The Discover it® Cash Back offers great value, but you’ll need a plan to reap all the benefits.
With a $0 annual fee, you can start earning extra value for your spending right away. But it still pays off to know all the card’s features, even with no annual fee to earn back.
- Activate your bonus categories
- Check the category restrictions
- Choose how to redeem your rewards
- Keep an eye on your Cashback Match
- Consider the 0% intro offer for big purchases
1. Activate your bonus categories
To take full advantage of Discover it® Cash Back, you’ll need to activate your rotating bonus categories as early as possible every quarter.
The card offers 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases (then 1%) in rotating categories that change every quarter (activation required). You’ll also earn 1% on all other purchases.
While that 5% rate is impressive, you won’t get it automatically. Discover requires you to activate your categories every quarter, and you won’t earn that elevated rate on any purchases made before you activate. Unlike some similar cards, the bonus rate doesn’t apply retroactively.
With categories changing every three months, it might be helpful to set a calendar reminder for the first days of January, April, July and October so you never forget to activate.
2. Check the category restrictions
When bonus categories change often, it can be difficult to keep track of which purchases are included and which aren’t. To maximize your value with the Discover it® Cash Back, check the restrictions on your quarterly categories whenever they’re announced.
For instance, “grocery stores” usually doesn’t include superstores like Walmart and Target, and “select streaming services” might not include your preferred option.
To help, Credit Karma sends an update to Discover it® Cash Back cardholders every quarter that details the new categories and their restrictions.
3. Choose how to redeem your rewards
You’ll earn your rewards as cash back, but you have some options for how you redeem.
In most cases, we recommend redeeming your rewards as a statement credit to your Discover account or as an electronic deposit into an eligible bank account. Discover allows cardholders to redeem for any amount, so you can redeem as soon as you earn your first rewards.
Discover offers a few other redemption options, like gift cards and purchases with online merchants, too.
4. Keep an eye on your Cashback Match
Unlike other rewards cards, Discover it® Cash Back doesn’t come with a traditional sign-up bonus. Instead, Discover offers Cashback Match, which matches all the rewards you earn in your first year of card membership.
You don’t need to qualify for the offer — you’ll receive your Cashback Match total within two billing periods of your first account anniversary.
Discover matches all the rewards you earn, not just what you haven’t redeemed, so there’s not much to track with Cashback Match. Still, it might be useful to keep an eye on your balance, so you know how much you stand to earn.
5. Consider the 0% intro offer for big purchases
If you’re planning to make a big purchase and need time to pay it off, Discover it® Cash Back could help you save money on potential interest charges.
The card offers a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases, and for 15 months after the date of your first transfer on balance transfers. After the intro periods end, you’ll see a variable APR of 17.49% - 26.49% on both purchases and balance transfers.
Balance transfers carry a 3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms).
While the balance transfer offer could be helpful if you’re carrying debt on other cards, we recommend that cardholders looking to maximize rewards stick to the 0% intro APR offer for new purchases.
In general, it’s a good idea to avoid using the same card for both new purchases and managing existing debt. Juggling both balances can get complicated, and you could end up in more debt than when you started.
Next steps
Your Discover it® Cash Back comes with other benefits, like free alerts when your Social Security number is found on the dark web, but the perks we’ve outlined are the most likely to help you find value early in your card membership.
Once you start using your card more often, you might find gaps you’d like to fill with another card. For example, if you’re looking for steady bonus rewards rates in any favorite categories, it may be worth seeking out another card.