MBNA College Student Credit Cards

MBNA College Student Credit Cards Offered

MBNA offers thirty-five credit cards affiliated with specific colleges and universities and one general college student credit card. Each credit card is issued by MBNA, through MasterCard, Visa or American Express. These cards offer competitive rates, cash-back bonus, airline rewards and much more. The special offers as well as interest rates vary by card issuer.

Visa and MasterCard

Platinum Plus Cardholder

• 4.9% introductory annual percentage rate (APR) – The introductory APR lasts for a period of six months and applies to all purchases, balance transfers, ATM withdrawals and cash advance checks made during that time period.
• 9.9% APR – This standard annual percentage rate applies to only purchases and balance transfers after the introductory period has ended. ATM withdrawals and cash advance check interest rates increase to 19.99% after the first six months.
• Zero Fraud Liability – If unauthorized purchases are charged to your MasterCard account, you will not be held liable for those purchases.
• No annual fees
• No need for a co-signor
• Your school receives donations – If your college or university is one of the thirty-five school affiliated credit cards offered by MBNA, a donation will be made to your school with every new purchase made with your MBNA student credit card.

Preferred Cardholder

MasterCard Preferred Cardholders receive all the same benefits as the Platinum Plus Cardholders with the exception of a higher standard interest rate of 15.99% after the introductory period has ended.

American Express

• 4.9% introductory APR applies to balance transfers and cash advance checks only, for a six month period.
• 11.99% APR –Applies to all purchases, balance transfers, cash advance checks and ATM withdrawals after the introductory period has ended.
• Zero Fraud Liability
• No annual fees
• Your college or university receives a donation for every purchase made and every new American Express student credit card account that is opened.
• Earn points on your purchases for cash-back rewards.
• Earn airline rewards with no blackout dates every time you make a purchase.
• Receive American Express special card member services – These services include discounts at hotels, retailers and restaurants worldwide.
• Earn an unlimited amount of points each year.
• Points do not expire for five years
• Earn 1 point for every $1 you spend on purchases (not including tax).
• Get your own personal assistant – American Express offers MyConcierge, a personal assistant service its cardholders.

Important Things to Remember

Establishing credit around college age is a perfect time to begin building a good credit history. This is the credit that will stay follow you from college life into your life beyond academia. Your credit rating affects many different parts of your life such as:

• Employment – Many employers, especially if the job entails anything that has to do with money or financial instruments (stocks, bonds, commodities, etc.,) will run a credit check before you are hired.
• Car insurance – A lot of insurance companies now use your credit score as a basis for determining your car insurance rates.
• Buying a home – When you are in college, buying a home seems like a long way off but it really isn't. Negative credit items stay on your credit report for seven years. If you are chronically late on your credit card payments or if your account is closed due to non-payment when you are a senior in college (the average college senior being about 22-23 years old), it follows you until you are 29 or 30. The effect? You will end up paying a higher interest rate on your home loan, which will cost you tens-of-thousands of dollars in interest payments for a 30-year mortgage.

A Quick Note about MBNA

It should be mentioned, that Bank of America now owns MBNA. The MBNA college student credit cards previously offered are now Bank of America student credit cards. If you are looking for more information on MBNA/Bank of America student credit cards, visit the Bank of America website..