Discover® Student Open Road Card Review

The Discover® Student Open Road Card is Discover’s student version of its Open Road gas rewards credit card. One of the main benefits of this credit card is that it lets student earn extra rewards on gas and restaurant purchases with no annual fee. A second big benefit is the 0% introductory APR on purchases which lasts up to 9 months for those who qualify, of course.

Interest Rates and Fees

After the introductory purchases APR expires, the regular APR ranges from 12.99% to 19.99%, depending on your credit history. There’s a 23.99% cash advance APR and cash advance fee of  $10 or 5%, whichever is greater. If you fall behind on your credit card payments by more than 60 days or default on your credit card in some other way, the penalty APR will be between 17.99% and 24.99%, again based on your credit history. You’ll pay up to $35 fee on late and returned payments. All APRs are variable based on the Prime Rate and subject to change.

All foreign transactions are subject to a 2% foreign currency fee.

Reward Program

With the Discover Student Open Road credit card, you can earn double cashback (2%) on any gas station or restaurant purchase. Many other gas rewards card only reward gas purchases made at certain gas stations. However, you only earn rewards on your first $250 of purchases in these categories each month. Purchases after $250 earn rewards at the regular rate.

Non-gas station and restaurant purchases also earn rewards, but only at 0.25% for the first $3,000 in purchases each year. Purchases over $3,000 earn rewards at 1%.

When you shop at Discover’s online mall, your purchases aarn an extra 5% to 20% cashback bonus.

You can redeem rewards for gift cards, merchandise, donations to charity, or cash in increments of $20 or $50 depending on your reward type. If you want rewards deposited in your bank account or credited to your discover card, the minimum reward increment is $50. Other options let you redeem rewards in minimum increments of $20. Your account must be current and in good standing to redeem your rewards.

Versus Other Discover Credit Cards

The Student Open Road credit card is missing one of the biggest benefits that’s offered by the regular Open Road credit card – a free $250 Restaurant.com gift certificate with the first purchases. The regular Open Road credit card also has a longer APR period – 12 months – that also applies to balance transfers. Of course, the regular Open Road card is a little harder to qualify for than the Student Open Road credit card.

It’s also a little different from Discover’s other student credit card – the Discover Student More card which main reward benefit is the 5% cash back in categories that change throughout the year. Discover more doesn’t have a cap on the amount of 5% rewards that you can earn throughout the month or year. The rest of the reward program is the same.

Biggest Benefit

• No annual fee
• 0% introductory interest rate on purchases for 9 months

Drawbacks

Cap on the double cashback gas and restaurant purchases