Best Discover credit cards for December 2024
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- Best overall: Discover it® Cash Back
- Best for travel: Discover it® Miles
- Best for students: Discover it® Student Cash Back
- Best for gas: Discover it® Chrome
- Best for off-campus living: Discover it® Student Chrome
- Best for building credit: Discover it® Secured Credit Card
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Showing 6 results
Intro offer
Cashback Match
Rewards rate
1% - 5%
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
18.49% - 27.49% Variable APR
Why you'll like this: Discover’s flagship card is one of the most lucrative and low-cost options on the market thanks to its stellar rewards and intro offer.
Intro offer
Discover Match®
Rewards rate
1.5X
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
18.49% - 27.49% Variable APR
Why you'll like this: If you prefer more flexibility than some rival cards offer, you can redeem your miles for cash back without losing rewards value.
Intro offer
Cashback Match
Rewards Rate
1% - 5%
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
17.49% - 26.49% Variable APR
Why you'll like this: It carries perhaps the highest cash back rates and welcome offer potential of any student card — all with minimal rates and fees.
Intro offer
Cashback Match
Rewards rate
1% - 2%
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
18.49% - 27.49% Variable APR
Why you'll like this: It offers a streamlined rewards program with solid, year-round cash back on gas station purchases.
Intro offer
Cashback Match
Rewards Rate
1% - 2%
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
17.49% - 26.49% Variable APR
Why you'll like this: You can reap cash back from major day-to-day purchases like gas and at restaurants, even if you have no credit history.
Intro offer
Cashback Match™
Rewards Rate
1% - 2%
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
27.49% Variable APR
Why you'll like this: It offers some of the best rewards rates, welcome offer rewards and credit-building features available with a card built for secured credit.
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Compare Bankrate’s top Discover credit cards
Card Name | Best For | Cash Back Highlights | Bankrate Review Score |
---|---|---|---|
|
Cash back + Best overall |
5% cash back on rotating categories each quarter when you activate (up to $1,500 in combined quarterly purchases, then 1%) with 1% on all other purchases |
4.4 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Discover's secure site
|
|
Travel |
Unlimited 1.5X miles |
3.9 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Discover's secure site
|
|
Students |
5% cash back on rotating categories each quarter when you activate (up to $1,500 in combined quarterly purchases, then 1%) with 1% on all other purchases |
5.0 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Discover's secure site
|
|
Best for gas |
2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, then 1%) with 1% on all other purchases |
4.0 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Discover's secure site
|
|
Off-campus living |
2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, then 1%) with 1% on all other purchases |
4.1 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Discover's secure site
|
|
Building credit |
2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, then 1%) with 1% on all other purchases |
4.5 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Discover's secure site
|
What is a Discover credit card?
Discover functions as both a credit card issuer and network, ranking among the top four in the country. Functioning as a credit card network, it independently processes transactions among merchants, customers and banks, eliminating the need for partnerships to extend lines of credit. It boasts a 99 percent acceptance rate at U.S. merchants, although international acceptance may be more limited. But despite this, Discover's range of credit cards with minimal fees and high customer satisfaction ratings makes them highly appealing.
Bankrate Insight
Discover has a track record of excellent customer service satisfaction, earning top marks in J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, with a score of 629 out of 1,000 points, falling just behind American Express and tying Bank of America.
Tips on choosing the best Discover card
The Discover card you choose should be based on your financial goals and needs. For example, students with little or no credit history might choose one of Discover's student credit cards. If you need to work on your credit, Discover offers secured cards for credit-builders, and if you’re a cash back enthusiast, you might consider a Discover cash back card.
To help decide which card would fit your needs best, check out our tips below.
Still unsure if a Discover credit card is right for you? Check out our Credit Card Spender Type Tool where you can get personalized credit card recommendations based on your credit score, spending habits and daily needs.
Expert advice on Discover cards
Here’s what credit card expert Nouri Zarrugh has to say about his experience with Discover and a lesser-known card feature that helped him:
“One of the downsides of carrying a wallet full of cards and constantly switching back and forth between them, like I do, is that payment due dates can be tough to juggle. So I’ve paid more in late fees than I care to admit. That’s why I love Discover’s forgiving late fee policy. Mistakes happen, and when I missed my Discover card’s due date (the first and only time), I was so grateful I had a second chance to get things sorted.”
— Nouri Zarrugh, Senior Editor, Credit Cards
This is a great perk to be aware of, even if you’re an experienced cardholder. You should also keep this in mind to avoid interest charges, inconvenience and credit card debt.
What people say about Discover credit cards
A common question that many people have with credit cards is how high their credit limit will be. Based on cardholder experiences on Reddit, there’s a lot of room for growth with Discover. A few users who started with modest limits between $200 and $500 on the Discover it® Secured Credit Card got a limit increase after a few years to over $5,000 on an unsecured Discover card.
Some cardholders with a solid credit history started with a credit limit in the thousands on their unsecured Discover card. One Reddit user shared how easy it was to get a credit limit increase with Discover:
“Discover is one of the easiest lenders to grow a large limit with if you've got a sufficiently strong profile. They also don't put any restrictions on the frequency of soft pull [credit limit increases] where most other lenders require (say) 6 months between them, so if one is aggressive, they have the potential to grow their Discover limit relatively quickly [with responsible use].”
— Reddit User
Regardless of issuer, you’ll need to demonstrate positive credit habits to have a good chance at a credit limit increase, like making on-time payments and keeping your credit utilization low. It’s also good to remember that these increases take time, so don’t get discouraged if you start with a low limit.
*The quotes and citations included on this page have been verified by our editorial team and are accurate as of the posting date. Outlinked content may contain views and opinions that do not reflect the views and opinions of Bankrate. Please see the issuer’s website for updated terms and conditions.
In the news: Capital One-Discover merger
Frequently asked questions about Discover credit cards
How we assess the best Discover credit cards
When evaluating the best credit cards from Discover, we take into account several factors, including how cards score in our proprietary card rating system and whether they offer features that fit the priorities of a diverse group of cardholders, from earning rewards to scoring a large sign-up bonus to saving on interest.
Our rating database covers over 250 of the most popular credit cards, allowing us to compare the quality of various Discover cards to each other and to cards in the same category from other issuers. We scored each card based on the factors most relevant to its primary category, including its rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, intro APR period, ongoing APR, perks and more to determine whether it belonged in this month’s roundup.
Here’s a look at how our card ratings are distributed as of August 2024, as well as some of the key factors that we considered in selecting this month’s best Discover cards.
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5 stars 2%
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4 - 4.9 stars 35%
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3 - 3.9 stars 39%
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2 - 2.9 stars 22%
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1 - 1.9 stars 2%