None
"...A good credit card to build credit if you have little to no credit history, however, you'll want to pay your bill each month in full and on time!..." (see all 6 comments)
APR, variable*
APR:
19.8%(V)
Default:
29.4%(V)
Cash Adv:
24.9%(V)
Intro APR Promotions
Purchase:
None
Transfer:
None
Summary
  • Designed to help students build good credit with responsible use
  • Access to your monthly credit score, plus an interactive tracking tool to help monitor your credit
  • Customizable text and e-mail alerts to help keep you on track
  • Get 1% cash back on all purchases, plus a 25% bonus each month you pay your bill on time
  • No annual fee
  • $0 Fraud Liability if your card is lost or stolen

Reward Details & Calculator

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Rewards Type: Cash

Signing Promotion
$0
Estimated Annual Rewards
$21,600 * 1.25%
$270
Annual Fee, 2 yr avg
$0
Annual Rewards (Rewards less Fees)
$270

Details

  • Earn 1.25% on purchases
  • You only get 1% back if you don't pay on time in a given month

Calculate Interest & Finance Charges

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Use the sliders to the left to calculate balance transfer interest and APR interest for this particular card.

Finance Charge, Balance Transfer of $10,000*

Balance Transfer Fee, 0.0%
$0
APR, 24 months
$4,811
Total
$4,811

*Average APR for Balance Transfers of 19.8% includes transfer fees and APR promotions.

Effective Annual Rate, Purchases

Promo EAR, 0 months
0.00%
Ongoing EAR, 24 months
21.70%
Total EAR, 24 months
21.70%

APR Rankings

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APR
19.8%
ranks #1693 out of 1751 cards.
Average is 11.78%.
Balance Transfer Fee
0%
ranks #1 out of 1639 cards.
Average is 1.67%.
Cash Advance APR
24.9%
ranks #782 out of 1002 cards.
Average is 18.74%.

Rewards Rankings

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Annual Fee
$0
ranks #1 out of 1773 cards.
Average is $9.
Base Reward Rate
1.25%
ranks #35 out of 963 cards.
Average is 0.99%.
Effective Reward Rate
1.25%
ranks #70 out of 958 cards.
Average is 1.04%.
Sign-up Bonus
$0
ranks #1762 out of 1762 cards.
Average is $33.
Credit Card Review: Journey℠ Student Rewards from Capital One®


Author:
NERDBOT

Get an unbiased review of the Journey℠ Student Rewards from Capital One® from the nerds who know finance! We'll give you our take on the perks and drawbacks of this credit card and tell you how it stacks up against the Citi Forward® Card for College Students. (Want to check your credit score first? Ask the nerds!)

NerdWallet Review: The Journey℠ Student Rewards from Capital One®

No balance transfer fee: The card doesn't have a balance transfer fee, which is the one-time charge put on the amount you transfer from another credit card. This is one of those fees that people tend to forget about, so many banks jack it up to 5% knowing that no one will notice. If you're looking to transfer a balance and you will pay it off early enough that a long 0% period but a high BT isn't worth it, keep this one in mind.

No annual fee: The card doesn't have an annual fee. It's great for those looking for a card to supplement another rewards card, or just looking for an easy-to-maintain card that can stay open for a long time. Keeping no-fee accounts open boosts your credit score. Check out more no-fee cards here.

Waived foreign transaction fee: The card's foreign transaction fee is waived. This 3% fee is levied on all international purchases, and can be quite cumbersome. For example, if you spend just $2,000 abroad, that's $60 to your credit card company. If you travel overseas often, you should definitely consider a card with no foreign transaction fee.

Credit Card Showdown: Journey℠ Student Rewards from Capital One® vs. Citi Forward® Card for College Students

Lower cash advance APR: The card has a lower cash advance APR, which is the rate at which you're charged when you withdraw cash from a teller or ATM from your line of credit. Remember that interest on cash advances starts accruing the day you take one out, so you don't get the same grace period that you do with normal purchases. It's great that the Journey℠ Student Rewards from Capital One® has a low cash advance rate, but it's a good idea to avoid them.

Smaller signup bonus: The Journey℠ Student Rewards from Capital One® has a smaller signup bonus than its competitor, so you're leaving a bit of money on the table. Obviously this isn't the only consideration you should take into account, but hey, we thought you should know.

Higher base rewards rate: The card's base rewards rate is higher than the Citi Forward® Card for College Students's. This is the figure you want to look at if you plan to use this as your front-of-the-wallet, everyday rewards credit card. The base rate isn't the be-all and end-all, however, because bonus categories can rack up quite a few rewards.

No promo APR period: There's no zero-APR promotion with this card. You have to pay interest on that flatscreen from day one. If you regularly carry a balance, you may want to look for a card that'll give you zero interest on purchases. Many of those cards offer promo periods of a year or more.

Read the full review of the Citi Forward® Card for College Students on our blog

  • Avemaria1992

    A good credit card to build credit if you have little to no credit history, however, you’ll want to pay your bill each month in full and on time! Interest rates are high!

  • http://twitter.com/patz2009 Patrick Connor

    At a 19.8% interest rate, it’s fairly high, even for a student card. Though, it’s simple to qualify for (my first unsecured card), and has a better-than-average rewards rate. Definitely a keeper. Just pay it off in full each month and you shouldn’t have any problems.

  • Jade

    This card and its benefits are quite impressive. However, I unfortunately found it the opposite of Patrick Connor. This card was ridiculous to qualify for! It seems that if you have ANY student loans (which are the type you do not have to pay until you are graduated…), you will have it count against you. Can you believe that?! On something that calls itself a “student card?” I’m assuming most students who have to apply for a credit card aren’t able to bank off of mommy and daddy’s money and therefore have some student loans to their name… But oh well, I suppose this is not the card for me (or probably for many students). Luckily, I have just been approved for a “regular” card at a rival bank. Interesting, indeed!

    • kelly

      Actually I have a little over $3500 in student loans on my credit and I was instantly approved for $2000 credit limit. Did you know your scores before you applied for this card?

      • http://www.nerdwallet.com/ NerdWallet

        Hm, yeah, that’s odd, usually students loans and other “installment loans” are considered good debt (as long as you’re current on them, of course). Of course we can’t know exactly what goes into their calculation, but Capital One has usually had a good reputation for lending to people whose scores make them seem like credit risks, but they clearly aren’t.

  • Jennifer Kro

    I adore this card, plan to keep it for a long time. Long story short, I went through a bankruptcy about 3 years ago and this was my first credit card after a couple years with no credit to speak of. I went back to school and figured, hey, why not apply for a student credit card? My income is only about $10,000 per year as I’m working part time while in school. I had $3000 in student loans and my credit score was hovering right around 600 on all reports when I applied. They started me off with a $1000 limit and so long as I make my first 5 payments on time it will increase by another $500. I’ve already used it to pay tuition and then paid it off when it posted to earn rewards which I was able to apply to the balance, super cool! Sure, it’s got a high interest rate, but, I never intend to carry a balance. Use it for rewards and pay in full every month and then it’s a sweet card while your building credit. Sure, once I’m hitting the mid 700′s again and qualify for better rewards this card will probably get less use. I plan to stick with Capital One though as long as they have a product to fit my needs. I also have their Playstation card. I won’t soon forget that they gave me credit when pretty much no one else would. Best advice for young students using this card? Pretend your real credit limit is 10% of the credit limit they give you and make a payment whenever you get to that point. It will keep your spending under control.

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