Cash back · Discover · No annual fee
Last verified 2026-10-26. Review issuer source
The Discover it Cash Back's first year is hard to beat. A $200 statement credit comes after only $500 of spending in the first three months, and at the end of the year Discover matches every dollar of cash back you earned, which turns the 5% rotating categories into 10% and the 1% base into 2%. The categories rotate each quarter, cap at $1,500 of spending, and need activating.
After year one it is an ordinary rotating card with a 1% base. Discover charges no foreign transaction fee, but its acceptance abroad is thinner than Visa or Mastercard, so do not count on it as a travel card.
Discover reports to all three bureaus and approves people early in their credit history more readily than the big banks, which is why it is so often someone's first rewards card.
Cap: $1,500 per quarterly
Earn 5% Cashback Bonus at Reataurants
Cap: $1,500 per quarterly
Earn 5% Cashback Bonus on Entertainment
Cap: $1,500 per quarterly
Earn 5% Cashback Bonus on Utilities
Earn a $200 bonus statement credit when you spend $500 in the first 3 months.
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Discover gives cardmembers a FICO ® Credit score for free on monthly statements, mobile and online.
Get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year, automatically. There is no limit to how much we'll match. So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or $100 into $200.
Benefit descriptions are the issuer’s and network’s own wording, trimmed for length. Limits and exclusions are in the .
| Card | Annual fee | Rewards earned | Net after fee | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discover it Cash BackThis card · 5% on dining | None | $438 | +$438 | 442nd of 1,284 |
| Chase Freedom Flex® Credit CardRotating 5% plus 3% on dining and drugstores · 7% on dining | None | $822 | +$822 | 1st of 1,284 |
| Citi Double Cash®A flat 2% once the match year ends · 2% on everything | None | $492 | +$492 | 281st of 1,284 |
| Quicksilver Rewards1.5% flat with no fee and a $200 bonus · 1.5% on everything | None | $369 | +$369 | 472nd of 1,284 |
Reference budget: groceries $6,000, dining and restaurants $3,600, gas and ev charging $2,400, travel and transit $3,000, online shopping $2,400, entertainment and streaming $1,200, everything else $6,000. Points are valued at 1¢ unless the program is worth less; statement credits, welcome bonuses, and perks are left out. Run it with your own spending.
