Citi MTVU Platinum Select Visa Review
Summary - In our opinion, the Citi® mtvUTM Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students is perhaps the best and most innovative reward student credit card. You not only earn points for purchases, but also for getting good grades and paying your credit card bills on time. You can also use your reward points to reduce your student loan principal. Find out why we like this card.
Reward Formula - The Citi® mtvUTM Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students is the latest and perhaps most innovative student credit card on the market. You earn five points for every dollar you spend on purchases at (1) book stores, (2) record stores, (3) restaurants, including fast food restaurants, (4) motion picture theaters, and (5) video entertainment rental stores. You earn one point for every dollar you spend on other purchases. Aside from this, you can earn 25 points every billing cycle if you pay your minimum payments on time and do not go over your credit limit. Furthermore, you can earn points twice a year if you get good GPA scores (see table below).
Reward Formula for GPA Score
| GPA Score | Points |
| 2.50 - 2.99 | 250 |
| 3.00 - 3.49 | 500 |
| 3.50 - 3.99 | 750 |
| 4.00 | 2,000 |
10% at MTV Stores - Cardholders can get a 10% discount at mtvshop.mtv.com and the MTV store in New York City.
Unique Rewards - This card is based on Citibanks' ThankYou Redemption Network reward program, which has both travel and shopping rewards. For this card, you can get a free ticket to MTV Videos Music Award for 30,000 points. You can also use points to reduce your student loan principal.
Fees and Rates - There is no annual fee. New cardholders may get a 0% Intro APR for purchases for 7 months.
Other Benefits and Services - You will also get platinum benefits like one million dollars travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance, online account management and Citibanks' 24/7 customer service, annual account summary.
MTV Card Peer Comparison
This card is quite unique in that it allows you to earn extra (ie one than the standard one point) on stuff that you would spend as a student, restaurants, movies etc. And you can also get bonus points from having good grades. No other issuer has issued a student credit card quite like this - except for Citi themselves!
MTVU vs Citi Forward - Citi has recently issued a card called the Citi Forward Card for College Students. It is quite similar to this card. Here are the key features. You can earn 5 points for every $1 spent on restaurants and entertainment, which is exactly like the MTVU Card. But it does not have the bonus points feature if you get good grades. Given that these cards are nearly identical, the MTVU beats the forward simply because of the ability to reward cardholders for good grades.
Citi MTVU - IS this the Right Card For You?
Verdict - The Citi® mtvUTM Platinum Select® Visa® Card for College Students is a great student credit card. Aside from earning reward points from normal purchases, you are rewarded for good money habits, like paying your bills on time and not going over your credit limit. You are also given points for getting a good GPA score and paying your bills on time. Furthermore, the ThankYou Redemptions Network reward program allows you to use points to reduce your student loan principal. There is no other student rewards with these features on the market.