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What Happens to Your Student Credit Card When You Graduate?

Last Updated: September 22, 2023
2 min read

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Key Points About: What Happens to Your Student Credit Card After You Graduate

  1. Discover student credit cards automatically upgrade to a similar credit card after graduation.

  2. There are advantages to keeping your student card after graduation, even if you plan to get a new one.

  3. Learn what information you’ll need to inform your card issuer of after you’ve graduated and how to retain rewards you gained on your student card.

You may be able to keep some of the benefits you have with your student card after you graduate. At Discover, for example, you will still have the same Cashback Bonus® program that you had with your student credit card. But what happens if you’re not ready to stop using your student credit card?

Discover student cards after graduation

After you graduate, Discover will just reclassify your student credit card account, so it’s not tagged as student anymore. So, for example, if you have the Discover it® Student Chrome credit card, you earn 2% Cashback Bonus® at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically.1 Once you transition to the Discover it® Chrome credit card, you’ll have the same rewards program.

And if you have the Discover it® Student Cash Back Card, it will become a standard credit card with the same cash back rewards as your student card. You’ll earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.2 Plus, earn 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.


Do student credit cards become obsolete after graduation?

If you think that you’ll need to cancel your student card just to apply for a new credit card, you might want to reconsider your options. This is because cancelling a card may impact your credit score. If your student card is your oldest card, canceling it could reduce the length of your credit history, which is a factor in your overall credit score. Instead of cancelling your student card, consider how to utilize your credit card(s) after you graduate.

How your student card can graduate too

Student cards are usually issued with lower credit limits, which reflect the higher risk students with low income can pose to credit card issuers. The good news, then, is that there are there’s an advantage to reclassifying your credit card with the help of your card provider.

After you graduate, your credit card provider may ask to update your information. This includes:

  • Your date of graduation
  • Your income

Sharing this information allows your credit card issuer to consider you for a credit line increase,  if your post-graduation job gives you a higher income. You can often do this online or within your mobile app.

Just remember to pay bills on time and in full, and not to use too much of your available credit. In other words, be as smart with your budgeting as you were with your college studies, and your finances and future self will thank you.

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