Cash back · Discover · No annual fee
Last verified 2026-09-09. Review issuer source
Discover It Student Cash Back is a no-annual-fee cash back card from Discover. Its best everyday rates are 5% on drugstores, 5% on gas stations, and 5% on transit; everything else earns 1%. Drugstores is capped at $1,500 a quarter, then drops to the base rate.
On our reference budget of $24,600 a year it returns about $462, an effective 1.9% back.
Use it to start a file. Pay in full every month, keep the balance low, and move to a stronger rewards card once you have a year of history.
Cap: $1,500 per quarterly
Earn 5% Cashback Bonus on at Drug Stores
Cap: $1,500 per quarterly
Earn 5% Cashback Bonus at Gas Stations
Cap: $1,500 per quarterly
Earn 5% Cashback Bonus on Transportation
No welcome bonus is stored for this catalog entry yet.
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.
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 guide to benefits.
| Card | Annual fee | Rewards earned | Net after fee | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discover It® Student Cash BackThis card · 5% on drugstores | None | $462 | +$462 | 301st of 1,291 |
| Discover it® Cash BackDiscover's most-held other card · 5% on drugstores | None | $462 | +$462 | 300th of 1,291 |
| Savor RewardsThe strongest no-fee card on this budget · 3% on dining | None | $642 | +$642 | 4th of 1,291 |
| Robinhood Gold CardHighest net return on this budget · 3% on everything | $50 | $798 | +$748 | 1st of 1,291 |
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.
