Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card Review
Discover it® Student Cash Back from Discover Bank — all information about the credit card.
Good Choose for Student
- Rewards Rate:
- 5% Cash Back on everyday purchases during the school year (and all year long) at different places each quarter, such as Amazon, Grocery stores, Restaurants, Gas stations (on up to $1,500 in spending per quarter when you activate and 1% back on everything else).
- 1% Cash Back on all other purchases.
- Intro Offer:
- 2x Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
- Annual Fee:$0
- Purchase Intro APR:0% Intro APR for 6 months from date of account opening
- Regular APR:18.24% - 27.24% Variable
- Balance Transfer APR:10.99% The APR for 6 months from date of first transfer
18.24% - 27.24% Variable
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Discover Bank Discover it® Student Cash Back Rewards Calculator
All benefits
- Cash back
- 5% On everyday purchases during the school year (and all year long) at different places each quarter, such as Amazon, Grocery stores, Restaurants, Gas stations (on up to $1,500 in spending per quarter when you activate and 1% back on everything else).
- 1% On all other purchases.
Rate and fee information
- Purchase Intro APR
- 0% Intro APR for 6 months from date of account opening
- Purchase APR
- 18.24% - 27.24% Variable
- Intro Balance Transfer APR
- None
- Balance Transfers APR
- 10.99% The APR for 6 months from date of first transfer
18.24% - 27.24% Variable
- 10.99% The APR for 6 months from date of first transfer
- APR for Cash Advances
- 29.99% Variable
- How to Avoid Paying Interest
- Your due date is at least 25 days after the close of each billing period (at least 23 days for billing periods that begin in February). You will not be charged any interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance by the due date each month.
Fees
- Annual Fee
- $0
- Fees for Balance Transfer
- 3% Intro fee on balances transferred by June 10, 2024 and up to 5% fee for future balance transfers will apply
- Fees for Cash Advances
- Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater
- Penalty Fees
- None
- Return Payment
- Up to $41
- Late Payment
- None the first time you pay late. After that, up to $41
Pros & Cons
- High rewards on rotating spending categories
- Double rewards in the first year
- Good grades rewards
- Intro 0% APR for on purchases
- Low approval requirements for a card
- No foreign transaction fee
- Spending categories rotate every quarter
- Manual activation of spending categories
- Limited international acceptance
- Not available for international students
Features
- 0% Intro APR
- No Annual Fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- Cashback
- Payment Flexibility
- Rewards
- Free Credit Score
- Purchase Protection
- Student
- Poor Credit
- Fair Credit
About the issuer
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- 0% Introductory APR for the first 15 months that your account is openPurchase Intro APR
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Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card Review
This article explains the strengths and weaknesses of the Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card, which has a generous rewards system and bonuses.
The Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card is a no-annual-fee, rotating category cash back credit card from Discover. It provides 5% cash back on specific rotating spending categories (on up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%) , as well as 0% introductory APR for 6 months (18.24% - 27.24% Variable after that).
Additionally, Discover doubles the amount of cash back received during the first year, provides several options to redeem that cash back any time, including by making a charitable donation or by paying at Amazon.com with rewards. Moreover, Discover provides a unique good grades rewards system, which financially encourages the students with high GPA.
Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card: pros and cons
| Pros: | Cons: |
|---|---|
| High rewards on rotating spending categories. You receive 5% cash back on quarterly rotating spending categories, like groceries, streaming services, Amazon.com, and gas stations (on up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%). | Spending categories rotate every quarter. As spending categories of Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card rotate once every three months, you may not receive a consistently high cash back. |
| Double rewards in the first year. With Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card, you will double all the cash back you receive during the first year. | Manual activation of spending categories. You have to manually activate the spending categories each quarter to earn 5% cash back (on up to $1,500 in purchases). Otherwise, you’ll receive only 1% cash back on your purchases. |
| Good grades rewards. You receive a $20 statement credit each school year your GPA is 3.0 or higher for up to the next 5 years, for a maximum of $100 in possible rewards for good grades. | Limited international acceptance. Discover card acceptance abroad is more limited compared to competitors like Visa® and MasterCard®. |
| Intro 0% APR on purchases. Most of the student credit cards do not provide introductory 0% APR for purchases at all. This card, in turn, offers a 6 month period to pay off purchases without interest rates charged (18.24% - 27.24% Variable after that). | Not available for international students. As the SSN (Social Security Number) is necessary for approval, international students and foreigners, in general, do not qualify for Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card. |
| Low approval requirements for a card. An approval rate for Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card is relatively high, and you can apply and get it with no credit history. Additionally, this Discover credit card does not have a minimum income requirement for those applying to get it. | |
| No foreign transaction fee. The absence of a foreign transaction fee allows you to take this card with you while travelling or studying abroad without worrying about extra charges. |
Rewards system in a nutshell
Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card is a rotating bonus categories card, meaning that you can enjoy higher spending cash back rates in various categories that change each quarter. The cardholders need to activate quarterly bonus categories in order to earn 5% cash back with $1500 in purchases being the quarterly maximum spend.
Beyond that, Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card provides an unlimited 1% cash back on all the spendings in other categories without activation. Moreover, this 1% cash back also applies once you hit the limit of $1500 in purchases in the rotating spending categories. There’s no limit to the total cash back you can earn from this 1% cash back.
Additionally, as a bonus, this card rewards you by doubling all the cash back you earn during your first year. There is no limit on how much you can receive with this bonus.
There’s no minimum or maximum amount of bonus to redeem in rewards. Furthermore, you can do it any time. There are a variety of ways to cash out your rewards:
- Redeem for gift cards or instant eCertificates. You may spend your cash back on gift cards or eCertificates from the Discover partners, starting at $20.
- Donate to a charity. This option allows you to spend your cash back as a charitable donation to one of several organizations.
- Transfer credit to your Account. Reward system allows you to transfer any amount of cash back to your account.
- Electronic deposit. You may use redeem your cash back for an electronic deposit into an account you designate
- Pay at Amazon.com or pay with PayPal, using the rewards. The final option is to use the “Cashback Bonus” to pay at Amazon.com or use them paying with PayPal.
Who can benefit from getting the Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card?
First and foremost, college students are the core group who should consider this card as being a student is one of the conditions for obtaining the card. Not only does the card have lower approval requirements for those with no credit history, but it also has a rewards system for students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Secondly, as Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card is a rotating bonus categories card, it’s good for those who are ready to keep up with the rotating bonus spending categories each quarter. 5% cash back (on up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%) is a generous offer and, when used strategically, will allow maximizing profits from purchases.
Finally, this card should be of specific interest for those who consider making expensive purchases, as this card offers a 0% introductory APR for the 6 months after the card was issued (18.24% - 27.24% Variable after that).
Are there any other benefits?
Yes, Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card provides many additional bonuses:
- Security alerts. If your Social Security number is found on the Dark Web, you’ll be notified of it for free. Additionally, Discovery will inform you if the system finds new credit accounts opened on your Experian credit report.
- “Refer-a-friend” bonuses. You can earn a statement credit once your referred friend will be approved.
- No time frame for card holding. Discover has a policy allowing cardholders to keep their student cards and receive all the bonuses even after graduation.
- Instant account freeze. You may instantly freeze your account preventing cash operations in seconds via phone or mobile app if your card is stolen or lost, and you don’t want any unauthorized purchases.
- Free FICO credit score. You’ll have instant access to your FICO credit score for free on your monthly statement or any time you want using the mobile app.
Conclusion
Additionally, it rewards college students with GPA starting from 3.0. As for other benefits, this card goes without an annual fee and has low approval requirements. As for the drawbacks of the Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card, it is limited to US citizens with a SSN and has poor international acceptance compared to competitors.
Overall, the Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card is a good option every student should consider as their prospective credit card, bearing in mind all its strengths and benefits.
FAQ
What is the customer service phone number for the Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card?
How to check my application status for the Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card?
- NoneAnnual Fee
- 29.99%Regular APR
- 5%Cash Back on hotel and rental car purchases through Capital One Travel.
- NonePurchase Intro APR