Reasons to get the Discover it Cash Back credit card

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We talk a lot about the best credit cards for travel — popular cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card that offer lucrative welcome bonuses and valuable benefits.

But other cards may also be good to have in your wallet. Consider the Discover it® Cash Back card. It doesn’t offer a traditional sign-up bonus. Instead, after your first year of card membership, Discover will match the rewards you earned during that time. So, if you earn $300 in cash back with the Discover it Cash Back  in the first year, Discover will give you another $300, for a total of $600 in rewards.

I’ll share a few reasons why the Discover it Cash Back card may be a good choice for you.

You can apply for the Discover it Cash Back card here.

Reasons to apply for the Discover it Cash Back credit card

1. You want simple rewards

If you’re looking for a card that offers straightforward rewards, the Discover it Cash Back could be for you. The miles and points you earn with rewards cards can be valuable, but award charts and routing rules can be incredibly hard to decipher.

With the Discover it Cash Back card, each quarter you enroll, you can earn 5% back (which adds up to $75 back on up to $1,500 in purchases) in rotating bonus categories and an unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Plus, Discover will match the rewards you earn during your first year of cardmembership. That can really add up.

2. You can’t meet higher spending requirements

Because there’s no welcome bonus with the Discover it Cash Back card, the number of rewards you earn depends solely on how much you spend. There’s no minimum spending requirement to meet. And that’s especially useful for anyone who might have a hard time spending a few thousand dollars within a three-month period — the typical requirement for many of the best rewards credit cards.

3. You have large expenditures coming up within the next year

The Discover it Cash Back card earns an unlimited 1% cash back on purchases, plus you can earn 5% back (worth $75 back on up to $1,500 in purchases) each quarter by enrolling in rotating bonus categories.

In addition, Discover will match the rewards you earn after your first year of cardmembership. Because of this match, the Discover it Cash Back card can be extra lucrative for anyone who has large purchases coming up. For example, you might be remodeling your kitchen and about to buy $5,000 in new appliances. If you buy those with the Discover it Cash Back card, you’ll earn $50 cash back (1% cash back) immediately and a total of $100 cash back after you earn the match from Discover.

4. You’re over Chase 5/24

Many of the best travel credit cards are issued by Chase. But you aren’t eligible for any Chase credit card if you’ve opened five or more cards from any bank in the past 24 months (not including most business credit cards).

If you’ve exceeded the Chase 5/24 limit but still want to apply for another solid rewards card, the Discover it Cash Back card is worth considering. But if the Discover it Cash Back card is one of the first cards you open, it will limit which Chase cards you’re eligible for. For that reason, we don’t recommend applying for this card if you’re under the Chase 5/24.

Another card to consider

If you’re considering the Discover it Cash Back, take a look at the Chase Freedom® too. Both cards have bonus 5% rotating quarterly categories (on the first $1,500 in purchases each quarter you activate) and earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.

But with the Chase Freedom, if you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening, you’ll earn a $150 (15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) sign-up bonus. Plus, only the Chase Freedom earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for cash back or travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal at a rate of 1 cent per point. So if you earn 10,000 points, for example, that equates to $100 in cash back or travel.

And if you have an annual-fee Chase Ultimate Rewards card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, you can combine your points to one of these cards and use them to buy travel at a rate up to 1.5 cents per point (depending on the card) through the Chase travel portal.