NOTE: The Capital One Journey Student Rewards Credit Card is no longer available. Take a look at the Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Card or Capital One Quicksilver Rewards for Students instead.
MoneyGeek’s Take
Journey Student Rewards from Capital One Review
Students who have limited credit histories and plan to travel overseas can benefit from Capital One’s Journey Student Credit Card. It comes with no annual fee and lets you earn unlimited 1% cash back.
Updated: October 29, 2024
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- PROS
- Earn 1% cash back on all your purchases, with a jump to 1.25% cash back when you pay your bills on time.
- There is no annual fee or foreign transaction fee.
- After six months, Capital One will reexamine your credit profile to see if you are eligible for a higher credit line. This can give students more purchasing power and flexibility without opening another card.
CONS- High APR on purchases
- Lack of robust benefits
- Cardholders receive 1% cash back on all purchases.
- Pay your bill on time and receive a 0.25% cash back bonus on top of that.
- $0 fraud liability policy provides peace of mind.
- There are no foreign transaction fees, which is great for travelers.
- You have unlimited access to CreditWise from Capital One so you can check in on your credit profile at any time.
- There’s no cosigner required, although one may be helpful.
- When making purchases online, you can generate virtual card numbers so that your actual card number is kept private.
We follow a well-defined and streamlined methodology when reviewing credit cards. The process includes collecting information from Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s database, standardizing data points for easy comparison, estimating average spend profiles, determining long-term value and carrying out regular re-ranking.
The Journey Student Credit Card is best suited for students who are on the path to build their credit and wish to earn rewards along the way. While this card comes with a relatively high APR, you could still benefit from it if you don’t carry your balances from one month to the next. Not having to pay an annual fee helps, too. If you use this card outside of the U.S., you also stand to gain by paying no international transaction fees.
Journey Student Rewards Overview
With the Capital One Journey Student Rewards Card, you earn 1% cash back on all purchases, and you get an extra 0.25% back if you make your monthly repayments on time. The card features unlimited cash back, and your rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains active. You can redeem your cash back rewards in a few different ways:
Quick Take
- Cardholders receive 1% cash back on all purchases.
- Pay your bill on time and receive a 0.25% cash back bonus on top of that.
- $0 fraud liability policy provides peace of mind.
- There are no foreign transaction fees, which is great for travelers.
- You have unlimited access to CreditWise from Capital One so you can check in on your credit profile at any time.
- There’s no cosigner required, although one may be helpful.
- When making purchases online, you can generate virtual card numbers so that your actual card number is kept private.
Important Card Details
Regular APR
The Journey Student Rewards Credit Card comes with a fairly high variable APR of 29.74% that applies to purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. Additionally, balance transfers and cash advances start accruing interest from the date of the transaction. This APR may vary based on the prevailing prime rate published in The Wall Street Journal each quarter.
Cash Back Reward Rate
This card lets you get up to 1.25% cash back with no cap on the rewards you earn. If you spend $2,000 using this card, you stand to earn up to $25. With a card that offers 3% cash back, you would earn $60.
Balance Transfer APR and Fees
The variable APR that applies to balance transfers for this card is 29.74%. If you use this APR for a balance transfer, you pay no balance transfer fees. If you qualify for a promotional balance transfer APR at a later stage, a 3% fee on the transferred amount will apply. In this case, if you transfer $1,000, you'll end up paying $30 in balance transfer fees.
Additional Benefits
The Journey Student Rewards from Capital One card has many other features and benefits, including:
- Automatic credit line review: Capital One analyzes your credit profile and determines if you qualify for a higher credit line in as little as six months.
- Set up autopay: Use your card to set up automatic payments to go out from your account every month, and do away with the hassle of remembering due dates. You also get easy access to the list of merchants that charge your card monthly.
- Authorized user: Adding an authorized user to your card is simple, as is tracking the user’s spending.
- Balance transfer: While this card lets you transfer outstanding balances from existing cards, doing so might not be a great idea, given its high APR on balance transfers. If you qualify for a promotional APR at a later stage, you need to pay a balance transfer fee.
- Access to CreditWise: You get free and unlimited access to your credit score and other credit monitoring tools through CreditWise, which can help you stay on top of your finances and build a strong credit history. You can also receive alerts when there are changes in your TransUnion or Experian credit reports.
- Access to Eno: Eno is Capital One’s 24/7 digital assistant that you can use to pay your credit card bill and check your outstanding balance and recent transactions.
- Account security: Virtual card numbers help you keep your actual card number safe from the online world, and $0 fraud liability ensures that you don’t have to worry about unauthorized charges on your card.
- Emergency card replacement: This replaces your card if it’s lost or stolen. You can also lock your card through the Capital One mobile app.
- Customer service: Cardholders can contact a Capital One customer service representative, day or night. The company also allows you to place a collect call to its customer service team from outside the U.S.
- Customer satisfaction: Most cardholders have good things to say about the Journey Student Credit Card from Capital One, and its favorable reviews aren’t just from students. Capital One also took the top spot in J.D. Power’s 2020 National Banking Satisfaction Study.
How the Journey Student Rewards from Capital One Compares To Other Cards
This card holds its own against most other student cards because of its lack of annual and international transaction fees, as well as its high cash back rate. However, determining how it compares against other student cards essentially boils down to what you're looking for in a card.
In-Depth Credit Card Comparisons:
- Journey Student Rewards from Capital One vs Chase Freedom® Student credit card
- Journey Student Rewards from Capital One vs Capital One Quicksilver Student Rewards
- Journey Student Rewards from Capital One vs Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students
- Journey Student Rewards from Capital One vs Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students
How the Journey Student Rewards from Capital One Compares
Journey Student Rewards from Capital One
- Annual fee: $0
- Purchase APR: 29.74% variable
- International transaction fee: $0
- Cash back rate: Up to 1.25%
- Mini Verdict: Best suited for students who plan to travel overseas.
Chase Freedom® Student credit card
- Annual fee: $0
- Purchase APR: 19.24% variable
- International transaction fee: 3% of each transaction
- Cash back rate: 1%
- Mini Verdict: Ideal for students who plan to maintain revolving balances.
Frequently Asked Questions
You need limited to average credit to qualify for this card.
Yes, it does.
You cannot get pre-approval for the Journey Student Rewards from Capital One Card. The online application process can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes. While Capital One tries to provide its decision within 60 seconds, there are instances where your application might require additional processing or information. In such cases, you may receive further details via regular mail or email within 7–10 business days.
You need to provide personal information (name, date of birth and Social Security Number), contact information (residential address, email address and phone number) and financial information (annual income and monthly rent/mortgage) to apply.
Capital One as a company is rated highly for its customer service. While it can be difficult to determine the overall customer satisfaction associated with a card, the Journey Student Rewards card is one of the most frequently recommended cards for students.
Yes, you may use the Capital One website or mobile app to manage your Journey Student Rewards account and make payments.
A review of your Journey Student Rewards from Capital One Card's credit limit takes place automatically after the first six months. The bank does not charge any fee for this service.
You may block your card at any time by using the Capital One mobile app. You may also benefit through security alerts, $0 fraud liability and virtual card numbers.
Yes, it does. Some other popular Capital One credit cards include the Secured Mastercard, the Platinum Mastercard, the Venture Rewards Card and the QuicksilverOne Rewards Card.
The Journey Student Rewards from Capital One is no longer available.
All information about the Journey Student Rewards from Capital One has been collected independently by Moneygeek.com and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
About Doug Milnes, CFA
Doug Milnes is a CFA charter holder with over 10 years of experience in corporate finance and the Head of Credit Cards at MoneyGeek. Formerly, he performed valuations for Duff and Phelps and financial planning and analysis for various companies. His analysis has been cited by U.S. News and World Report, The Hill, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and many other outlets.
Milnes holds a master’s degree in data science from Northwestern University. He geeks out on helping people feel on top of their credit card use, from managing debt to optimizing rewards.
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