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Best Credit Cards for School Shopping in March 2022 – CNET [CNET]
Kids often need plenty of supplies throughout the year, from backpacks and clothing to notebooks and project materials. College students face even heftier charges, with books, furnishings and other living expenses adding up on top of tuition. If you’re on the hook for purchases like these, rewards credit cards can earn points, miles or cash back on every purchase. Making use of credit card rewards isn’t just about racking up free travel; you can earn rewards for less glamorous expenses, including shopping for school needs.
As always, shopping with a credit card must be done strategically and with some degree of discipline. If you’re not paying off your balance monthly, what you pay in interest may exceed any rewards (or welcome bonus) you might earn. The partner offers featured below were selected based on having no annual fee and the best spread of benefits for those looking to maximize their school budget.
Read more: Best student credit cards
- Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases
Our Take
The Wells Fargo Active Cash℠ Card* offers the best of all worlds for school shopping. If you plan to spend at least $1,000 over the course of three months, you earn a $200 cash rewards welcome bonus. You’ll also earn a 2% flat in cash rewards on every single purchase, even those that count toward your spending threshold to unlock the welcome bonus. And if you need a little extra time to pay off your school supplies, you can take advantage of this card’s 0% introductory APR offer on purchases for 15 months.
Incentivize paying off your purchases with extra cash-back
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
Our Take
The Citi Double Cash Card offers one of the simplest ways to earn cash back quickly. You’ll earn a flat rate of 2% without having to worry about making purchases from only qualifying retailers or having to think about spending categories. The catch: 1% is awarded at the time of purchase and the other 1% when you pay off the balance. The good news is, this method is like earning an award for paying off your credit card.
For school supplies on Amazon
- 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market with eligible Prime membership*
- 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores*
- 1% back on all other purchases*
Our Take
The pandemic further strengthened Amazon’s stranglehold on e-commerce. Let’s face it: Ordering from Amazon is fast, cheap and easy. There’s no need to drive around looking for specific items from the school supply list any longer — if you need it, it’s probably on Amazon and can be at your doorstep the same or next day. And, if you’re trying to support more local businesses, you can buy school supplies from small businesses on Amazon — you can even narrow in by region.
The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card* benefits are enhanced when combined with a Prime membership (which costs $119 per year, but will be bumped to $139 per year after March 25, 2022). You can quickly redeem your rewards at checkout or request cash or gift cards to use elsewhere. In addition, college students or parents who are building credit may be able to get approved with a less-than-perfect credit score. Amazon’s card preapproval tool can tell you if you’re prequalified in just a few seconds with no effect on your credit report, so you can get an idea of your chances of approval before you apply.
Furnish a dorm room at Target
Our Take
The REDcard credit card* can earn you 5% off your purchases online, in-store and at Starbucks located within Target stores. This can come in handy particularly if you’re furnishing or a dorm room. The card comes with plenty of perks that regular Target shoppers can make use of, long after the school season is over. Among them is free shipping for most Target.com purchases and an extra 30 days for returns.
- Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and when you pay using PayPal, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
- Earn 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
Our Take
If you have some big school shopping lined up and need some breathing room, the Discover it Cash Back* card provides you with over a year (15 months 0% intro APR) to pay off your purchases interest-free (11.99% to 22.99% variable APR thereafter). As long as you’re smart about paying off the balance before the 15 months are up, you effectively get a free loan to cover your school-related expenses. Discover will also match your first year’s rewards — so if you accrue $300 in rewards within your first year, you could receive up to another $300 in rewards from Discover.
To get the most out of this card, you’ll want to shop strategically based on quarterly rotating categories that earn you 5% cash back upon activation (on up to $1,500 in quarterly purchases, then 1%) — you’ll get 1% back on all other purchases. For January through March 2022, you’ll get 5% back at grocery stores and fitness clubs, including gym memberships. From April through June, you’ll get 5% cash back at gas stations and Target. July through September nets you 5% on restaurants and PayPal, and October through the rest of the year will switch to Amazon.com and digital wallets. Remember, you must manually activate each category through your online account to get the bonus.
FAQs
How much do people typically spend shopping for school?
The average family with school-aged children in the US spends roughly $850 a year on school supplies in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation. This figure is up 7% year over year from 2020.
According to College Board, for the 2020 to 2021 school year, college students in four-year institutions averaged $1,240 just in books and other course materials. Other expenses, like room and board, transportation and tuition, add up to tens of thousands of spending in a year.
How can I save money while school shopping?
Avoid overspending with a budget based on the supplies you need and how much you’re willing to spend. Stick tight to your plan and avoid getting swayed by trendy school fashion or sought-after gear. A budget is the best way to avoid spending more than you can afford — when you stick to it.
It’s also smart to comparison shop. Look online, in-store and in ads to find the best prices on the items you or your kids need. You may need to group supplies by retailer to get the best deals — it might involve buying some items online and others at specific retailers, but the extra effort may be worth the savings.
Can I use credit cards combined with gift cards to save even more?
To maximize rewards hacking and minimize overspending, leverage the power of gift cards by buying one for the amount of your school supply budget. You won’t be able to go over the limit, helping you control your spending. And if you’re smart about where you buy the gift card, you can also earn more cash-back rewards.
Erik Budde is CEO of GigaPoints, a platform that provides personalized credit card recommendations based on your spending. He suggests buying a gift card for your school shopping at a high-rewards category store, such as a grocery store.
“Since Amazon [and other types of] gift cards are sold at so many different types of retailers, this tactic works in a variety of different places,” Budde says. “Many credit cards offer bonus points at office supply stores, drug stores and more.”
Essentially, you may be able to earn points when you buy a gift card at a high rewards category store, while limiting your spending to the gift card amount.
Our methodology
CNET reviews credit cards by exhaustively comparing them across set criteria developed for each major category, including cash-back, welcome bonus, travel rewards and balance transfer. We take into consideration the typical spending behavior of a range of consumer profiles — with the understanding that everyone’s financial situation is different — and the designated function of a card.
For cash-back credit cards, for example, key factors include the annual fee, the “welcome bonus” and the cash-back rate (or rates, if they differ by spending category). For rewards and miles cards, we calculate and weigh the net monetary value of a card’s respective perks. And with balance transfer credit cards, we analyze specs such as the duration of the introductory 0% APR period and the balance transfer fee, while acknowledging secondary factors such as the standard APR and the length of time you have to make a balance transfer after you open the account.
More credit card advice
- Best Credit Cards With No Balance Transfer Fees
- Best Credit Cards for Fair and Average Credit
- Best Secured Credit Cards
- Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards
*All information about the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card, Target Redcard Credit Card, Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, and the Discover it Cash Back has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
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