The Chase +1 Student Credit Card can be enjoyed without worrying about an annual fee. Card holders can earn “Karma” points which can be used for donating to charities, toward merchandise, or share with friends. It has a high variable APR at 21.24% or 17.24% but a tie up with social networking site FaceBook make this card the coolest credit card for students.

The card also charges reasonable late payment fees while there is no over the limit fee too. Basically, the card can teach students good financial behavior with rewards going to those who behave right and penalties for going a bit too carefree with your spending.

How the card works

The Chase +1 Student Card is a valid card issued by a major US bank. It is made available for students who does not have a credit history or is just starting to build one.

Instead of the usual reward points for every dollar spent, the student card holders will get Karma points for behaving well towards a good credit. Things like completing a quiz on credit essentials and paying their bills on time will win them some Karma points.

These Karma points can be used to purchase goods from Chase +1 online store (concert tickets, cameras, MP3 players, and other hip things students love), donate to charity, or send to friends on Facebook. The Chase +1 card teaches student well on how they can build their credit properly. I am not sure why will be giving my Karma points away unless I take some good Karma back.

Benefits

Automatically get 20 Karma points the first time you use the Chase +1 Student Card to buy something, issue a convenience check, or when you transfer some balance to the card.

When you pay the bill on time and every month the card is in good standing, Chase will give you additional 2 Karma points. Additional 8 points can be earned if you pay on time and do not go over your credit limit for six consecutive months.

Fees

Students will love this card cause it does not have an annual fee. The structure of charges for late fees is also very reasonable. It will cost you $15 for balances through $100. Balances through $250 will charge a late fee of $29 while $39 will apply for balances of $250 and up.

The card does not charge any over the limit fee but you still have to be very careful cause it will punish you with a stiff APR of 29.99% when you spend too much or have a late payment. Of course, no Karma points for you for that month. You will also not qualify for the bonus points.

Cash advance fee is about 4% but not lower than $10. Balance transfer has also the same rate but not going below $5.

Pros and Cons

This credit card is really student friendly with all the positive features like:

• No annual fees
• No over the limit fees
• Good and fun reward points structure
• Provides great tools for students to learn credit building
• Linked with Facebook
• Encourages donation to charity
• Gives a 20-day grace period

Only downside for this card is the high APR.

Verdict

If you are a student who is still trying to build a good credit history, you should really consider getting the Chase +1 Student Credit Card. The APR is a bit high compared to other cards but the other features make it worth while. It is fun to use but then teaches you a lot about establishing a good credit.

The credit card can teach you how to be responsible coming with excellent tools and tips so you will develop good financial habits.

Citibank launched the Citi Forward Card for College Students primarily targeting the mySpace and FaceBook crowd which belongs to the younger segment of the market. The Citi Forward College Student Card is a rewards credit card that works on the ThankYou Redemption Network program.

Basically, the card holder is rewarded with 5 points for every dollar that he or she spends for dining, music, movies, and books using the Citi Forward card. Your Thank Points can reach 75,000 if they accumulate between January and December. The points you earn every month expires 5 years after they were earned.

Citi Forward Card Rates and Fees

Like most card being offered in the market today, the Citi Forward Card for College Students does not collect any annual fees.

The variable rate of 13.99% plus the prime rate makes up your APR. For a teaser, Citibank offers 0% APR for the first 6 months of balance transfers and purchases. Balance transfers are charged 3% or a minimum of $5.

Credit Card Bonuses

When you sign-up for the Citi Forward Card for College Students, Citi gives you 6000 ThankYou Points when you complete $50 of purchases for the first 3 months. Going for electronic statements within the first 3 months earns you 5,000 thank you points.

When you pay on time every month, Citi also gives you 100 extra points as a reward. So in a year, that will be around 1200 ThankYou points which is not really a big deal since it is only $12 of rewards.

The Citi Forward is a very good card if you belong to the young crowd which often spends on books, music, dining, and music. We do not recommend the card if you frequently travel or spend heavily on gas or regularly spends hundreds for groceries. The reward pattern of the card is not primarily designed for a head of the family but it can be a good supplement if your main credit card does not give extra points when you buy CDs and stuff like that.

The Discover Student credit card is specifically designed to fit the lifestyle of college students who are usually on a tight budget. So we are putting on the spotlight the most important features of the card: No annual fees, low APR, and good cash back system.

The Discover Student credit card is the best student credit card in the market right now. It has no annual fees and gives 0% APR for the first 6 months of the card and a varying 14.99% after. Students can also choose from about 100 credit card designs to make sure that the design of their credit card fits their hip lifestyle.

This Student credit card works like the Discover More card. It is packed with a great cash back bonus program that allows you to get the following:

How the Reward System Works

The rebate formula for the Discover Student credit card works on a tiered scheme. The first $1500 of spending annually earns the card holder 0.25%. The next purchases through $3000 earn0.50% rebate. The amount that will exceed the $3000 line will earn a 1% rebate. They also give you a 0.25% rebate if you shop at certain discount clubs, warehouse stores, and other partner shops. All in all, you can get a rebate of about $500 per year.

Discover also runs a program which gives 5% rebates for rotating categories. The 1st quarter of the year gives you rebates for cruises, car rentals, hotels, and airlines. Q2 gives you rewards for fashion retailers and home improvement shops. The 3rd quarter is for hotels, gas, and theme parks. The Q4 spotlights movies, restaurants, and grocery stores.

Online Shopping with Discover Student

The Discover Student card also works well with the shopdiscover.com program. Card holders can log on to their Discover account and shop online through the partner retailer shops that can track your spending. Discover has over 100 top brand partners which can give you 5% to 20% discounts.

If you are a college student, you can never go wrong with Discover Student credit card. The customer service also gets good feedback from consumers who use the card regularly.