December 3, 2024: The Discover it® Cash Back offers 5% cash back in categories that rotate quarterly, but only 1% cash back everywhere else and no substantive benefits.
Our quick take on the Discover it® Cash Back
Cards and Points Rating:
If you like the game of chasing 5% rotating cash back categories, the Discover it® Cash Back card should be in your wallet. With the card, you can often get 5% cash back at places like drugstores, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, Target, Walmart, and Amazon—at least part of the year.
You probably won’t want the Discover it® Cash Back card to be the only card in your wallet—just getting a 2% cash back card can earn you double rewards outside of the rotating categories. Plus, we’re a bit disappointed by the card’s lack of benefits—other cards with no annual fee offer at least a basic extended warranty and purchase protection.
Pros
- 5% rewards in rotating categories
- Simple cash back rewards
- No annual fee
Cons
- No substantive benefits
- Only 1% rewards everywhere else
- Limited acceptance abroad
Sign-up bonus: Statement credit, plus double cash back
Annual fee: $0
Best sign-up bonus: Get a $100 statement credit if you apply through our link, are approved, and use your card in the first three months. This offer is exclusive to referral links like the ones on this page. You’ll also get a dollar-for-dollar cash back match in your first year of having the card.
The $100 bonus is earned as a statement credit and the dollar-for-dollar cash back match is earned as additional cash back rewards.
Rewards: Cash back
The Discover it Cash Back Card is the original “rotating category” card that offers 5% rewards in up to $1,500 of spending in categories that change quarterly. Here’s what the card earns.
- 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter in categories that rotate quarterly.
Learn more about the Discover quarterly categories. - 1% cash back on all other purchases.
The cash back you earn can be redeemed for a variety of cash back, gift card, and merchandise redemptions. And you can redeem your rewards automatically.
Additionally, the card offers new cardmembers a dollar-for-dollar cash back match at the end of the first year of having the card.
We recommend redeeming for cash back rewards, since you won’t earn points on redemptions of gift cards or merchandise and you can typically buy get gift cards on sale elsewhere.
Benefits: Very limited
Several years ago, Discover stripped most of the benefits from its cards. The Discover it Cash Back Card offers no benefits of note beyond its quarterly cash back bonuses.
Our experiences: How we use the card
Our guides to cards are thoroughly researched using primary sources, but members of our team often have these cards as well. Here’s how we use our cards.
I use my Discover it® Cash Back exclusively for its 5% rotating bonus categories. Discover’s rotating bonus categories have historically included useful categories like grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, wholesale clubs, Target, Amazon.com, select pharmacies, and digital wallet payments. Many times benefits like extended warranty don’t matter on these purchases. This card complements other 5% rotating category cards cards in my wallet like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and the Citi Dividend Card.
Outside of the card’s rotating bonus categories, the card doesn’t get much use.
Other cards to consider
Whether you’re looking for rewards or benefits, the Discover it® Cash Back card likely should not be the only card in your wallet. Here are some cards that we think go well with the Discover it card:
- For 5% rewards in categories with no annual fee, check out the Chase Freedom Flex℠, the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, or the U.S Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card. All of these cards offer 5% rewards in bonus categories.
- For a card to use everywhere else, take a look at the 2% cash back credit cards to double the cash back rewards you earn outside the Discover card’s 5% categories.
- Extended warranty and purchase protection can be valuable for larger purchases. We like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® as a no-annual fee card with this benefit, but there are plenty of cards that offer extended warranty.
