Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students Review

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Top Features

• Rewards
• points_per_dollar
• Welcome Bonus
• bonus_miles bonus_miles_disclaimer
• Regular APR
• reg_apr,reg_apr_type

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Credit Score: credit_score_needed

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CardName essentials

Getting a rewards credit card as a student can be tough, and getting a rewards credit card as an international student can feel next to impossible. With the CardName though, it’s simple.

Not only does the CardName not require a credit history, it also doesn’t require a social security number from international applicants, making it a solid choice for international students studying in America. Instead, Deserve looks at your full financial picture considering a number of factors, like how you manage your money, if you pay your bills on time, etc., to predict your future credit potential.

When it comes to earning rewards on purchases, the offering isn’t stellar, but it’s solid, at 1% cash back earned on every dollar spent. There’s a generous credit limit, up to $5,000, and this card includes a plethora of Mastercard Platinum benefits, such as cell phone insurance (up to $600 when you use your card to pay your cell phone bill), car rental collision damage waiver, price protection, extended warranty, travel assistance services, and ID theft protection, as well. New cardholders can receive one year of Amazon Prime Student on Deserve after spending $500 in the first three billing cycles with your EDU card. Plus, there’s no annual fee.

What our editors like most about the CardName

College is a great time to work on your credit history, and the CardName helps students do just that. Because no credit history is required to apply for this card, it opens up opportunities for students of all credit backgrounds– or no credit background at all. How easy it is for international students to apply is also nice. Many international students spend four years or more in the United States for school. That’s a significant amount of time for someone to go without a credit card– if they want to use a credit card that is. There’s also no foreign transaction fees associated with this card, so it’s a great one to use while vacationing or studying abroad, or for international students to use on trips home. Plus no annual fee, a year of free Amazon Prime Student, and rewards earned on every purchase made are all nice perks.

Potential downsides of the CardName

For starters, there is the APR. At RegAPR, that’s somewhat high, though it’s kind of in the middle of the range that many comparable student credit cards offer. If all goes well, you’ll pay the balance in full every month and the interest rate will be a moot point, but if something does go wrong and you can’t pay your balance in full for a while, you could end up spending a lot in interest.

However, while the APR is a bit high, there isn’t a penalty rate if you’re late making a payment, and the $25 late fee (waived the first time you pay late) you’ll pay for a late payment is lower than a lot of late fees on other credit cards.

Also, and this may seem like a downside, but it’s really not: you can’t take out cash advances with this credit card. Many credit cards will let you take out cash advances, and that can be very helpful if you’re in a financial jam, but the interest rates are generally higher for cash advances than regular borrowing, and the interest kicks in immediately, from the moment you take that cash. So doing a cash advance with a credit card is an expensive form of borrowing, and frankly, you’re probably better off not having a cash advance "perk" on your credit card, especially while you’re trying to build your credit.

CardName Cardholder Scores

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

Is CardName a good card?

We think so. But is it a card you should get? That’s a decision only you can make. The best applicant for the CardName is a college student who doesn’t have much of a credit history and doesn’t want to rely on a cosigner– and would like to earn some rewards for making purchases.

And if you like the idea of getting Amazon Prime Student for a year, then that’s another selling point.

Deserve Mastercards are issued by Celtic Bank, Member FDIC