A lot comes into place when discussing the best credit card for teachers. Education is fundamental for every society worldwide. After all, it is the noblest job in the world. UNESCO refers to education as the primary strategy for development and social transformation. According to different international organizations, it is declared as a human right. It must be equal for all for society to develop at the same level of competence.
It does not mean that people are the same. Mainly, there are as many ways to learn as there are people in the world. In addition, each of us has specific abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Considering this, when it comes to education, being equal means that everybody should be offered the same opportunities. Education reflects the cultural heritage of each country and, ultimately, the materialization of the ideal citizen that is intended to form.
Teaching is the most vocational profession. It is a career that responds to civil liability. It requires many sacrifices making it such a rewarding profession. Teachers find satisfaction in how their students progress, how they change, grow, and learn about certain topics and about themselves.
However, it is not a secret that teacher salaries are not the best. In fact, they are very low. According to the analysis conducted by Dr. Allegretto in 2018, the teacher pay gap in the United States has been growing for years.
Teacher pay in the United States is also low compared to teacher pay in other countries. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) collects international data on public education and summarizes it annually in its monumental publication Education at a Glance.
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So when a person decides to become a teacher, they may have many reasons, but getting rich isn’t one of them.
For many people, work is simply a means to an end: getting the salary they need to cover their expenses. However, teachers today struggle with the costs that functioning and effective classrooms require when they shape the future of a society based on knowledge and ethics. According to a study, the average teacher spends as much as $1,000 of their own money each school year to cover classroom supplies, snacks, and other professional purchases.
This could be translated to about 3% of a teacher’s entire income spent on things that schools should provide. Nonetheless, fortunately, there are credit cards that help teachers save on their expenses and save some cash.
These credit cards have several benefits, which can be translated into rewards on field trips, receiving sure gifts just by using the right credit card, and even an ice cream party for their students. These are the best options for teachers to worry about planning lessons and grading exams.
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Best Credit Cards for purchasing school supplies
Target REDcard
Target REDcard is the best option for purchasing notebooks, pencils, erasers, hand sanitizers, even electronics or class furniture, or any other school supplies. It automatically offers a 5% back on every purchase made both online and in-store. This 5% also applies when using gift cards.
Besides, teachers get a 15% discount when using Target Michael’s gift cards. They need to show their educator ID card.
And that’s not all. REDcard offers other benefits and bonuses such as free two-day shipping, Starbucks 5% discount, an additional 30 days for returns and exchanges, and more.
Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi
Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi is another good option for teachers looking to restock their classroom supplies.
Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi offers a 2% back. Unfortunately, it is not automatic. Teachers get this 2% back on an annual certificate each year in February.
But it offers other perks such as 4% back on eligible gas, 3% back on eligible restaurants and travel purchases, 1% cashback on other purchases, and best of all, no annual fee by joining Costco membership which starts at $60 annually.
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Best credit card for buying snacks
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
One of the expenses teachers make through the school year is getting snacks or treats for their students. An excellent option to get cashback and several rewards at a grocery store are the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express.
Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express offers 3% back in selected supermarkets and grocery stores on up to the first $6,000 in purchases each year. The best part is that this card also offers the flexibility to pay in full or carry a balance.
Other benefits include 2% cashback in gas stations, rewards in statement credit, a cash bonus of $150 in $1000 purchases during the first three months of card membership, and no annual fee.
Citi Double Cash Card
Another way of earning rewards by shopping for snacks and treats is with the Citi Double Cash Card. This tremendous credit card is surprisingly rewarding.
Citi Double Cash Card offers unlimited 1% back on every purchase plus an additional 1% by paying off those purchases. This means teachers using this card will get double cash on every purchase.
It has no annual fee and no introductory annual percentage rate (APR) for 18 months on balance transfers.
Besides, joining the ThankYou Rewards credit card adds an extra feature since rewards can be converted at a ratio of 1% to 1x ThankYou Points. Citi ThankYou Rewards Points is one of the most valuable rewards programs in the world. It also offers the possibility to convert points into airline miles.
Another way teachers can redeem their points is getting cash back as a statement credit, gift cards, checks, direct deposits, and even student loans payment.
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Best credit card for online school shopping
Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card
For teachers who don’t want to go through the hassle of physically going to a store, the Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card is the best option for online school-related shopping.
Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card offers 3% cashback on every online purchase, including dining, travel, gas, home improvement and furniture, drug stores, and others. It also provides 2% cashback on selected grocery stores and wholesale clubs.
Besides all that, it offers a $200 online cash rewards bonus by making a minimum $1000 purchase in the first three months after joining the credit card account.
Another perk of the Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card is to accumulate a good amount of cashback all year round; it has no introductory annual percentage rate (APR) in the first 60 days for the first 15 billing cycles no yearly fee. Besides, it offers more rewards for those teachers that join the Bank of America Preferred Rewards membership.
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card
The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card is the best budget-friendly card for online school shopping since it offers a 5% back on every purchase made on Amazon.com.
Besides, being an Amazon Prime member makes it better since it gives its members free two-day shipping, a huge money-saver.
Other benefits the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card offers include several rewards that can be easily redeemed when buying books and other school materials. It also offers 5% back on every Whole Foods purchase, 2% back for purchases made at drugstores, gas stations, and restaurants, 1% back on all other purchases, and a $70 Amazon gift card when signing up. And better yet, it has no annual fee.
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Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the best options for teachers looking forward to spending summer break outside the classroom and taking pleasure in a well-deserved vacation. This card boasts transferable rewards.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers a one-time bonus of 60,000 miles on the first $3,000 purchase within three months from becoming a member of the card. It also offers unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Most of Capital One’s transfer partnerships are 1:1.
The best part is that miles don’t expire, and there’s no limit on earning them.
Other perks Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has to include receiving $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®, earning 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked in Capital One Travel, and getting miles redeemed to any travel purchase through Capital One Travel. It also has no foreign transaction fees. However, it has an annual fee of $95.
Discover it® Miles
Some teachers are looking to spend their summers traveling the world. So, a sound travel rewards credit card comes in handy. This is the case of Discover It Miles, the credit card that helps teachers earn miles on every purchase.
Nevertheless, Discover It Miles has a unique feature that differentiates it from the others. Its unique welcome bonus makes the first year of the card membership quite worthwhile. The welcome bonus allows teachers to determine how much they can earn by spending. This means that for every dollar spent with the card, teachers earn 1.5X miles.
It is simple math. Spending $1,000 per month will be transferred as 18,000 Discover miles with Discover It Miles credit card.
Another perk of this credit card is that it automatically matches all the miles earned at the end of the first year of card membership. This means 3% back on all spending in the first year.
It also has no minimum spending requirement on the new card. In addition, miles won’t expire, and there are no blackout dates.
The Bottom line
Teachers are shaping the future of the world every day. They have the power of impacting how
students perceive the world around them, for whom they are mentors, guides, and examples. In addition, teachers impact how students learn through imagination and creativity, helping them build character and providing the tools they will need to navigate throughout their whole life.
As a result of the social and technological changes, teachers reinvent themselves every day, searching to be more innovative to get closer to their students.
They get the satisfaction of enjoying the results of their work daily. Teaching is, without doubt, a true vocation.
This should be reason enough to get a decent salary to cover all their expenses. Teaching is a stable and secure job, but unfortunately not very well paid.
For this reason, all the rewards and bonuses offered by some credit cards are the best option for teachers to continue operating in schools and give them the motivation to go to work every day. Getting one of the credit as mentioned above cards is a win-win situation for those who have dedicated their lives to transforming the world.
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