Journey (SM) Student Rewards from Capital One®

Parents, legislators and consumer advocates have debated the merits of student credit cards over the past few years, especially after allegations of questionable marketing practices on college campuses. That's why it's great to see how Capital One has promoted its Journey Student Rewards credit card as an effective tool for young Americans to build good financial habits. This credit card for limited credit uses Capital One's features, benefits and customer service as incentives to reward responsible saving and spending.

Teaching students the benefits of credit cards over prepaid debit cards According to research conducted by Auriemma Consulting Group, consumers born after the 1980s tend to rely more on checking account debit cards and on prepaid debit cards instead of on credit cards for daily purchasing. They tend to manage money well, but may be missing out on some of the biggest benefits of using credit cards. Journey Student Rewards offers Visa Platinum benefits that include:

• $0 fraud liability. Debit cards that get lost or stolen can put your cash at risk, at least for a little while. Capital One protects its cardholders from paying charges made without permission.
• Travel assistance services. Studying abroad and setting out on spring break become safer and simpler with help from a 24-hour response team that can dispatch replacement credit cards and cash advances.
• Travel accident insurance. Purchase your train or plane tickets with Journey Student Rewards, and Capital One provides coverage for your trip.
• Rental car insurance. Occasional drivers will appreciate automatic collision, damage, and loss insurance included when you reserve your rental car with Journey Student Rewards.
• Extended warranty coverage. Even if you use some of your credit line to splurge on jewelry, electronics or appliances, you'll appreciate automatic warranty extensions that come with your Capital One credit card.

Like other Capital One credit cards, Journey Student Rewards doesn't charge fees for foreign transactions or currency conversion, making it an ideal travel companion for quick overseas trips or extended stays abroad. You can even transfer a balance from another card at no charge, something for which other credit cards charge up to 5 percent.

Using today's technology to manage a student credit card Even with a strong slate of premium features, Journey Student Rewards really shines by connecting cash back rebates to responsible credit card use. In addition to the 1 percent rebate common among many of today's best cash back rewards cards, Journey Student Rewards offers a 25-percent bonus rebate for cardholders who pay their bills on time. To help keep you from missing your payment or exceeding your credit line, Capital One has set up an elaborate online system that triggers text or email alerts when your account's in danger. You can even help prevent fraud by enabling other notifications for daily card transactions.

Should you switch to Journey Student Rewards? You won't really be able to switch to Journey Student Rewards unless you're a young adult ready to trade in your authorized user status on a parent's account for your very first individual credit card. Capital One doesn't make Journey Student Rewards available to co-applicants, so you'll have to wait until you're at least 21 years old before you can complete their instant approval application. As you get older and gain more money management experience, you'll certainly qualify for credit cards with better interest rates. Until then, Journey Student Rewards is one of the best cash back credit cards you'll find. This card is best for students and other young adults who want to get a head start on a solid credit history without the help of a co-signer. Sure, Journey Student Rewards offers many of the same features as other Capital One credit cards. However, it wraps those rewards and benefits into language designed to ease first-time credit card users into a money management system that's not restrictive. The program's emphasis of rewards and benefits helps students learn the reasons why you might choose to swipe credit cards instead of debit cards at the checkout counter, without running the risk of going deeply into debt.