- Intro Offer
-
Cashback Match™ Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. 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
- APR
- 18.24% – 27.24% Variable APR
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 5% 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 unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases-automatically.; Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
At a glance
The Discover it® Student Cash Back* has the coveted one-two combo of simplicity and value. It’s as rewarding as some standard, non-student credit cards and provides one of the best welcome offers on the market.
Best of all? You don’t need a lofty credit score to qualify. And so long as you manage it well -- meaning not spending money you don’t have and paying your bill in full and on time each month -- your credit standing will likely improve.
Our take
If you’re in college, a student credit card can help you build credit, earn rewards and provide an emergency source of financing. And in most cases, you won’t have to worry about a credit check, like you would with a standard credit card.
The Discover it® Student Cash Back offers the best of all those features. Its rewards program is arguably one of the best -- depending on your budget -- and the welcome bonus is currently unmatched. And even if you don’t want to use a credit card regularly, a short introductory APR makes this a good option for any emergency expenses.
And while all student credit cards are pretty forgiving when it comes to credit checks, Discover does not require a credit score at all -- though the card can help you build your credit with responsible use. That means not overspending and paying your bill on time.
Between its accessibility and higher-than-average rewards, this credit card can provide the best value for most college students. (It’s also one of the few credit cards that allows you to choose from a handful of different designs.)
Read more: Best Debit Cards for College Students
Pros and cons of the Discover it Student Cash Back
Pros
Earn rewards and build credit
Access an introductory purchase APR
One of the best welcome offers available
No credit score required to apply
Cons
Rewards could entice you to overspend
Carrying a balance on a credit card can lead to expensive interest charges
Missing payments could damage your credit score
Who is this card best for?
The Discover it Student Cash Back is one of the best student cards you could pick. If you’re still on the fence, consider if any of these points apply to you:
- College students looking to build credit: If you’re trying to establish a good credit score, paying your bill on time each month and regularly not charging up to your credit limit can help.
- College students who want to earn rewards: The Discover it Student Cash Back earns an impressive rate even among standard credit cards. The categories do change quarterly, but they’ve historically covered popular expenses like gas, fitness memberships and eating out.
- Parents who want their kids to have access to emergency credit: The Discover it Student Cash Back would give students a line of credit they could use in the case of an emergency. It also features an introductory purchase APR, so if it’s a large expense, it won’t grow any bigger from interest charges during that time.
Who should skip it?
While the Discover it Student Cash Back is a great card, it’s not right for everyone. If any of these situations apply to you, perhaps you’d be better served by another credit card.
- You’re easily enticed into spending money you don’t have: Rewards are great. They can help cut back on certain expenses or help you cover a purchase you’ve had your eye on. However, if you’re likely to spend more just to earn them, you could find yourself in credit card debt.
- You don’t want to manually activate rewards: The Discover it Student Cash Back features revolving rewards that change each quarter, or every three months. You’ll need to manually activate these rewards every time they change to use them. If that sounds too much to keep track of, there are simpler (yet less rewarding) options.
A closer look at the Discover it Student Cash Back
Rewards and redemption
While the rewards rate is higher than most credit cards, the rewards program is a little more volatile. You earn 5% cash back on quarterly rotating rewards categories on up to $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter (then 1%). You do have to activate each category manually through your account each quarter.
The current quarterly 5% rewards categories through June are:
- Gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations
- Home improvement stores
- Public transit
For all other purchases, you’ll earn a standard 1% cash back per dollar spent. You can redeem your cash back as a statement credit in any amount, or you can apply your cash back directly to Amazon.com and online store PayPal purchases.
Building your credit with the Discover it Student Cash Back
Like with other credit cards, you can build your credit with the Discover it Student Cash Back with responsible use.
At minimum, this means making your monthly credit card payments on time. You at least want to make the minimum payment on time each month, but you should aim to pay more than this amount -- ideally the entire statement balance -- each month to avoid interest charges.
You also want to keep your credit utilization ratio low. This ratio represents how much credit you have compared to the amount of credit you’re using. Ideally, you want to use less than 30% of your credit line at any given time. So if you have a $2,000 credit limit, you will want to make sure you have less than a $666 balance at any time to help boost your credit score.
A good rule of thumb is to treat your credit card as if it were cash. That means not spending more than you can afford to pay back right away. If you pay off a purchase as soon as you make it, you won’t have to stress about missing a payment or have to pay extra from interest.
Welcome bonus
Even if you never use the bonus rotating category, the Discover it Student Cash Back’s welcome bonus, called the Unlimited Cashback Match™, may make this card worthwhile.
At the end of your first year as a cardholder, Discover will match all the cash back you earned in the prior 12 months and post that amount to your account as a bonus. This means that if you earned $200 in cash back throughout the year based on your expenditures, Discover will give you another $200.
You will have to wait until the end of your first year with Discover to get this cash-back welcome bonus, but the potential value of this bonus is beyond what comparable student cards offer.
Introductory APR
Some credit cards offer a low introductory APR period, which gives you a route to avoid interest during this time period. You could use this intro APR period to finance large purchases, but we recommend only using this feature if an unexpected necessity or emergency pops up.
The Discover it Student Cash Back card offers a 0% introductory APR on purchases for 6 months. After that, you’ll be subject to a 18.24% to 27.24% variable APR. If you do use the introductory APR to cover a charge, make sure you make all the minimum payments on time -- otherwise, you could forfeit the promotional rate and start racking up interest.
You should aim to pay off the whole balance in full by the end of the promotion to avoid interest charges. Your billing statement will tell you how much of your balance is subject to the promotional or regular APR each month.
Other cards to consider
Discover it® Student Chrome
The Discover it® Student Chrome* is comparable to the Discover it Student Cash Back in many ways, but it’s geared more toward college commuters. Instead of rotating cash-back rewards, it offers smaller, more consistent rewards on gas stations and restaurants.
You’ll earn 2% cash back on gas stations and restaurants, on up to $1,000 in combined spending each quarter (then 1%). Cafes, takeout, delivery and fast food all count toward the restaurant category. You’ll earn 1% on all other purchases, but you also get the benefit of the Unlimited Cashback Match™ with this card. The introductory APR is identical to that of the Discover it Student Cash Back too.
Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card* isn’t necessarily ideal for commuters, but any student who frequently buys their own meals may get good use out of this card.
The SavorOne student earns 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores. Entertainment includes movie theaters, sports promoters (professional and semi-professional live events), amusement parks, tourist attractions, aquariums, zoos, dance halls, record stores, pool halls and bowling alleys. Meanwhile, popular streaming services include Netflix, Hulu and Disney+. Note that Target, Walmart and other superstores don’t count as grocery stores, so you’ll only earn 1% back at these retailers.
Otherwise, there’s no introductory APR and the welcome bonus doesn’t have as much potential -- you earn a $50 cash bonus when you spend $100 on the card in your first three months. Despite these weaknesses, the cash-back rewards rates still make this one of the strongest student credit cards available.
How Discover it® Student Cash Back compares to other cards
- Intro Offer
-
Cashback Match™ Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. 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
- APR
- 18.24% – 27.24% Variable APR
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% for 6 months
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 5% 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 unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases-automatically.; Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.24% – 32.24% (Variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 1.5% Up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments.; 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away.
- Intro Offer
-
Cashback Match™ Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. 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
- APR
- 18.24% – 27.24% Variable APR
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% for 6 months
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 2% Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter.; Earn 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
FAQs
Student credit cards typically offer those with limited or no credit a way to start building credit and create a credit history. They generally come with lower credit limits than typical credit cards and don’t charge annual fees. And they often have novice-friendly features, including late payment forgiveness, incremental credit limit increases over time and credit education resources. Reward rates may be lower than for standard cash-back and travel credit cards, however, making student credit cards a lower-risk, lower-reward financial tool.
While some people choose to build credit with a secured credit card -- that is, a card where you’ve backed your credit limit with a cash deposit -- student credit cards work a bit differently. Student credit cards don’t generally require cash upfront, but these cards typically only offer a small credit line, sometimes just a few hundred bucks. That way, the student can use the card to build credit without the risk of racking up too much credit card debt (which leads to bad credit).
A typical nonstudent credit card application requires a high credit score (around 650 or so) and at least a few years of credit report history. To get a student credit card, however, you often don’t necessarily need either, though some proof of financial experience and responsibility helps when it comes to securing a credit card offer. The issuer may ask you for information regarding any income you may have (even if it’s from family), and any checking account or savings account you may have. You do need to prove enrollment generally in a four-year college, community college or other higher education institution.
In addition to more relaxed eligibility requirements, the best student credit cards will offer some of the following features:
- Special rules for credit newcomers such as minimal late fees and no-penalty APRs
- Lower credit limits -- usually between $500 and $2,000
- Cash-back rewards program on spending
- A “reasonable” APR -- usually between 15% and 20%
Our methodology
CNET reviews credit cards by exhaustively comparing them across set criteria developed for each major category, including cash-back credit cards, welcome bonus credit cards, travel rewards credit cards and balance transfer credit cards. We take into consideration the typical spending behavior of a range of consumer profiles -- with the understanding that everyone’s financial situation is different -- and the designated function of a card.
*All information about the Discover it Student Cash Back, Discover it Student Chrome and Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
