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If you’re the type of shopper who enjoys finding ways to squeeze discounts and savings out of every purchase, you’ll love the Discover it® Cash Back. It’s one of my main credit cards, since it offers a high cash back rate in rotating quarterly categories: You’ll earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically.
The Discover it® Cash Back also allows you to save on interest with nice intro APR offers on purchases and balance transfers. Plus, its $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees help extend your savings.
But while this is one of the highest rates you can earn, it’s limited to certain rotating categories that may not match up with your spending needs. You’ll also need to remember to activate the categories each quarter — which could be a drawback if you want to keep things simple.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | Regular APR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Discover it® Cash Back*
|
1% - 5% cash back
| Unlimited Cashback Match
Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.
| 18.24% - 27.24% Variable APR | ||
Chase Freedom Flex℠*
|
1% - 5% cash back
| $200 cash bonus
Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
| 18.99% - 28.49% variable | ||
Citi Custom Cash® Card*
|
1% - 5% cash back
| $200 cash back
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
| 18.24% - 28.24% (Variable) | ||
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card*
|
2% cash rewards
Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases
| $200 cash rewards
Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
| 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24% Variable APR |
High cash back rate in rotating quarterly categories
One of the biggest appeals of the Discover it® Cash Back is its high earning rate on quarterly rotating categories. You’ll earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically.
Notably, the quarterly maximum for Discover cash back categories is capped at $1,500 in spending. So if you maximize the bonus categories each quarter, you can earn $300 in cash back on those purchases annually.
Over the years, I’ve learned to maximize this reward by shopping strategically each quarter. For example, when home improvement stores are included as a bonus category, I stock up on household cleaning supplies that I can use throughout the year. And when wholesale clubs or grocery stores are included, I buy several months’ worth of nonperishables and frozen items.
Discover’s 2025 categories
| January-March | April-June | July-September | October-December |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants, home improvement stores and select streaming services | Grocery stores and wholesale clubs | TBA | TBA |
Attractive welcome offer
The Discover it® Cash Back comes with a unique and valuable welcome offer: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.
This is an especially great deal for new cardholders, since you’ll basically double any cash back you earn during the first year of card membership. In fact, the Discover it® Cash Back has one of the best cash back welcome offers currently available.
No annual fee
Like other Discover credit cards, the Discover it® Cash Back has a $0 annual fee. So as long as you pay your balance in full every month once the intro APR period ends, the card won’t cost anything to carry in your wallet.
We should note, though, that this is pretty standard among similar credit cards. For example, the Chase Freedom Flex℠, which also offers accelerated cash back in categories that rotate quarterly, charges a $0 annual fee as well.
Cash back is easy to redeem
I like that I can set my cash back to automatically be redeemed each statement period. My overall balance is reduced by this amount, and I don’t have to do anything to redeem my rewards. You can also redeem your rewards as a bank deposit or for online purchases, gift cards or charitable contributions.
And when you add your Discover it® Cash Back to your Amazon or PayPal accounts, you can also use your rewards towards purchases. You’ll see how much cash back is available and can select the amount to use — if any — when checking out.
No foreign transaction fee
The Discover it® Cash Back charges a foreign transaction fee of none. This means you won’t be charged an additional fee — which is typically 3% of the amount of the purchase — when you use the card to make purchases outside the United States.
This was one of the features I appreciated most about this card when I lived abroad. I could take it with me while traveling and use it without making my purchases more expensive.
Good intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
If you need to finance a large purchase or transfer high-interest debt from a high-interest credit card, the Discover it® Cash Back offers an intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for more than a year.
You’ll get a 0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases, followed by a 18.24% - 27.24% Variable APR. There’s also a 0% Intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers, after which a 18.24% - 27.24% Variable APR applies. Just know, there’s a 3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms)*.
Must opt in to quarterly categories
One downside of the high rewards rate is that you’ll need to opt in to the quarterly categories. If you forget to, you’ll only earn the 1% cash back rate on those purchases until you opt in.
This may seem a bit complicated. In reality, though, it’s simple and takes less than a minute each quarter. As soon as I get the email announcing the next quarter’s categories (usually the month prior to the start of a new quarter), I click the button to opt in. You can also do this in the app, and it’s very easy to see whether or not you have already done it.
If you want a high rewards rate but with more flexibility to change your categories, the Citi Custom Cash® Card is also worth considering. It offers 5% cash back on your highest spending category for up to $500 in purchases each month.
Earns 1% on all other purchases
For all purchases that fall outside of the bonus categories, and after you reach the limit on elevated earnings, you earn just 1% cash back. That’s better than nothing, but there are other cards — like the Citi Double Cash® Card and Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card — that offer accelerated cash back on every purchase.
For example, I use the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card for purchases outside of the rotating categories, since it allows me to earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
Card benefits are limited
As a $0-annual-fee credit card, the Discover it® Cash Back has the usual benefits that you’d expect: $0 fraud liability, a mobile app and the ability to check your credit score in the app. However, it doesn’t have any purchase protections or insurance coverage that you get from other cards. For example, the $0-annual-fee Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers extended warranty protection, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, cellphone protection and car rental insurance coverage.
Discover has limited acceptance worldwide
One important thing to note is that Discover isn’t accepted in all countries. Although it’s widely accepted throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania, you should check to ensure it’s accepted where you’re traveling to before you leave or use a credit card that’s accepted worldwide.
However, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ is a much more valuable and flexible card. Its greatest advantage is that it also offers elevated cash back rewards on dining, drugstore and Chase Travel℠ purchases.
Plus, if you have a premium Chase credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates & fees), you can combine the rewards you earn from the Chase Freedom Flex℠. This allows you to redeem points through the Chase Travel℠ portal for a 25% redemption bonus. You can also transfer points to hotel and airline transfer partners for even more value.
With the Citi Custom Cash® Card, you’ll earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Each month could be different, depending on your purchasing habits.
Drawbacks of this card are that it has minimal benefits outside of earning cash back, and it charges foreign transaction fees.
Like the other cards, it has a $0 annual fee, and offers a short promotional APR on purchases and balance transfers. It also has a variety of purchase protections, including cellphone insurance and roadside dispatch.
However, if you’re traveling outside of the United States, leave your Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card behind — it charges a foreign transaction fee of 3% of the amount of each transaction when you use your card to make purchases outside the U.S.
The Discover it® Cash Back offers the opportunity to earn a generous amount of cash back, and it’s worthwhile if you don’t mind that the elevated rewards are in categories that change every quarter. For me, the small amount of effort it takes to opt in is worth the elevated cash back that I can earn for buying things I normally would.
You may want to consider the Chase Freedom Flex℠ as an alternative card, since it also offers rotating quarterly bonus categories and comes with extra perks and benefits. But if you’d rather not deal with keeping track of rotating categories, you’ll find that a flat-rate credit card (like the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card) is more straightforward.
The information related to the Discover it® Cash Back, Chase Freedom Flex℠, Citi Custom Cash® Card and Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.
