Travel has now become an essential component of students’ lives given the increasing use of technology in modern society.
Education, work, conferences and cultural exchanges all fall under the category of travel, which enriches people’s experiences.
Nevertheless, the issue of finances seems to be a major area of concern for students, especially with regard to travel. Credit cards can be of some help by enabling students to meet their travel costs in a systematic way,
while also taking advantage of bonus features such as rewards, cash back and discounts. The most famous offer out of all the available options is the Discover Student Travel Card.
We will tell you how students can get instant value from this card as well as the potential hurdles they may face.
Discover Student Travel Card explanation
The Discover Student Travel Card is actually a student credit card that targets students with strings attached to enabling them to earn travel rewards while at the same time improving on their credit scores.
The credit card is a member of the Discover student credit cards that targets to enable the student get an independent source of funding together with reward points.
This is unlike the general travel cards where an applicant is typically needed to have good to excellent credit rating; this credit card targets the college students who may hardly have any credit scores.
This card commonly known as the Discover Student Travel Card has other special privileges such as, cash-back, no annual fee and 0% purchase intro APR.
It also pays much attention student benefits such as having no foreign transaction fees particularly if students conduct their affairs in other countries.
The following are the features of the Discover Student Travel Card
The Discover Student Travel Card provides sensible features and options for students who travel, but not necessarily frequently,
making the card suitable for all students as general travel credit cards are not as useful. Some of its core features include:Some of its core features include:
No Annual Fee: The students do not have to part with some cash in other to retain the card. This is a definite advantage in that it does not cost much to use them due to the possible cost implication in hiring an expert consultant to advise one in the matter.
Cash Back Rewards: The Discover Student Travel Card come with cash back benefit on any purchases made. Students also get 1% cash back on all their purchases and up to 5% cash back on the categories that change every quarter for instance dining places, gas stations, or any online store.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: This is a plus for the students doing studies or travelling to other countries. The majority of the credit cards normally attract a foreign transaction fee of about $2-$3, but Discover has no foreign transaction fee and this can save a student some amount of money while making purchase in another country.
0% Introductory APR: For the new cardholders, Discover provides an initial interest free grace period of the first 6 months on the purchases made and then a cash back and reward starting APR of 15% onwards. 24% and 24. 24%, depending on creditworthiness.
$20 Good Grade Reward: Discover motivates students to perform well academically by giving them $20 each year that they make a 3 on their GPA scale. 0 or higher. Knowing that there will be no exams may at the same time be a driving force for learning to see how things work instead of preparing to take tests can be an extra motivation for students.
Credit Score Monitoring: Free FICO scores are made available by Discover to allow students manage as well as improve their credit score effectively.
Travel-Related Benefits: Despite the fact that there is no specific travel points being offered in the card, cash back earned can be easily used to fund for travels such as flights, hotels, and transportation.
About the Discover Student Travel Card
Discover Student Travel Card is beneficial for students in many ways and it also has some amazing features which are given below
a) Easy Access for Beginners
A Debit card perhaps the greatest advantage which Discover Student Travel Card holds is that it is available to students with no credit.
It is also imperative that most of the travel cards demand the card holder to have a credit history, a score that most students would not have.
Compared with other credit card providers, Discover entails forgiving requirements for its approval to allow the students to own a credit card as they begin improving their score.
b) No Extra Fees
The card is mostly free to use and attract no fee most of the times. This credit card does not come with any annual or foreign transaction fee meaning that students will not be shocked by other obscure charges on their limited incomes.
c) Cash Back Flexibility
While there are other travel cards giving out miles or points that can only be used with particular airlines or hotels, Discover let card holder spend the cash back bonuses received anytime. The following results in the students having more control over how they would like to utilize their incentives.
d) Reward for Good Academic Performance
These include the $20 Good Grade Reward that a student is supposed to lose for a 3. This is a bonus that cannot be found in any other card and links it to the performance in class, GPA of 0 or higher. For the students, it is beneficial as they can make some money and at the same time study since they will not be working for long hours.
e) No Penalty for Missed First Payment
It is worth recognizing that Discover card extends a kind of a grace period through the policy of not charging the client with a late payment fee if their payment is made one month behind the due date. This goes a long way in helping those students who are still in the learning process of taking financial responsibility.
Comparison with Other Student Travel Cards
When assessing the Discover Student Travel Card one has to compare it with the other credit cards for students. Some popular alternatives include:
a) Journey Student Rewards from Capital One
Annual Fee: $0
Rewards: One percent for all purchases with an extra 25 percent for on time payments in cash.
Foreign Transaction Fee: This was a very specific term with no possible comparative form; in other words, it was not a ‘comparandible to. ’
Though both of them are similar in the context of the rewards and fee based on the card, Capital One’s Journey card comes with the added bonus of accumulating more cash back in the event of on time payments.
Yet, its Discover’s 5% cashback offered on its categories that change every month may be more appealing depending on the user’s spending.
b) Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students
Annual Fee: $0
Rewards: That’s 5 points for every dollar spent.
Foreign Transaction Fee: That is the only thing which can be said on this issue.
In terms of collecting reward point, this card is however more inclined towards travelling. Nevertheless, there is no bonus cashback categories and rewards for good grades which makes Discover Student Travel Card beneficial for
Appropriate Application of Hadoop for Students
From the above details we glean that who do the Discover Student Travel Card most?
a) Students Studying Abroad
International travelers and students who intend to study in other countries will benefit a lot from the removal of the foreign transaction fees. No foreign purchase cost and the worldwide swipe of the card enables students to use their money without having other additional charges to make.
b) Frequent Travelers
This way students who travel a lot to different destinations for various reasons such as excursions, research trips, vacations among others can use the 5% cashback categories to cater for the amount they spend on travel. Spendback which is a type of reward earned can be used to help students travel since it can be used to offset the cost of travel.
c) New Credit Builders
It is suitable for students who have no or had a low credit score since the card’s approval is relatively easy. The credit card does not have an annual fee and the first six months have a 0 % APR which makes it possible for students to only concentrate on their credit score.
Here’s who has used the Discover Student Travel Card in the real world
Here’s a list of some people who have used the Discover Student Travel Card and had unique experiences
Jessica R. (Sophomore at UC Berkeley): “I really like this Discover Student Card! I travelled to Europe for a semester and did not have to pay for under foreign transaction fees. Once I travelled and got back home, the cash back benefits helped me partially pay for my flight.
Michael T. (Freshman at NYU): Credit is not something that I am familiar with so, Discover card was ideal for me The application was so easy and I have already used my cash back on books.
Sarah P. (Junior at University of Texas): “The motivation behind the Good Grades reward is quite enjoyable and cumulatively good since I was anyway focusing on my GPA for my grades, besides I want to go for a tour next summer and I will be using the above mentioned reward money for the same partly”.
How to Apply for Discover Student Travel Card
To be able to apply for the Discover Student Travel Card it doesn’t require a lot of procedures and formalities. Here’s how:
1. Visit Discover’s Website: Visit discover’s castle for student credit cards’ and then choose the travel card.
2. Complete the Application: Give and enter simple demographic and financial details. Unlike other credit cards, Discover lays emphasis on your student status and your capability to use the card in the best way possible instead of the length of credit history.
3. Approval Process: In most of the cases, the students get the outcome of their decision in a few minutes. This is done according to the student status, income and more with little emphasis on credit history.
4. Card Delivery: Once approved you get the card through the mail in the next 7-10 business days.
Potential Challenges and Drawbacks
While the Discover Student Travel Card offers several benefits, it does come with a few limitations
Limited Acceptance Abroad: Discover if not as popular as Visa or MasterCard throughout the world. The students need to have an additional means of paying for the expenditures they might encounter when they are in areas that might not honor Discover cards.
Rotating Cashback Categories: To a greater extent, the 5% cashback offers are well forthcoming though the availability keeps changing on a quarterly basis. This means that the students have to be keen in order to increase their benefits as much as possible.