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The Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students may not be the most well-known student credit card, but it's not for a lack of benefits. It offers everything from standard perks like cash back to unique features, including a spending credit with a furniture rental company. Perhaps best of all, this card is easy for most students to get, and that includes international students without a Social Security number.
This card has a lot of good points, but there are also a couple of issues you should know about. Find out if the card issuer deserves your business in our full Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students review.
Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Bottom Line
This card will allow students build credit while earning 1% cash back on all purchases. You can get reimbursed for Amazon Student Prime up to $59 if you purchase it with the card.
Rewards
Earn 1% cash back on all purchases
Annual Fee
$0
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Ongoing APR
18.74%, variable
Welcome Bonus
N/A
Highlights
- Earn 1% cash back on all purchases
- Sign up for an Amazon Prime Student subscription and get reimbursed up to a life-time total of $59
- Up to $5,000 credit limit
- No credit history required
- No social security number required for international students
- No deposit or cosigner required
Full Deserve Edu Student review
This credit card is a good fit for: Students getting started with credit who want a no-annual-fee cash back card. International students, in particular, can benefit from this card since they won't need a Social Security number to get it.
Pros
- No minimum credit score required
- No annual fee
- Cash back rewards
- Cell phone protection
- Amazon Prime Student credit
Cons
- Cash back redemption minimum
- No free credit score monitoring
- No bonus categories
Top perks
No annual fee: We always recommend students start with no-annual-fee credit cards, to avoid unnecessary expense and so they can keep the card open for years to come. Fortunately, the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students fits that bill.
1% cash back: This card earns an unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases.
Cell phone protection: Pay your monthly wireless bill with this card and you'll receive complimentary cell phone insurance. The plan covers damage and theft of your phone up to a limit of $600 per claim and $1,000 within a 12-month period, and there's a $50 deductible. It's still no fun to drop your phone, but at least you'll have peace of mind that you can get it fixed without dipping into your savings.
Complimentary Amazon Prime Student: If you use this card to pay for a subscription to Amazon Prime Student, you'll receive an automatic credit for the membership fee. The maximum benefit amount is $59, which is the cost of a one-year subscription.
Note that the monthly cost of Amazon Prime Student is $6.49 -- Amazon offers a discount when you pay for an entire year at once. Because Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students credits you up to $59, you should make sure that you choose the yearly payment option. If you choose the monthly payment option, the card will only cover nine months of service.
No foreign transaction fees: Whether you're traveling internationally for months to study abroad or just a week for spring break, you won't need to pay any foreign transaction fees with this card.
Available for international students: Most credit cards require that applicants have a Social Security number, and that makes it difficult for international students to open one.
If you're an international student, you can apply for the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students without a Social Security number. Instead, you'll need to provide a copy of your passport, your U.S. student visa, your most recent I-20 or DS-2019 form, and the most recent statements from your U.S. bank account.
$10 Lemonade credit: Lemonade offers renters and homeowners insurance plans. You'll receive this credit after paying for three consecutive Lemonade insurance statements with the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students.
$45 Mint Mobile credit: When you use your card to sign up and pay for any Mint Mobile wireless plan, you'll get a $45 statement credit. This offer is available through Nov. 23, 2020.
$100 off Feather subscription: Feather is a furniture rental service. If you sign up for a subscription with your card and enter the code DESERVE100, you'll get $100 off your first month. This service is only available in limited areas, and probably won't be in many students' budgets. But if you're interested in trying it out, the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students will save you $100.
What could be improved
$25 cash back redemption minimum: At the end of each billing period, Deserve calculates your cash back and applies it to your bill as a statement credit in increments of $25. If you aren't up to $25 yet, your cash back amount will roll over to the next billing period.
It can be frustrating that Deserve is so rigid with its cash back redemptions, because you can't get what you've earned right away. Since this card earns 1% back, your first redemption won't happen until you've spent at least $2,500. Some credit card companies let you redeem cash back of any amount, and that's much more convenient for cardholders.
No free credit score service: Many credit card companies provide your credit score, updated monthly, free of charge. This perk is especially nice to have for students who are building credit and want to see their progress. Although you can find free ways to check your credit online, it'd be easier if Deserve offered this service and you could view your score through your online credit card account.
No bonus rewards: The Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students doesn't offer any bonus categories where you'll earn extra cash back. It also doesn't have a sign-up bonus.
To be fair, this card is for students, and rewards aren't its focus. But some of the best student credit cards earn bonus rewards in select spending categories and/or offer sign-up bonuses.
Suggested credit score
There is no minimum credit score requirement to get a Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students. Since this is a student credit card that's also available to international students, you can even get it if you have no credit history.
If you're a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, Deserve may request that you connect your U.S. bank account during the application process. It does so to verify your address and your ability to pay credit card bills. You'll connect your account online through a secure service called Plaid.
Alternatives to consider
- If you want to earn higher rewards: The Discover it® Student Cash Back card offers up to 5% cash back in rotating categories you activate each quarter, up to a spending cap of $1,500 per quarter. Discover also matches the cash back you earn after your first year of using the card and gives you a statement credit of $20 each school year your GPA is a 3.0 or higher for up to five years.
- If you want to finance college costs at zero interest: You'll get a 0% APR on purchases for 12 months with the Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students. In addition to saving you money with that 0% APR offer, this card can also earn you lots of rewards, as it offers a sign-up bonus and lets you choose your own bonus category.
As of May. 03, 2021
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| Discover it® Student Cash Back |
Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students |
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Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. |
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Apply Now
On Discover's Secure Website. |
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| Read Full Review | |
| Rates & Fees | |
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Credit Rating Requirement: |
Credit Rating Requirement: |
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Welcome Bonus: Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. |
Welcome Bonus: $200 online cash bonus after spending $1,000 within 90 days of account opening |
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Rewards Program: 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically |
Rewards Program: 3% cash back in a category of your choice, 2% cash back on groceries both up to $2,500, and then 1% on all other purchases. |
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Intro APR: Purchases: 0%, 6 months Balance Transfers: 10.99%, 6 months |
Intro APR: Purchases: 0%, 15 billing cycles Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made within 60 days of account opening |
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Regular APR: 12.99% - 21.99% Variable APR |
Regular APR: 13.99% - 23.99%, variable |
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Annual Fee: $0 |
Annual Fee: $0 |
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Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Apply Now
On Discover's Secure Website. |
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This credit card is right for you if:
The Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students is a great fit for students, especially international students, who want to build credit. You can use it almost everywhere, both because it's a Mastercard, which means it's widely accepted, and because there's no foreign transaction fee. The card also offers some extras that could save you money, particularly the free year of Amazon Prime Student and cell phone insurance.
About the Author
Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
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The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Mastercard.
