Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards for Students: You’ll Need Good Credit
The Bottom Line
4.6
As a student credit card, it's a perfectly fine choice — if you can qualify for it. If not, other options exist, and some of them may make for better fits anyway.
Rates, fees and offers
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$0
Rewards rate
1.5%
Bonus offer
$200 online cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your 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: 18.24%-28.24% 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
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 unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- No annual fee.
- No limit to the amount of cash back you can earn 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 18.24% - 28.24% 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%. Balance transfers may not be used to pay any account provided by Bank of America.
- 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.
Intro APR period.
Cons
Requires good/excellent credit.
Best rewards limited to certain customers
No bonus categories.
Detailed Review
The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students packs a lot of value into one package, especially for a student credit card. You'll get a long interest-free period, 1.5% cash back on all purchases and the opportunity to snag a rich sign-up bonus.
But there's a potential roadblock, and it's a big one for cards in this category. To get it, you'll need at least good credit (typically, a FICO score of 690 or above). For students with little to no existing credit history, that'll be a tall order.
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 18.24%-28.24% 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 18.24%-28.24% 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 18.24%-28.24% will apply. |
Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students: Basics
Card type: Student.
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: $200 online cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.
Rewards: Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
It’s possible to earn more than 1.5% cash back if you’re a member of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program. Unfortunately, that’s a pretty exclusive club and probably out of reach for the average college student. To qualify, you need to have a balance of $20,000 or more in a qualifying Bank of America® account.
Redemption: Rewards can be redeemed for a direct deposit into an eligible Bank of America® checking or savings account; a direct deposit into an eligible Cash Management Account with Merrill, including 529 accounts; or a statement credit.
There is a $25 minimum redemption amount for:
One-time redemption for a credit into a qualifying 529 account with Merrill.
Automatic redemptions for direct deposits into a Bank of America® checking or savings account.
Automatic redemptions for deposits into an eligible Merrill account.
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 18.24%-28.24% will apply.
Balance transfer fee: 3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4%.
Foreign transaction fee: 3%.
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Simplicity
The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students earns an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, sparing cardholders from the extra work of keeping up with revolving bonus categories or spending caps. The student who is balancing a full course load, a part-time job and a social calendar will likely appreciate the simple rewards structure.
Sign-up bonus
The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students offers a $200 online cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening. A sign-up bonus of that size is uncommon among student credit cards.
Long 0% intro APR period
Interest charges can always be avoided by paying your credit card bill in full every month. But when that’s not possible, this card’s lengthy 0% intro APR period could help you finance the cost of necessities like dorm furniture or textbooks.
Multiple redemption options
Considering the variety of options, it should be easy to cash in rewards earned with the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students. Having a Bank of America® checking or savings account makes redemption even more flexible, as cardholders can opt for rewards to be converted to a direct deposit.
Student status isn’t required
Even though this card has the words “for students” in its name, applicants do not have to be students in order to be approved. Other cards such as the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card require you to prove your student status.
Drawbacks and Considerations
High credit score needed for approval
You’ll need good to excellent credit to qualify for the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students, which is a big ask for college students in their teens and early 20s who haven’t yet built up a credit history. You can check your credit score here, and if it’s below the recommended credit score for the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students, know that you still have options. For example, the Discover it® Student Chrome doesn't require a FICO credit history at all.
Rewards rate can be beat
The $0-annual-fee Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card earns an unlimited 3% back on dining, entertainment, some streaming services and grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart). It's probably the better choice for you if you spend heavily in those categories — and it requires fair credit (FICO scores starting at 630), so it may be easier to get.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
If Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students were a car, it would be a Honda Civic priced like a Mercedes: solid benefits, but out of reach for many. Other student credit cards are comparable to it and have lower credit score requirements.
And for the rare college student who already has good to excellent credit? The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students is a fine choice, but it's not the only one.
This card earns 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases per quarter, and 1% back on all other purchases. It also features a unique welcome bonus, which Discover phrases this way: "INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 cash back into $200."
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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.
About the author
Jae Bratton
Lead Writer & Content Strategist
