Discover it® Cash Back
- Best for: People who’ll activate rotating 5% categories every quarter and pay their balance in full
- What Sets It Apart: Cashback Match doubles all the cash back you earn in your first year, with no cap; no annual or foreign transaction fee
- Cost: $0 annual fee; no foreign transaction fee; 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then 18.74% to 28.74% variable APR; 3% fee on balances transferred in the first 15 months
- Features: 5% on up to $1,500 a quarter in categories you activate; 1% on all other purchases; 5% on Capital One Travel bookings of hotels, vacation rentals, rental cars, and activities, and on Capital One Entertainment tickets; $200 statement credit after $500 in purchases in 3 months when you apply through Discover’s page
- Pros: First-year match on every purchase; categories that cover everyday spending; no late fee the first time you pay late
- Cons: Categories need activating every quarter; 5% capped at $1,500 of purchases a quarter; 1% on everything else after year one; 5% categories only at U.S. merchants
Get the Discover it® Cash Back if you’ll activate its 5% categories every quarter and pay your balance in full. Its Cashback Match doubles all the cash back you earn in your first year, and there’s no annual fee. If you’d rather earn one rate with nothing to track, pick a flat 2% card instead.
Capital One, which bought Discover in May 2025, now issues the card and kept its 5% categories and first-year match. Students and people building credit get the same categories and match on the Discover it Student Cash Back and the Discover it Secured.
Key Features
- $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fee on purchases abroad
- 5% back on up to $1,500 of purchases a quarter in categories you activate, and 1% on everything else
- 5% on Capital One Travel bookings of hotels, vacation rentals, rental cars, and activities, and on tickets bought through Capital One Entertainment
- A $200 statement credit when you apply through Discover’s card page and spend $500 in your first 3 months
- No interest on purchases or balance transfers for 15 months (3% transfer fee), then a variable interest rate of 18.74% to 28.74%
Pros
- Spending $1,500 in the categories every quarter earns $300 a year at 5%, which the match turns into $600 in year one
- In year one the match raises everything else to 2%, as much as a flat 2% card pays
- 2026’s categories covered everyday spending, from groceries and gas to restaurants and utilities
- No late fee the first time you pay late
- Hockey fans can get the same rewards in any of the 32 NHL team designs on the NHL Discover it Credit Card
Cons
- You have to activate the categories every quarter
- The 5% stops at $1,500 of purchases a quarter, or $75 back
- Only 1% on everything outside the categories after year one
- Category purchases earn 5% only at U.S. merchants
Open it if you’ll activate each quarter and pay in full, and after your first year, pair it with a flat 2% card for everything outside the categories. For the same first-year match with nothing to activate, the Discover it Chrome pays 2% on the first $1,000 of gas station and restaurant purchases each quarter, and the Discover it Miles earns miles.
Learn more about the Discover it® Cash Back or see how it compares to the best cash back credit cards.
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