Particular Phrases
There is no cap on the amount of cashback points you may earn with Discover’s limited-time introductory offer. At the end of your first year with Discover, your cash back earnings will be doubled, effective immediately. So, if you have $50 in cash, you may convert it into a total of $100. Another option is to double the $100. There is neither minimum investment needed nor maximum probable profit. Value is equivalent in dollars and cents.
When activated, you may get 5% cash back on groceries, restaurants, gas stations, and more every day up to the quarterly maximum. This includes purchases made on Amazon.com. In addition, you will get 1% cash back on any other transactions without doing anything extra.
There is no minimum credit score required.
To lessen the possibility of your private information being revealed online, Discover may be able to help you remove your information from people-search websites that sell data. It’s free to activate through mobile app.
• As long as you handle your account correctly, there is no annual fee and your credit may increase.
All purchases are eligible for a 0% APR for the first six months, after which the standard variable APR for purchases is between 18.24% and 27.24%.
• Visit Discover’s website and click through to read the fine print.
To set the stage:
The Discover it® Student Cash Back card comes with a number of great perks. The Discover it® Student Cash Back card is a great way to establish credit and work for better rewards cards in the future. The Discover it® Student Cash Back card is a terrific method to create credit, even if it won’t provide the same level of rewards and perks as cards for those with longer credit histories.
Increased earnings are available in quarterly rotating categories, making the Discover it® Student Cash Back Card a compelling option for students. The quarterly cap of $1,500 is one drawback that might need improvement. Additional categories are available, but must be enabled before they may be used. For example, “online shopping” may only relate to Amazon.com, Walmart.com, or Target.com. After a certain threshold has been achieved in the rewards category, all further purchases get the standard 1% cashback.
As part of their Unlimited Cashback double program, Discover automatically doubles every cashback earned at the end of the first year. The amount spent is irrelevant, and there is no maximum amount of points that may be earned. The cash-back potential of this card is promising, especially considering that the incentive return for the first year will be doubled.
The Discover it® Student Cash Back card is a good option if you’re a student planning to study abroad because there are no foreign transaction fees associated with it. However, it’s possible that Discover isn’t as well-known in other countries as some of the other major card issuers are in the United States. This is why it may be worthwhile to consider applying for a student card issued by a financial institution that is part of the Visa or Mastercard networks.
Summary of Discover’s Cash Back for Students Program
• A great chance for young people to begin building a credit record.
As soon as the card is issued and the quarterly maximum is met, you will get up to 5% cash back on everyday purchases made at a wide range of sites during the quarter, including Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations. Plus, regardless of what else you buy, you’ll get 1% back automatically.
All purchases are eligible for a 0% APR for the first six months, after which the standard variable APR of 18.24% to 27.24% will apply.
• There is no need to pay annual fees
Discover it® offers students cash rewards for using their card.
Earning One’s Due
The Discover it® Student Cash Back card’s unlimited 1% cash-back rewards rate applies to all purchases made instantly. This pay rate is effective right now. To earn 5% cash back in quarterly rotating categories after activating the category, cardholders may spend up to $1,500 every quarter.
It is advised that, if possible, cardholders earn as many rewards as possible during the first year of card ownership since Discover’s cashback match instantly doubles any points earned at the end of the first year.
Reaping the Benefits of Your Efforts
Earnings on the Discover it® Student Cash Back card never expire and may be redeemed for a cash deposit or statement credit at any time. Any remaining award amounts are deposited into the account upon cancellation or after 18 months of inactivity.
Opportunities for Benefits
For the purpose of determining the potential rewards that may be earned with the Discover it® Student Cash Back card, Forbes Advisor visited a number of credible sources to estimate the yearly expenses of a typical college student.
Assuming annual expenses of $13,640, and annual spending of $1,000, we can predict that the student will get a total of $296.40 in cash back each year given that the student spends $1,000 in each of the rotating categories. This sum will be doubled at the end of the first year thanks to Discover’s cashback match, giving our hypothetical student a grand total of $592.80.
Discounted or free beginning prices
The Discover it® Student Cash Back card provides a 0% purchase APR promotion that lasts for the first six months. After that, the variable purchase APR of 18.24% to 27.24% applies, depending on the cardholder’s creditworthiness.
Discover it® offers students additional cash back incentives.
Several Greeting Card Templates to Choose from Have your pick from a few different templates.
Receive alerts through text message and email anytime there is activity on your account.
Discover provides its customers with free, instantaneous access to their FICO ratings.
If you enroll in Discover’s Identity Theft Protection service, the company will monitor dark web sites for any mention of your Social Security number.
With Discover’s mobile app, you can track your spending and earn rewards on-the-go.
Put a hold on your card in the event it becomes lost or stolen using the “Freeze It” feature in the app.
If you enable this feature in the mobile app, Discover will help you remove your information from various sites that do personal searches.
Important Fine Print
Analyzing Interest Rates
Variable Annual Percentage Rate (APR) between 18.24% and 27.24%
Six months of no interest on purchases to start things off
For the first six months, balance transfers have a promotional APR of 10.99%.
Fees
There is no annual fee at all.
To transfer a balance, you’ll pay a 3% fee the first time and up to 5% each time after that (terms and restrictions apply).
There Have Been No Deals Involving Any Purchases Made Abroad
Alternatives to Discover it® Cash Back Programs for Students
Think about the Discover it® Student Cash Back card and the Discover it® Student Chrome card and see how they differ.
One viable alternative to the Discover it® Student Cash Back card is the Discover it® Student Chrome card. If you use your card at gas stations and restaurants, you may get 2% cash back on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, and you’ll earn 1% cash back on all other transactions. Students who already have a Discover it® Student Cash Back card may apply for the Discover it® Student Chrome card.
It’s important to examine the reward alternatives (and the ease associated) while deciding between these cards since it’s possible that casual spending may earn maximums in pretty narrow and restricted quarterly categories. Although, if both cards are used to their full potential, the Discover it® Student Chrome card’s rewards will be higher, the Discover it® Student Cash Back card’s rewards will be higher, and so on and so forth.
To receive $300 in cash back in a year at the maximum 5% rate available via the Discover it® Student Cash Back program, cardholders would need to spend $6,000. This is because the reward categories are restricted and rotate during the year. On the other hand, if a cardholder spends $4,000 in a year, then they will receive a maximum of $80 in cash back from the Discover it® Student Chrome’s 2% cash back categories.
The only real difference between these cards is the cash-back schemes, which are all somewhat different. In addition, the Discover it® Student Chrome has Unlimited Cashback Match, much as the Discover it® Student Cash Back. What this implies is that Discover will automatically match the cardholder’s cashback at the end of the first year. There is neither minimum investment needed nor maximum probable profit.
Analyze the differences and similarities between the Chase Freedom® Student credit card* and the Discover it® Student Cash Back credit card.
The Chase Freedom® Student credit card is no longer available for new customers to apply for. For additional information on the different offers, please visit the issuer’s website. Forbes Advisor has collected this card data independently, without any input from or authorization from, the card issuer.
The Chase Freedom® Student credit card* may help you establish credit while providing a simpler cash-back program. If you don’t want or don’t see the value in the 5% cashback categories given by the Discover it® Student Cash Back card, this is the card for you.
Chase Freedom Student credit cardholders are eligible for a $50 bonus after making their first purchase during the first three months after opening their account. One thing to consider, however, is whether or not the Chase student card’s incentive is worth it compared to the Discover it® Student Cash Back card’s first-year unlimited cashback match.
Let’s say you’re planning on spending more than $2,500 on goods and services in the first 12 months. In that situation, the Discover it® Student Cash Back will deliver superior results than the 1% unlimited cash back alone, and even superior results when the 5% capped quarterly category rewards are included in.
Any international purchase made using a currency other than U.S. dollars will incur a charge equivalent to 3% of the entire purchase price.
If you’re a student who is willing to put in the time to activate the rotating categories on your Discover it® Student Cash Back card, you’ll likely get better overall results. Students looking for a card with a fixed interest rate could like the Chase Freedom Student card. When it comes to college tuition agreements, students quickly realize that it pays to do their homework before signing anything. This is a necessary step before making any further commitments.
Check out the differences between the Bank of America® Travel Rewards* and the Discover it® Student Cash Back credit cards for college students.
The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students* is not only a great option for students with travel or study abroad plans, but also for those who just want to make the most of their credit card. Regardless of when, where, or what you use your card to make purchases, you will always get 1.5 points every dollar spent.
When compared to the Discover it® Student Cash Back credit card, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students* has a very low chance of succeeding on its own. Spending above $20,000 annually on your Discover it for Student card would be required to exceed the maximum earnable points from the 5% rotating bonus categories, at a value of 1 cent per point when redeemed for a statement credit toward travel or eating expenses. Most students can’t possibly listen to so much music at once.
The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students* has a number of benefits over competing student credit cards, including no foreign transaction fees and universal acceptance as a Visa card.
In addition, new users may earn 25,000 bonus points after completing an online purchase of $1,000 or more during the first 90 days of opening their Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card for Students* account.
The benefit on the Bank of America card is likely to be more valuable for students whose purchasing habits do not correspond well with the areas that yield a limited 5% bonus on the Discover it® Student Cash Back card. Reason being, students who anticipate spending a lot of money in the restricted 5% bonus areas may profit from the Discover Student Card’s limitless cashback match in the first year.
Do you think you might gain from Discover it®’s Cash Back for Students program?
While the Discover it® Student Cash Back card does have a few drawbacks, its attractive reward rates more than make up for them. However, students studying in another nation or those who are unwilling to put in the time and effort required to maximize their cashback returns may not find this card to their liking.
Aside from that, the Discover it® Student Cash Back card is a great way for students to build credit, gain familiarity with cash-back incentives and purchase APRs, and learn about credit cards, spending, and financial wellness.
Questions That Usually Get Answers (FAQs)
If I have a Discover it Student Cash Back card, where can I use it?
Discover claims that their credit cards may be used at 99% of all merchants that accept credit card payments in the United States. Be advised that although Discover does not charge any additional fees for international purchases, the company’s credit cards are not accepted in as many places as Visa and Mastercard.
Is there a minimum credit score requirement for the Discover it Student Cash Back?
The Discover it® Student Cash Back card is available to students regardless of their credit history. Student credit cards are designed to help students with little or no credit history establish a positive credit history. Be aware, however, that submitting an application for a student ID does not guarantee that you will be issued one.
How can I make sure I’m eligible for Discover it Student Cash Back?
The Discover it® Student Cash Back program application does not need a credit score for acceptance, but does require identifying personal and pertinent financial information. Details such as your name, address, and SSN are included here. It is possible that you may be requested to provide evidence, such as a.edu email address, showing you are presently enrolled in a school. You need to be 18 or older and able to prove that you have a regular income before submitting an application.
