Discover Credit Cards Review – Which Is Right for You?
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Discover is among the four most popular credit card companies, including MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. If you're considering opening a new credit card, you may be drawn to what perks one card has over other credit cards. While some banks and card issuers have a dizzying array of options with names like "Slate," "Preferred," "Gold," or "Platinum," Discover credit cards have much more approachable and self-explanatory names and are renowned for offering cash back rewards.
Just because Discover is simple to understand, does that mean it still packs the same punch as other card offers? For the most part, yes. Learn more about the different Discover it cards below, including cash back credit cards and travel cards with perks at gas stations, restaurants, and more.
Jump To
Overview of the best Discover credit cards
Card | Best for |
Discover it Cash Back Card | General consumers |
Discover it Travel Card | Frequent flyers |
Discover it Gas & Restaurants Card | Roadtrippers |
Discover it Student Cash Back Card | General students |
Discover it Student Chrome Card | Students who commute |
Raise Your Credit 80 points*
- 5 star service trusted by over 450,000 members
- Have processed over $11,000,000 in bill payments for members
- No deposit, no credit check, no interest
- New member promotions available
*Potential increase based on StellarFi member data. StellarFi numbers observed an average of 80 points VantageScore® 3.0 increase during a member’s lifetime. Score increase based on members with an incoming score range of 300-499 pts, who made regular on-time payments, with regular on-time payments. Results may vary.
Discover it® Cash Back cards
Discover it® Cash Back Card
Card Name
Discover it® Cash Back Card
APR
18.24% - 27.24%
Recommended Credit Score
670 to 850
Annual Fee
$0
Special Offer Terms
0% intro APR for 15 months from date of account opening.
Intro Offer
0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers and 3% Intro Balance Transfer Fee until November 10, 2023.
Rewards Rate
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically. Unlimited Cashback Match.
Why We Like It
- No annual fee.
- Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com,4 grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
- Get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year, automatically.
Discover it Travel Cards
If you're a frequent traveler looking for a good card with vacation perks, there are two different Discover it cards worth looking into. The Discover it® Miles offers perks like airline miles, while the Discover it® Chrome Gas & Restaurant credit card is more appropriate for someone who drives a lot when traveling. Learn more about each option:
Discover it® Miles
Discover it Miles
Card Name
Discover it Miles
APR
18.24% - 27.24%
Annual Fee
$0
Intro Offer
- Discover Match will automatically match all the Miles you earn at the end of your first year.
- No annual fee
Rewards Rate
- 1.5x miles on every dollar of every purchase
- 2x miles your first year with Discover Match
Why We Like It
- 0% into APR for 15 months from date of account opening
Discover it® Chrome Gas & Restaurant credit card
Discover it® Chrome Gas & Restaurant Credit Card
Card Name
Discover it® Chrome Gas & Restaurant Credit Card
APR
18.24% - 27.24%
Rewards Rate
- Earn 2% Cashback Bonus at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically.
- 1% Cash Back on all your other purchases automatically.
- Unlimited Cashback Match. Get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year, automatically. So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or $100 into $200. There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
Why We Like It
- Get rewarded for fueling up and dining out
- Low intro-APR
Card Details
Earn 2% Cashback Bonus at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically.
Discover it Student Cards
There are a few Discover it credit cards with student perks, too. While you can get a secured credit card to build credit responsibly in school, if you have more self-control, the perks of the Discover it® Student Cash Back credit card and the Discover it Student Chrome Credit Card might be a better fit for you while you're in college. Learn more about each option:
Discover it® Student Cash Back credit card
Discover it® Student Cash Back
Card Name
Discover it® Student Cash Back
APR
18.24% - 27.24%
Annual Fee
$0
Intro Offer
0% Intro APR for 6 months on purchases
Rewards Rate
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
Why We Like It
- No annual fee.
- Redeem for cash in any amount, any time. Even use your rewards to shop for whatever you need at Amazon.com or at millions of online stores with PayPal.
Discover it® Student chrome credit card
Discover it® Student chrome
Credit Card Issuer
Discover
APR
18.24% - 27.24%
Annual Fee
$0
Intro Offer
0% intro APR for 6 months on purchases.
Rewards Rate
Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
Why We Like It
- Unlimited cashback match on all cash back you've earned at the end of the first year.
- Redeem for cash in any amount, any time. Even use your rewards to shop for whatever you need at Amazon.com or at millions of online stores with PayPal.
- Your cash back never expires.
Raise Your Credit 80 points*
- 5 star service trusted by over 450,000 members
- Have processed over $11,000,000 in bill payments for members
- No deposit, no credit check, no interest
- New member promotions available
*Potential increase based on StellarFi member data. StellarFi numbers observed an average of 80 points VantageScore® 3.0 increase during a member’s lifetime. Score increase based on members with an incoming score range of 300-499 pts, who made regular on-time payments, with regular on-time payments. Results may vary.
Summary of the best Discover credit cards
Card name | Cashback | Intro Offers | Student Benefits | APR |
Discover it Cash Back Card | 5% in rotating categories, 1% on everything else | Unlimited cashback match, 0% APR for 15 months, 3% intro balance transfer fee | None | 16.74% to 27.74% |
Discover it Miles Travel Card | Unlimited 1.5x miles | Unlimited mile match, 0% APR for 15 months, 3% intro balance transfer fee | None | 16.74% to 27.74% |
Discover it Gas & Restaurants Card | 2% cashback on gas and restaurant purchases up to $1,000 each quarter, 1% everywhere else | Unlimited cashback match, 0% APR for 15 months, 3% intro balance transfer fee | None | 16.74% to 27.74% |
Discover it Student Cash Back Card | 5% in rotating categories, 1% on everything else | Unlimited cashback match | 0% introductory APR | 16.74% to 27.74% |
Discover it Student Chrome Card | 2% cashback on gas and restaurant purchases up to $1,000 each quarter, 1% everywhere else | Unlimited Cashback Match | 0% introductory APR for 6 months | 16.74% to 27.74% |
Other common Discover credit card features
The Discover it credit card family also has a few other nice features across each card type that may be useful. Here's a quick overview of some of them:
- First late payment forgiveness. A nice perk of all Discover IT cards is that your first late payment is forgiven if and when it occurs. Especially if you're concerned about being charged a penalty APR after a missed payment, this can give you a bit of leeway before a higher APR kicks in. While responsible credit card users should never need to use this feature, it's nice to have a little extra peace of mind knowing that you won't have to worry about it if a mistake is made.
- No foreign transaction fees. Another nice perk across all of the Discover it family of credit cards is that you won't get foreign transaction fees charged.
- No annual fees. Regardless of your Discover credit card, there are no annual fees connected with using your card. Considering each Discover card's benefits and rewards, this is a significant perk many other credit card companies charge for.
Who are Discover credit cards best for?
Of course, not every credit card is a good fit for every person. Here are some people who will get a lot from the Discover family of credit cards.
- Budget-conscious credit card users. If you're a credit card user who doesn't want to touch a credit card with an annual fee, you won't be making many sacrifices in terms of perks by opting for a Discover it card with no annual fee.
- General consumers interested in cash back. If you want a card that gives good cash back deals, getting 5% back on rotating categories is a great reason to consider the Discover IT credit card. Particularly if you've got some larger purchases planned in the next year to make the most out of your unlimited cash back match, you can get a lot of value out of opening a Discover IT credit card.
Who shouldn't open a Discover credit card?
- Serious business owners. While Discover offers business credit cards, many other cards have more features and options worth considering. Looking at business credit cards from Chase and Capital One, it's easy to see that your company will likely be better served by shopping around for business credit cards from other companies.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Discover Unlimited Cash Back Match. For your first year of use, all of the cash back you earn will automatically be doubled. This means that for the first year you’re actually getting 10% cash back on all rotating categories and 2% cash back on all other purchases.
- First late payment forgiveness. A nice perk of all Discover IT cards is that your first late payment is forgiven if and when it occurs. Especially if you’re concerned about being charged penalty APR after a missed payment, this can give you a bit of leeway before a higher APR kicks in. While responsible credit card users should never need to use this feature, it’s nice to have a little extra peace of mind knowing that if some mistake gets made you won’t have to worry about it.
- No foreign transaction fees. Another nice perk across all of the Discover IT family of credit cards is the fact that you won’t get foreign transaction fees charged
- No annual fees. Regardless of the Discover credit card you choose, there are no annual fees connected with using your card. This is a major perk considering the kinds of benefits and rewards each Discover card offers—something many other credit card companies charge for.
Cons
- Rotating categories won’t always be useful. While you likely won’t have any issues spending money at Amazon the quarter that it’s a rotating category, other rotating categories, such as hardware stores, may be less useful to you.
- Better travel cards out there. While Discover offers a travel card with 1.5x miles on every purchase, the Chase Preferred card (and other travel credit cards) throw in a lot more benefits than Discover. While those cards have annual fees, many people feel the perks and rewards make up for the cost of that fee in spades.
- Only one option for business owners. If you’re a business owner, you may want to shop around for other credit cards, since Discover only offers one business card. Especially if you’re a niche business, there are certainly more personalized options out there for you.
Raise Your Credit 80 points*
- 5 star service trusted by over 450,000 members
- Have processed over $11,000,000 in bill payments for members
- No deposit, no credit check, no interest
- New member promotions available
*Potential increase based on StellarFi member data. StellarFi numbers observed an average of 80 points VantageScore® 3.0 increase during a member’s lifetime. Score increase based on members with an incoming score range of 300-499 pts, who made regular on-time payments, with regular on-time payments. Results may vary.
FAQs
Do you need to have excellent credit to get a Discover card?
Any time you apply for a credit card, your credit history is going to play a role. Generally speaking, a good credit score is a score that is at least 700 or more. According to Discover's website, Discover card credit score requirements vary by product. In general, the standard Discover it® Card is for people with established credit.
What is the credit limit on a credit card?
Your credit limit is the maximum amount of money you can charge to a card towards purchases and balance transfers. All activity on your credit card counts toward your overall credit limit.
What are the reasons you should get a credit card?
There are a lot of different reasons you may be interested in getting a credit card. For starters, getting a credit card allows you to net rewards like cash back and other perks you wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to take advantage of just using a standard debit card for purchases. Other people choose to get credit cards to responsibly build their credit so that they can qualify for larger loans for big purchases like a car or house.
The bottom line
Discover's it cards meet a wide range of needs and are worth considering for standard features like no foreign transaction fees, introductory APR rates, lower fees on cash advances, and waived late fees the first time you miss a payment's due date. Discover also has a mobile app to monitor your credit card activity, view your FICO score, and look at reward perks for the current or upcoming quarter.
Perhaps one of the most enticing features of all of Discover's cards is the Discover unlimited cash back match during your first year of usage. With no minimum or maximum, this sign-on benefit can help you net hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars in cash back, depending on how frequently you use your card and its limits. This kind of cash back, when combined with the rotating 5% categories and 1% cash back on all other purchases, make the Discover credit cards well worth considering. Even if you're only using your Discover card for everyday monthly purchases, $2,500 of purchases over a year winds up, netting you $300 in cash back. That money isn't going to get you rich overnight, but when it comes to treating yourself or having extra spending money during the holidays, you're leaving money on the table if you're not using a credit card with cash back rewards.
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Writer
Brent Ervin-Eickhoff is a Chicago-based writer, stage director, and filmmaker with a background in digital marketing and content creation. In addition to Joy Wallet, Brent has written for Complex, Volkswagen, HowlRound, Picture this Post, and Third Coast Review, among others. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Marketing for Content Creation at Court Theatre at the University of Chicago. Brent graduated from Ball State University with Academic Honors in Writing.
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