Discover it Cash Back
The it Cash Back is Discover's flagship rotating-category card, and the hook is two-sided. You earn 5% back on categories that change each quarter, like grocery stores, restaurants, and gas, on up to $1,500 in purchases once you activate, plus an unlimited match of all the cash back you earn in your first year. That match is the reason to open it now rather than later, because it effectively turns a strong first year into 10% on the rotating categories and 2% on everything else. The trade is the homework: you have to activate every quarter and the 5% stops at the cap, so anyone who wants to set a card down and forget it should price a flat-rate alternative first.
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- Annual feeFree
- Welcome offerUnlimited Cashback MatchDiscover automatically matches all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year, dollar for dollar, with no limit and no minimum spend. New cardmembers only.
- Recommended credit700-780Median 720. See why →
Earning rates
on Discover Cashback- 5xRotating QuarterlyUp to $1,500/qtr, activateCap $1,500
- 1xEverything else
Benefits and credits
Purchase and protection benefits
- $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee
financing
- 0% Intro APR for 15 Months
service
- Free FICO Credit Score
- Free Social Security Number Alerts
- Freeze It Account Freeze
Pricing and fees
Full Pricing and Terms- Purchase APR
- 17.49% to 26.49%
- Foreign tx
- None
- Penalty APR (cap)
- None
- Balance transfer
- 17.49% to 26.49%
- Fee 3.00%
- Cash advance
- 28.49%
- Fee $10 or 5.00%, whichever is greater
- Late / returned
- $41 · $30
Eligibility and application
- Card typeUnsecured personal card
- Pre-qualificationSoft-pull pre-qualification available
- Application inquiryHard credit inquiry on submission
- Approval bureauNot disclosed by issuer
- Authorized user feeNot disclosed
- Reports AU to bureausYesReports authorized-user activity to all three bureaus (issuer's own statement). No published age minimum.Issuer policy
How the recommended credit score is derived
Reported by users, not disclosed by the issuer. Synthesized from community-reported approval data points and cross-checked against industry editorial guidance for consensus.
- Community Q&A on the Discover it Cash Back credit requirement: good credit (700+) reported
- Community Q&A on the minimum credit score for Discover cards
- Community Q&A on Discover it Cash Back income and approval factors
- Community approval thread: Discover It approved with a 672 Experian FICO and $4,000 limit
- Community card reviews and reported approval scores for the Discover it Cash Back
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Discover it ChromeDiscoverThe it Chrome is Discover's set-and-forget cash back card, built for people who would rather not track a quarterly calendar.
$0 annual fee -
Chase Freedom FlexChase · MastercardThe Freedom Flex is Chase's rotating-category cash-back card, with no annual fee and 5% on a quarterly category that changes through the year.
$0 annual fee -
Blue Cash Everyday Card from American ExpressAmexBlue Cash Everyday is the no-annual-fee sibling in the Blue Cash line, earning 3% back on the same supermarket, online retail, and gas categories that the Preferred earns 6% on, though here the cap is a more modest $6,000 per category per year.
$0 annual fee
Sources
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Not financial advice
ccdeck is not a financial advisor. Information here is for educational purposes only. Confirm card terms with the issuer before applying.