Student Credit Card Review: Citi Dividend for College Students Worth It?

Citi® Dividend® Card for College Students Earn bonus cash back each quarter on new must-have categories– like department stores, travel and more, with enrollment Earn a full 1% cash back on all other purchases Free enrollment each quarter for new categories that earn additional cash back. Manage your account online, on your tablet or on your Smartphone No Annual Fee Go to issuer's official application, terms, and details Intro APR for Purchases Intro APR for Balance Transfer Regular APR Annual Fee 0% for 7 months N/A 13.99% - 23.99% (Variable) $0

Interest Rates

This card comes with a 7-month 0% introductory purchase APR . After this introductory period, the purchase APR for the card can be as low as 13.99% or as high as 23.99% depending on your creditworthiness. There is no introductory rate for balance transfers and the cash advance APR is 25.24%.

Cash Back

Cardholders also have the ability to earn additional cash back for purchases in various merchant categories that rotate throughout the year, such as department stores, travel, and more. You do have to enroll to receive the bonus cash back.

All other purchases earn a full 1% cash back throughout the year, making it easy to get extra money to put in savings so you can afford to do something special for spring break.

Cash back is accumulated in the form of Dividend Dollars, which can be redeemed for cash in $50 increments. You can earn a maximum of 300 Dividend Dollars per year. This cap may or may not be a problem for you, depending on how many purchases you charge to your card and the bonus rate they earn. Dividend Dollars do not expire as long as your account stays active.

Fraud Protection

Most of us make quite a lot of our purchases online these days, which opens us up to the risk of fraud. Citi has built in some added protections to this card to help keep your account and identity safe. Their Virtual Account Numbers, for example, generates a substitute credit card number so you don’t have to share your real number with an unknown online merchant.

You also receive $0 Fraud Liability so you won’t have to pay a single cent for any unauthorized charges that are made with your card. Cardholders also receive identity theft assistance in the event that they do become victim to identity theft.

Extra Protections

In addition to providing its cardholders with cash rewards, this card also keeps them protected. These extras include car rental insurance, travel accident insurance, retail purchase protection and an extended warranty service.

The purchase protection program makes it so most items purchased with your Citi Card are protected against theft, fire or accidental breakage for up to 90 days from the date of purchase. If these events happen during the covered time frame, you can be reimbursed up to $1,000.

The extended warranty will extend manufacturers’ U.S. warranties of one year or less for up to one additional year when you purchase items with your card. This can be a huge cost savings for products like computers and televisions.

Pros

• Cash back program with rotating bonus categories
  
• Introductory 0% purchase APR for 7 months
  
• Fraud protection, purchase protection, and other ‘extras’
  
• No annual fee

Cons

• No introductory rate for balance transfers
  
• Annual maximum of 300 Dividend Dollars
  
• Dividend Dollars can only be redeemed for cash

Bottom Line

The Citi Dividend Card for College Students is a good fit for students who will spend a moderate amount in the card’s bonus categories and want cash rewards for their spending, along with bonus protections. Students who are high spenders or want to transfer a balance should look elsewhere.

(Writing by Meghan, Editing by Erin K)