Chase Freedom® Student credit card Review

The CardName is a great way for students to save money thanks to its 1% cash back on all purchases – which could add up quickly when it's time to buy textbooks every semester – and $50 bonus if you make your first purchase within the first three months of having the card. In addition, this card encourages students to learn how to use a credit card responsibly since it provides bonus rewards for being in good standing, as well as an opportunity for an automatic increase in your credit line after meeting certain criteria.

Although students don't need to have an established credit history in order to be approved for this card, you do need to provide proof that you're currently a student and must be at least 18 years old to qualify (some states/territories have higher age requirements).

CHASE FREEDOM® STUDENT BENEFITS

CardName cardholders get the following benefits:

• 1% cash back on all purchases
• RegAPR APR. While this isn't low, per se, it's on the lower end for a card available to students, so we consider this a benefit.
• No annual fee
• A $20 Good Standing reward each account anniversary. "Good standing" means that your account is open and not in default. This perk is available for the first five years after opening the account.
• Earn a $50 bonus after making your first purchase within the first three months of opening the account
• Earn a credit increase after making five on-time payments within the first 10 months of opening the account and meeting credit criteria
• Access your credit score for free at any time
• Fraud protection that includes real-time fraud monitoring
• Ability to instantly lock account to prevent new purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances easily using the Chase Mobile app
• Zero liability protection to prevent cardholders from being held responsible for unauthorized charges made on the account
• Purchases protected for 120 days against theft or damage up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per cardholder
• Extended warranty protection for an additional year
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance for up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip
• Tap to Pay Contactless purchase ability

FEATURED CARD

 

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• Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
• $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Buy Now, Pay Later: Enjoy $0 intro plan fees when you use Plan It® to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Pay $0 intro plan fees on plans created during the first 12 months from the date of account opening. Plans created after that will have a monthly plan fee up to 1.33% of each eligible purchase amount moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the purchase, and other factors.
• Low Intro APR: 0% on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable APR of 19.24% - 29.99%. Variable APRs will not exceed 29.99%.
• 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).
• 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
• 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations.
• 3% Cash Back on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more).
• 1% Cash Back on other purchases.
• Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
• Get up to $120 in statement credits annually when you pay for an auto-renewing subscription to Equinox+ at equinoxplus.com with your Blue Cash Preferred® Card. That's $10 in statement credits each month. Enrollment required.
• Thinking about getting the Disney Bundle which can include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+? Your decision made easy with $7/month back in the form of a statement credit after you spend $9.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription (subject to auto renewal) with your Blue Cash Preferred® Card. Enrollment required.
• Terms Apply.

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CHASE FREEDOM® STUDENT CASH BACK

With the CardName, you get 1% cash back on all of your purchases. There is no minimum amount needed in order to redeem rewards and points do not expire. You can also choose the way you receive your rewards, which can be applied to your account balance or deposited into your checking or savings account. Also, you can use your rewards for purchases on Amazon.com, travel, or gift cards for dining, entertainment, or shopping.

Officially, your cash back accumulates as Chsae Ultimate Rewards® points, a valuable and popular travel rewards currency. For reference, each point each one cent; therefore, the $50 bonus will hit your rewards account as 5,000 bonus points, which can be redeemed for $50 cash back (or any number of other ways).

CHASE FREEDOM® STUDENT APR

Ideally, if you're opening a credit card, you need to have a plan in mind to pay off your balance each billing cycle so that the APR doesn't ever affect you. If the APR does affect you, it means you're carrying a balance and racking up interest charges, and that is no way to start your credit card journey. If you're using the card, stick to a budget and pay it off every month.

That said, things happen and should you need to carry a balance, it's good to know that the CardName offers a relatively low APR for a student credit card – RegAPR. There is also a RegAPR APR for balance transfers and a cash_apr APR for cash advances.

Notice that cash advance APR is higher. That's important to keep in mind and to understand what a cash advance is. A cash advance is when you use your credit card to take money out of an ATM or otherwise make a withdrawl in cash. It's almost never a smart idea. That's because, as you can see, the APR on cash advances is higher for this card and basically any other credit card out there; additionally, interest on cash advances begins accuring immediately rather than ofter a grace period as is typical for interest on purchases. That means that you'll start paying interest on that cash advance right away and there's essientially no way to avoid it.

We've said it before, but it's worth repeating: Do everything you can to avoid owing interest charges on your credit cards. In this case, that means stay away from cash advances.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES OF CHASE FREEDOM® STUDENT

Unfortunately, this isn't the card to take along for your semester abroad, nor is it the one you want to use if you're buying something online in a foreign currency. That's because Chase Freedom ® Student charges foreign transaction fees – specificaly, foreign_fee. There are student card options that don't change this fee, so if you're headed abroad or even shopping abroad from the comfort of your own sofa, you may want to consider a different card (we give a few options below.

This card also charges a late payment fee that is, of course, entirely avoidable if you stay on top of your due dates, but, again, things happen and missing a due date in this case could set you back up to $39.

Lastly, and this isn't a huge deal, but if you're already thinking about travel rewards cards and rewards, be aware that the Chase Ultimate Rewards® points earned with this card aren't transferrable to travel partners. You can redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards® portal for travel, but the best value for Ultiate Rewards® points often comes by transferring the rewards to a travel partner and that's not an option here. That said, use this card responsibly during your student years, build a solid credit score and relationship with Chase and you could very well qualify for one of those premium cards, such as CardName, down the road. At that point, any Ultimate Rewards® points you earned with your student card could then be rolled under the Sapphire Preferred® card.

CHASE FREEDOM ® STUDENT CARDHOLDER SCORES

CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results:

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

HOW DOES CHASE FREEDOM ® STUDENT COMPARE TO OTHER STUDENT CARDS

Chase Freedom Student vs. CardName

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While both Chase Freedom® Student and CardName provide cash back rewards, the CardName card has higher potential cash back, offering 5% cash back when you activate on up to $1,500 spent in categories that rotate quarterly, as well as 1% on all other purchases. Also, the Discover card matches all cash back rewards earned, dollar-for-dollar, for new cardmembers; making the potential for high rewards even more attractive.

Additionally, with the CardName, cardholders can earn statement credit when they refer a friend and that friend is approved for the card.

If you travel a lot, you can benefit from the fact that the CardName card does not have charges for foreign transactions; however, the places that accept Discover internationally may be limited compared to those that accept a Visa or Mastercard.

Chase Freedom Student vs. CardName

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The CardName is similar to the Chase card in that it offers cash back on all purchases, however, the earn rate is a bit more with the Capital One card. Cardholders can earn a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases - plus 10% cash back on purchases made through Uber & Uber Eats, and complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024. The welcome bonus is similar, too. New CardName cardholders can earn an early spend bonus of $50 once spending $100 in the first three months. With the Chase card you just need to make a purchase, versus meeting a spend threshold to earn the bonus. That said, the spend threshold required to earn the bonus with the Capital One card is still very manageable.

The Capital One card doesn't offer an anniversary bonus, but this there are no annual fees or foreign transaction fees to worry about, so it's a good option for studying or traveling abroad.

Chase Freedom Student vs. CardName

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CardName could be considered a simplified version of the CardName card mentioned above. Rather than rotating quarterly rewards categories, CardName offers a straight 2% cash back for gas and restaurant purchases, on up to $1,000 in combined purchases per quarter with no need to sign up each quarter to take advantage. Outside of that you can earn unlimited 1% on all other purchases. CardName also offers an end-of-the-first-year cash-back matching bonus for all new cardmembers, so you'll enjoy a match of every dollar you've earned at the end of your first year. This compares to Chase Freedom Student's $50 bonus once making a purchase with the card within the first three months. Depending on how heavily you use your card, you stand to earn a much higher bonus with the Discover card.

Finally, the CardName does not charge an annual fee, or foreign transaction fees.

IS CHASE FREEDOM ® STUDENT A GOOD CARD?

CardName is a good starter card for students who are beginning to establish their credit history, particluarly if they have an interest in developing a relationship with Chase and a starter bank of Ultimate Rewards® points. Though some of the rewards are not as high are other cards, the rewards offered can still lead to significant savings and, more importantly, help students develop good habits when it comes to your credit card use.