Citi Rewards+ Student Review: Score Extra Points on Purchases

Citi offers the Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card with an above-average rewards rate, but otherwise isn’t feature-rich. Like other student credit cards, it’s intended for students who don't spend much and haven't built credit yet.

But its rewards -- alongside and an innovative feature that rounds your points up -- might make it worthwhile. Thanks to those benefits, this card could help students save some money every year while they improve their credit scores. Read our full Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card review below to see if this is the card for you.

This credit card is a good fit for: Students interested in earning rewards while building a credit history. Those who make lots of inexpensive purchases will benefit the most from how this card rounds up rewards.

Top perks

2 points per $1 spent at supermarkets and gas stations: This rate applies to the first $6,000 you spend per year at supermarkets and/or gas stations. After you've hit that spending cap, additional spending in these categories earns the card's standard rate of 1 point per $1.

For students who commute to school by car and make most of their meals at home (even if those meals usually come out of a box), the bonus rewards could earn you as much as three figures per year as you use this card to build your credit.

Purchases round up to the nearest 10 points: The most unique feature on this card is that it rounds purchases up to the nearest 10 points. On purchases that earn 2 points per $1, the round-up feature kicks in after your rewards are doubled. For example, Citi would round a $23 supermarket purchase up from 46 to 50 points.

If you're the type of college student who makes many small purchases, then you'll probably love this perk. A $3 slice of pizza, a $2 coffee, and even a $0.50 pack of gum would each earn you 10 points.

2,500-point sign-up bonus: You earn this bonus after spending $500 within the first three months. Because rewards points can be worth $0.01 apiece, this bonus is effectively worth $25. Although this is far smaller than the biggest sign-up bonuses, it's not bad for a student credit card.

On the subject of sign-up bonuses, here's a word of warning: Citi lets you earn only one sign-up bonus on any of the cards in its ThankYou® Rewards program every 24 months. For most students, this won't be a big deal. But if you have the income and credit to qualify for Citi's other rewards cards, you may want to consider one with a more valuable sign-up bonus. Otherwise, if you sign up for the Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card, which has a comparatively small bonus, you'd be ineligible to receive another sign-up bonus for two years.

10% back when you redeem your points: You get 10% of your points back on the first 100,000 that you redeem per year. For example, on a 10,000-point redemption, Citi would give you 1,000 points back.

0% intro APR: You won't pay any interest on purchases for the first seven months that you have this card. Keep in mind that even when you're not being charged interest, you still need to make at least your minimum payment every month. Otherwise, Citi can charge you a late payment fee.

This intro offer can be useful if you have any big expenses that you can't quite pay for up front, such as textbooks, course fees, or moving costs. But with 0% intro APR offers like this one, it's important that you pay off the balance in full before the intro period ends. Don't use the intro offer as an excuse to spend more, because that's one way that consumers end up deep in credit card debt.

No annual fee: When you're a student on a limited income, keeping costs down is a must. The Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card helps with that, because it's a no annual fee card.

Learn more: Best Rewards Credit Cards

What could be improved

Points are transferable only to JetBlue: Although the ThankYou® Rewards program has many airline partners, the Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card lets you transfer your points only to JetBlue at a 5:4 ratio. It doesn't allow you to transfer points to any of the other airline partners in the ThankYou® Rewards program, as some of Citi's other cards do. This lack of transfer options limits how much value you can get from your points.

The other redemption options with this card are:

• Gift cards
• Travel purchases
• Shopping with points at Amazon.com or BestBuy.com

You get a rate of $0.01 per point on gift cards and travel purchases, so those are the only two smart ways to use your points. When you shop with points, the standard rate is $0.008 per point, so you should avoid redeeming your rewards this way.

For more choices, take a look at our picks for the best travel rewards credit cards.

Foreign transaction fee: You'll pay a 3% fee on foreign transactions, so this card isn't a good choice if you plan to study abroad or take vacations outside the United States.

See more options: Best Student Credit Cards

While this credit card is designed for students, you'll still need to have good credit -- a FICO^® Score of 670 or higher -- for the best shot at approval. That said, folks with scores in the low to mid-600s might still have a chance, and good or excellent credit doesn't guarantee approval.

Read more: Best Credit Cards for Good Credit

The Citi Rewards+℠ Student Card is a solid student credit card without any glaring flaws. Although it could work out well for just about any student, it's a particularly good option if either of the following is true:

• Most of your spending consists of purchases of under $20. Because of the card's round-up feature, it's extra valuable when you use it for many small transactions.
• You drive to school and typically eat at home, which means you can take advantage of the bonus points this card earns on gas and groceries.

Our credit card methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.