Discover it Student Cash Back vs. Discover it Student Chrome Bankrate Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Introduction to the Discover it Student Chrome Card Advertiser Disclosure
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We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. SHARE: On This Page
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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. If you’re looking for a with competitive rewards and no annual fee, the Discover it Student Cash Back card and Discover it Student chrome are likely on your radar. While these two cards are very similar, they differ in rewards structures. The Discover it Student Cash Back card offers a higher rate on bonus spending categories that alternate every quarter. On the other hand, the Discover it Student chrome card offers a lower cash back rate, but the spending categories don’t change throughout the year and may be better suited for some students. Read on to find out which student credit card will give you higher rewards based on your spending. Main details
Features Discover it Student chrome Discover it Student Cash Back Annual fee $0 $0 Sign-up bonus Cash back earnings are matched by Discover at the end of your first year Cash back earnings are matched by Discover at the end of your first year Rewards 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter 1% back on all other purchases 5% cash back on each quarter’s activated rotating categories (on up to $1,500 in combined purchases, then 1%) 1% back on all other purchases Intro APR 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months 10.99% intro APR on balance transfers for 6 months 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months 10.99% intro APR on balance transfers for 6 months Variable APR 15.99% to 24.99% variable 15.99% to 24.99% variable Discover it Student chrome vs Discover it Student Cash Back highlights
Welcome bonus winner Tie
Known as Discover’s program, both cards will match the cash back you earn at the end of your first 12 months of card ownership. Technically, the rewards here are the same, and the best card for you will depend on your spending and how much cash back you’ll be able to receive from each card in the first place. However, the Discover it Student Cash Back card has the potential to offer much higher rewards (which you’ll see in our spending example below), and the welcome bonus will double them. Rewards rate winner Discover it Student Cash Back
The Discover it Student Cash Back offers 5 percent cash back on each quarter’s activated rotating categories (on up to $1,500 in combined purchases, then 1 percent) and 1 percent back on all other purchases. Here’s a look at to help you determine if these categories could benefit you: Quarter 2022 cash back categories Q1: January through March Grocery stores Fitness clubs Gym memberships Q2: April through June Gas stations Target Q3: July through September Restaurants PayPal Q4: October through December Amazon.com Digital wallets The Discover it Student Cash Back card will allow you to earn higher rewards, provided you spend in the categories listed above. Given that these categories are common enough, there’s a good chance you’ll receive more from this card’s rewards compared to the Student chrome — as long as some of them apply to you. On the other hand, the Discover it Student chrome offers 2 percent cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter and 1 percent back on all other purchases. Overall, the Student Cash Back offers a higher rewards rate (5 percent compared with 2 percent) for more diverse categories as opposed to strictly gas stations and restaurants. On top of that, the Student Cash Back rewards you for up to $1,500 in spending per quarter, while the Student chrome is capped at $1,000. Annual fee winner Tie
Both the Discover it Student Cash Back and Discover it Student chrome have no annual fee. Foreign transaction fee winner Tie
Neither card charges , making them both a great choice when it comes to traveling outside of the U.S. — for example, if you plan on one semester. Which card earns more
The card that earns you more cash back will depend on how much you spend in particular shopping categories. The Student Cash Back offers higher rewards, but the rewards are limited to certain categories and alternate quarterly. Here’s an example to better understand how this works: Discover it Student chrome vs Discover it Student Cash Back spending example
Let’s say you spend $1,000 per month for three months on , and you use your Discover card for $150 in grocery purchases, $100 on gas, $50 at restaurants and $200 on miscellaneous expenses (including online shopping for your dorm and holiday purchases). Now, say you open the toward the tail end of September. If you do all of your miscellaneous spending through Amazon.com or by utilizing (such as Apple Pay or Google Pay), you’d earn $30 in cash back over the course of three months. Further, you’d earn $9 in cash back for your gas, grocery and restaurant purchases over the course of three months. Overall, that’s $39 in cash back. On the other hand, say you instead choose to open up the . You’d earn $4.50 on grocery purchases, $6 on gas purchases and $3 on restaurant purchases over the course of three months. Overall, that’s $13.50 in cash back. Of course, this is just one spending example. If you can afford to spend more and max out your card’s categories for a particular quarter, this is what you can expect to earn (not including any non-category purchases earning 1 percent back): Discover it Student Cash Back: $75 in cash back Discover it Student chrome: $20 in cash back Why should you get the Discover it Student chrome card
Additional benefits
The Student chrome comes with an on/off switch to freeze your account at any time through the mobile app. You can activate the switch if you misplace your card or to prevent future purchases. You’ll also be able to activate Discover Identity Alerts to be informed whenever someone pulls your credit (so you can recognize potential fraud) and if your Social Security number ever appears on the dark web. like this usually comes at an extra cost. Further, you can view your for free with this card. Redemption options
With the Discover it Student chrome, you can redeem your cash back rewards at any time, and you don’t need to wait for a minimum amount to redeem them. Options include receiving cash back as a direct deposit or , gift cards, paying with your rewards at Amazon.com or via PayPal and donating rewards to charity. Recommended credit score
One of the great things about the Discover it Student chrome is that no credit history is needed to be eligible, making it specifically geared toward . Why should you get the Discover it Student Cash Back
Additional benefits
With the Discover it Student Cash Back, you’ll also be able to view your FICO credit score for free. In addition, this card comes with free credit monitoring services, which will alert you if your Social Security number ever appears on the dark web and every time someone pulls your credit. Redemption options
Just like the Student chrome card, you can redeem your cash back rewards at any time with no minimum amount required. The same redemption options apply. Recommended credit score
The Discover it Student Cash Back card does not require a credit history to be eligible. The bottom line
The and are two top choices for student cards and are solid choices for students looking for a starter card to . They both offer competitive cash back rewards rates, access to Discover’s Cashback Match program and no annual fee. The main difference will come down to whether you want to receive a higher rewards rate on rotating cash back categories or prefer a lower (but consistent) rewards rate on restaurants and gas purchases. Before you , be sure to check out the other we recommend. SHARE: Claire Dickey is a product editor for Bankrate, and . Before joining Bankrate, Claire worked as a copywriter for brands within the telecommunications industry as well as a hybrid marketing and content writer. Brady Porche is an editorial director for Bankrate Credit Cards and CreditCards.com. He has two decades of professional experience as a writer and editor.