With the Chase Freedom® Student credit card*, students can earn 1% cash back on all purchases. The card’s low fees and simple rewards program make it a solid choice for students new to credit.
Chase Freedom Student Card basics
- Annual fee:$0.
- Welcome bonus:$50 bonus after making a purchase within the first three months of account opening.
- Rewards:1% cash back on all purchases.
- Regular APR:19.74% variable APR.
- Credit limit increase.After making five monthly payments on time within 10 months from account opening, cardholders may be granted with a credit limit increase.
- Other perks and benefits:Purchase protection, extended warranty, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, perks with Doordash, Lyft, and Instacart.
- Does the issuer offer a pre-approval tool?No.
Pros
- Cash-back rewards and bonuses:Earn 1% cash back on all qualifying purchases, plus a welcome bonus and $20 every year on your account anniversary for five years for good payment behavior.
- Purchase protections:Cardholders are protected for new purchases up to $500 per claim for damage or theft within 120 days after purchase. You also get the benefits of up to an additional year of your manufacturer’s standard warranty where eligible.
- Trip protections:With trip cancellation/interruption insurance, you can be reimbursed up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip when non-refundable plans are canceled or cut short due to illness, severe weather and other covered situations.
- Potential credit limit increase:Students may receive a credit limit increase after making at least five on-time payments in the first 10 months.
- No annual fee:There is a $0 annual fee.
Cons
- Better rewards may be available:While the card features easy-to-earn and use rewards,other student cardsmay offer more appealing features.
- Foreign transaction fee:The card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, which can get expensive for students traveling or studying abroad.
- No introductory APR period:Some credit cards come with an intro 0% APR for new users for a specified period of time for either purchases or balance transfers or both, but that’s not the case with the Chase Freedom Student credit card.
About the Chase Freedom Student Card
The Chase Freedom Student Card is a simple cash-back credit card with features and rewards custom-tailored to students.
In addition to a new cardholder bonus and 1% back on all purchases, users can also earn $20 per year for keeping the account in good standing for up to five years. That’s extra motivation to build good credit habits, such as paying on time every time, and puts your credit score on the right path.
The card has no annual fee, and as long as the balance is paid off in full by the monthly due date and certain fee-bearing activities are avoided (such as cash advances), students can borrow and repay with the card for free. Know that if a balance is not paid off in full, the card’s ongoing APR will apply to any unpaid balance.
When you factor in the cash-back rewards rate of 1% on all purchases, savvy students can even save some money on their purchases made with the card. When you keep your balance low and make on-time payments, you’re building a positive credit profile that can help you qualify for some of thebest rewards cardsin the future. New cardholders earn a $50 bonus after making a purchase within the first three months of account opening.
Strong credit will get you more than a premium credit card: Here are 5 benefits of a good credit score.
Chase Freedom Student Card rewards
The Chase Freedom Student Card offers a flat-rate 1% cash back on all qualifying purchases. Balance transfers, cash advances, traveler’s checks, lottery ticket purchases and fees don’t count for rewards, but you’ll earn cash back on just about everything else. Through March 2025, the card also earns 5% back on qualifying Lyft purchases.
Students can earn a 50 bonus after making a purchase within the first three months of account opening. That’s quick cash back for buying gas, groceries and other everyday purchases.
As an added benefit, cardholders who keep their accounts in good standing receive a $20 reward on each account anniversary for up to five years. Good standing means your account is kept open and payments are current and the card is not in default.
Rewards are earned in the form ofChase Ultimate Rewards®points. You can redeem points for cash back in any amount at any time. The easiest way to redeem is with a statement credit, which is applied to your balance. You can also redeem for a direct deposit to most bank accounts in the United States. You can also redeem for Amazon purchases, gift cards, or travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards website.
Chase Freedom Student Card rewards potential
| Spending category | Spending amount | Cash-back rate | Cash back earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| All expenses | $12,544 | 1 % | $125.54 |
| TOTAL | $12,544 | $125.54 |
In the first five years, you can also earn an additional $20 per year in “good standing rewards,” for an average annual total of $145.54
While 1% in cash back rewards isn’t the most generous, the primary purpose of getting a student credit card is to learn how to manage credit responsibly in order to build up your credit score to a point where you can qualify for a card offering more lucrative rewards.
Chase Freedom Student Card APR
The Chase Freedom Student card charges a 19.74% variable APR. However, know that you can avoid interest charges entirely if you pay off the card’s balance every month.
How the Chase Freedom Student Card compares to other student cards
Chase Freedom Student Card vs. Capital One Quicksilver Rewards for Students card
The Quicksilver Rewards for Students card is also just for students, which means a thin credit file may not exclude you from being approved. The card charges no annual fee and earns 10% cash back on Uber & Uber Eats through 11/14/2024, 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 1.5% cash back on every other purchase. This makes it a more rewarding pick than the Chase Freedom Student Card, plus unlike the Freedom Student card there’s also no foreign transaction fees when you use the card abroad. Hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One travel will earn a robust 5% back. These attributes make the Quicksilver Rewards for Students an all-around better choice for most than the Freedom Student card.
Chase Freedom Student Card vs. Discover it® Student Cash Back
The $0-annual-feeDiscover it® Student Cash Backfeatures 5% cash back on purchases made in popular rotating categories that change quarterly. The 5% bonus rewards are limited to the first $1,500 spent in these combined quarterly purchases. Recently featured categories include restaurants, grocery stores, wholesale clubs, select streaming services and more. All other purchases earn an unlimited 1% cash back.
Plus, new users get their cash back matched at the end of the first year. If you use the card frequently, that can be a great value. And there is 0% intro APR for six months on purchases, then a 17.74% – 26.74% variable APR will apply.
Chase Freedom Student Card vs. Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students
The Bank of America Travel Rewards Card for Students featuring 1.5 points per dollar on qualifying purchases. You can earn a 25,000-point bonus after using the card for at least $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of opening an account.
The card doesn’t charge any annual or foreign transaction fees. It offers 0% intro APR for the first 18 billing cycles on purchases or for any balance transfers made within 60 days of opening the account (with a 3% balance transfer fee). After the introductory rate, the standard APR of 17.74%—27.74% variable will apply.
Should you get the Chase Freedom Student Card?
If you’re a student looking for your first cash-back rewards card, or a parent looking to set your student on the path to building excellent credit, the Chase Freedom Student Card could be a good choice. The card incentivizes users to make on-time payments and use the card regularly with its combination of rewards.
While foreign transaction fees may be a deal breaker if you plan on studying abroad, the card does a good job balancing features, benefits, and rewards for students in the U.S. looking to earn a little extra cash while building credit.
*The information for this card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Chase Freedom Student Card summary
| Chase Freedom Student Card details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 | |
| Rewards | Unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases, 5% cash back on qualifying Lyft rides through March 2025 | |
| APR | 19.74% variable APR | |
| Foreign transaction fee | 3% per transaction | |
| Major perks/benefits | New account bonus, $20 annual reward for maintaining an account in good standing, purchase and extended warranty protections as well as trip cancellation/interruption insurance | |
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Chase doesn’t publish a specific minimum credit score to qualify for the Chase Freedom Student card. As it’s designed for students, applicants may be approved with a limited credit history. You must be at least 18 years old and have some sort of income to be considered for approval.
The Chase Freedom Student card is only for verified students. Chase may verify enrollment status as part of the application process. Consider thesecash-back rewards cardsif you’re not in school.
To redeem rewards, log into your Chase account and navigate to the rewards section. There, you’ll see a list of options for redeeming, including tools to enter a cash back redemption request. Points can be redeemed for cash, gift card, travel or for other products and services.
When you graduate, you can keep using the card. You may also contact Chase to upgrade it to another rewards card or keep it active by making a small recurring charge on it every month to continue building a longer credit history with the card.