Discover it^® Student Cash Back Review [2023]: A+ Rewards and a Bonus for Good Grades

As a student, chances are good your budget is tight and you need to make your money stretch as far as possible. A cashback credit card can help you do that by providing you with money back on every purchase you make.

Finding a good cashback card as a student is a challenge. After all, you need a card you can qualify for, and that can be difficult if you don’t have a long credit history. Plus, it needs to be affordable and offer cashback rewards on the spending you do most.

Fortunately, you have options, whether you're a current student or a recent grad. And one of the best student credit cards is the Discover it^® Student Cash Back.

Who should get the Discover it Student Cash Back card?

The Discover it Student Cash Back card is the perfect card for students who don't mind doing a little bit of work to maximize their credit card rewards. That's because this card's rewards program provides 5% back on rotating categories each quarter, on up to $1,500 in purchases. To get the most from this card, you need to be willing to activate the quarterly bonus and keep track of which spending provides the highest rewards.

Bonus categories include spending at grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and Amazon. So if you have an on-campus meal plan, never eat out, and rarely drive, this probably isn't the card for you. But if you do venture off campus for food, gas, and groceries, or if you're a frequent Amazon shopper, you can't beat the cash back this card offers. And as an added bonus, you automatically get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of any cash back you've earned at the end of the first year.

Card basics

Card type	Student
Credit card issuer	Discover
Annual fee	$0
Welcome bonus	You automatically get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of any cash back you've earned at the end of the first year
Rewards rate	Up to 5% cash back
Recommended credit score	Fair
Intro APR	0% APR for 6 months, then 17.74% to 26.74% (variable)

Discover it Student Cash Back card benefits and perks

• Generous sign-up bonus: With this card, you automatically get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of any cash back you've earned at the end of the first year. There are no limits and you don't have to do anything to sign up for this bonus.
• Good grades rewards: If your GPA is 3.0 or above during the school year, Discover provides you with a $20 statement credit. You're eligible to earn this credit annually for up to five years.
• Hefty bonus rewards: If you activate your quarterly bonus cash back categories, you can earn 5% cash back in rotating categories each quarter on up to $1,500 in purchases, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Free credit scores: Track how your credit score is changing with a free score available on your monthly statement or by signing into your Discover account using your online or mobile app.
• 0% introductory APR on purchases: Pay 0% interest on new purchases charged to your Discover it Student Cash Back card for the first 6 months that you're a cardmember (then 17.74% to 26.74% (variable)).
• Few fees: This card comes with no foreign transaction fee and the first late payment fee is waived. (You'll need to pay a late fee if you miss a subsequent payment, though.)
  
• Identity theft protection tools: Not only does Discover monitor for suspicious activity, but you can also use Discover’s Freeze it feature to prevent any new transactions from being made using your card. 
• Additional monitoring tools: With this card, you'll also get Experian credit report monitoring, so Discover will notify you if someone opens a new account in your name. It also offers a monitoring tool that alerts you if your Social Security number appears on the dark web.
  

Drawbacks to the Discover it Student Cash Back card

• Acceptance: Discover cards aren't as widely accepted as Amex, Mastercard, and Visa cards. If you plan to travel, you'd likely be better off bringing a different card to ensure it's accepted as your destination. 
• Quarterly spending categories: While this card does offer a high cash back rate in bonus categories each quarter, you need to remember to activate the quarterly categories. If you don't spend much in a particular bonus category, you might not get much value from the higher earnings rate.  
• Cashback match: Discover matches the cash back you earn with this card at the end of your first year as cardmember, but the benefit stops there. You won't receive a cashback match in subsequent years. 
• Limited intro APR: While this card does offer a 0% intro purchase APR to help you avoid interest charges for the first 6 months (then 17.74% to 26.74% (variable)), it does not have an intro APR for balance transfers.
• Spending cap: There is a quarterly maximum on cashback bonus rewards with this card. If you spend beyond that maximum, you'll only earn 1% cash back.

Earning & redeeming cash back

Best ways to earn

The best ways to earn cash back on the Discover it Student Cash Back card is to activate the quarterly bonus categories and spend within those categories each quarter.

For example, you could opt to buy all the textbooks you'll need for the year on Amazon during the quarter when you get 5% cash back from Amazon purchases. Or you could spend primarily on groceries during the month you get the bonus for this spending and save your dining out budget for another quarter when you're rewarded for restaurant purchases.

You'll also want to sign up for the card during a year when you plan to spend a lot to take advantage of the cashback match.

Maximizing your redemptions

The Discover it Student Cash Back Card provides cash back you can redeem in the form of a statement credit, deposit to your bank account, gift card, or for Amazon.com purchases. Cash back can be redeemed at any time and doesn't expire as long as your account remains active.

The nice thing about the fact the card offers cash back, rather than points or miles, is you don't have to figure out the most strategic way to redeem to maximize the value of your rewards. You can simply claim the cash back you earn. Just remember to activate the bonus categories every quarter to maximize your rewards. 

The bonus categories change from year to year and have included ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft in the past. For 2021, the bonus spending categories are as follows:

• Grocery stores, Walgreens, CVS (January-March)
• Gas stations, wholesale clubs, select streaming services (March-June)
• Restaurants and Paypal purchases (July-September)
• Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and Target.com purchases (October-December)

Discover it Student Cash Back card FAQs

Other cards to consider

While the Discover it Student Cash Back Card is a great card for building credit and getting rewarded on your everyday purchases, it isn't the only student card out there. There are a few others you might consider if you're looking for the best credit cards to use while you are in school. Other options that could be good first credit cards for college students include the following:

• Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card: Unlike the Discover it, this card doesn't provide rotating cash back. Instead, you'll earn 10% cash back on purchases made through Uber & Uber Eats (through 11/14/2024); 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment; 5% on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel; 3% on dining, entertainment, streaming services, and grocery stores (excluding superstores such as Walmart® and Target®); and 1% on all other purchases. This is a great fit for students who are into live music, sporting events, and dining out. Plus, there are no foreign transaction fees for students who like to travel or plan to study abroad. 
  
• Chase Freedom^® Student Credit Card: This card provides a much lower rewards rate — earn 1% cash back on all purchases. However, there's no limit on what you can earn. Cardholders can also earn $50 bonus after first purchase made within the first 3 months from account opening. Additionally, you could qualify for a credit limit increase if you make five monthly on-time payments within the first 10 months of account opening. While this card can help you build credit, the Discover student card offers better rewards.