Deserve Edu Student Review: A Cash Back Card With Lots of Freebies

As of July 2023, this offer was paused temporarily and unavailable as Deserve redesigned the card.

The Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students is an under-the-radar student credit card with lots of benefits. These include standard perks like cash back to more unique features, including multiple spending credits. However, this card isn't currently open for applications. Read our Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students review to find out more about it and check out some good alternatives.

This credit card is a good fit for: Students getting started with credit who want a no annual fee cash back card. International students, in particular, benefited from this card since a Social Security number wasn't required to apply.

Top perks

Here are the standout perks that the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students offered.

No annual fee

We always recommend students start with no annual fee credit cards to avoid unnecessary expenses and so they can keep the card open for years to come. Fortunately, the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students fits that bill.

1% cash back

This card earns an unlimited 1% cash back on purchases.

MORE OPTIONS: Best Cash Back Credit Cards

Cellphone protection

Pay your monthly wireless bill with this card and you'll receive complimentary cellphone insurance. The plan covers damage and theft of your phone up to a limit of $600 per claim and $1,000 within a 12-month period, and there's a $50 deductible. It's still no fun to drop your phone, but at least you'll have peace of mind that you can get it fixed without dipping into your savings.

Complimentary Amazon Prime Student for up to one year

If you use this card to pay for a subscription to Amazon Prime Student, you'll receive an automatic credit for the membership fee. The maximum benefit amount is $69, which is the cost of a one-year subscription.

Note that the monthly cost of Amazon Prime Student is $7.49 -- Amazon offers a discount when you pay for an entire year at once. Because the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students credits you up to $69, you should make sure that you choose the yearly payment option. If you choose the monthly payment option, the card will only cover nine months of service.

SEE MORE: Best Credit Cards for Amazon

No foreign transaction fees

Whether you're traveling internationally for months to study abroad or just a week for spring break, you won't need to pay any foreign transaction fees with this card.

SEE MORE: Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards

Available for international students

Most credit cards require that applicants have a Social Security number, and that makes it difficult for international students to open one.

One of the nice things about this Deserve card, when it was open to applications, is that you could apply without a Social Security number. Instead, you could provide a copy of your passport, your U.S. student visa, your most recent I-20 or DS-2019 form, and your most recent statements from your U.S. bank account.

$10 Lemonade credit

Lemonade offers renters and homeowners insurance plans. You'll receive this credit after paying for three consecutive Lemonade insurance statements with the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students.

$100 off Feather subscription

Feather is a furniture rental service. If you sign up for a subscription with your card and enter the code DESERVE100, you'll get $100 off your first month. This service is only available in limited areas, and probably won't be in many students' budgets. But if you're interested in trying it out, the Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students will save you $100.

What could be improved

The Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students also had some notable drawbacks.

Not open for applications

The biggest issue with this card at the moment is that you can't apply for it. Applications have been closed for months, and there's no indication of when the card will be available again.

$25 cash back redemption minimum

At the end of each billing period, Deserve calculates your cash back and applies it to your bill as a statement credit in increments of $25. If you aren't up to $25 yet, your cash back amount will roll over to the next billing period.

It can be frustrating that Deserve is so rigid with its cash back redemptions, because you can't get what you've earned right away. Since this card earns 1% back, your first redemption won't happen until you've spent at least $2,500. Some credit card companies let you redeem cash back of any amount, and that's much more convenient for cardholders.

No free credit score service

Many credit card companies provide your credit score, updated monthly, free of charge. This perk is especially nice to have for students who are building credit and want to see their progress. Although you can find free ways to check your credit online, it'd be easier if Deserve offered this service and you could view your score through your online credit card account.

No bonus rewards

The Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students doesn't offer any bonus categories where you'll earn extra cash back. It also doesn't have a sign-up bonus.

To be fair, this card is for students, and rewards aren't its focus. But some of the best student credit cards earn bonus rewards in select spending categories and/or offer sign-up bonuses.

READ MORE: Best Rewards Credit Cards

There is no minimum credit score requirement to get a Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students. Since this is a student credit card that's also available to international students, there's no credit history required, either.

The Deserve Edu Mastercard for Students was a great fit for students, especially international students who wanted to build credit. But since applications are paused right now, you'll need to look elsewhere for a credit card.

READ MORE: Expert Credit Card Reviews

Our credit card methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.