Discover It Student Cash Back vs. Discover It Student Chrome

Discover is a popular credit card issuer that has a number of cards designed for different audiences. One of the company’s target markets is people still in school, and it offers two student credit card options. Both are solid choices, but it’s important to compare the two to decide which is the better fit for you.

How the cards stack up

Both Discover it Student Cash Back and Discover it Student Chrome are rewards cards that are also intended to help students build their credit. While similar, they take a slightly different approach to how they offer rewards.

Welcome Bonus Winner: Tie

Both cards offer the same welcome bonus: a doubling of your cash back in the first year that you have the card. Because your bonus is entirely dependent on how much you earn from the card’s typical rewards, there’s no clear winner.

Rewards Winner: Discover it Student Cash Back

Both cards offer a similar rewards structure, 1% cash back on most purchases, and an elevated rewards rate on a specific type of purchases. The difference is that Discover it Student Cash Back offers 5% on its bonus category, which rotates quarterly. Student Chrome offers just 2% cash back on its bonus category and the category never changes. Both cards cap the amount of spending that earns the higher rate, with Student Cash Back offering the higher cap at $1,500 per quarter.

Assuming you max out the bonus categories, the Discover it Student Cash Back card is the much better choice, offering $300 in cash back from bonus category spending to just $80 offered by Student Chrome.

Annual Fee Winner: Tie

There is no winner in the annual fee category because neither card charges an annual fee.

APR Winner: Tie

Both cards offer the same annual percentage rate (APR): 18.24% to 27.24%, with your rate depending on your creditworthiness. They also both have a 0% introductory APR promotion for six months. It’s a tie.

Foreign Transaction Fee Winner: Tie

None of Discover’s credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee, meaning that you can use them to make purchases while traveling abroad without incurring a penalty for doing so.

Additional Perks: Tie

Both Discover cards offer the same perks, including multiple ways to redeem your rewards and free Social Security number monitoring and alerts.

Which card earns the most?

Both cards offer the same 1% cash back on most purchases, so the differentiator between them is in their bonus categories. Which card provides more rewards depends on how well you can take advantage of them.

The Discover it Student Cash Back is likely to offer more rewards to most people. It gives 5% cash back on its bonus categories, compared with Student Chrome’s 2%. It also lets you spend an extra $500 per quarter before maxing out the bonus rewards, capping at $1,500 in quarterly spending. Student Chrome has a $1,000 cap.

If you always max out the bonus rewards, Student Cash Back will give you $220 more than Student Chrome. For Student Chrome to offer more rewards, you’d have to max out its bonus categories and spend less than $1,600 in Student Cash Back’s bonus categories over the course of a year, which is unlikely.

Why we recommend Discover it Student Cash Back

The Discover it Student Cash Back card is the better choice for most people, offering greater earning potential unless you struggle to use the card in its bonus categories. With typical spending habits you’ll likely come out ahead, even without maxing out its 5% categories.

Why you would still opt for Discover Student Chrome

Student Chrome is a solid card, and it may be appealing if you don’t want to deal with rotating bonus categories. Its 2% rewards category—restaurants and gas stations—rewards you at common places to spend money, If you value predictability with the rewards you earn, Student Chrome may be the right choice.

TIME Stamp: Two good cards with little to differentiate them

Both the Discover it Student Cash Back and Student Chrome cards are solid choices. The difference between them is in how they handle reward bonus categories. Though most people will earn slightly more with Student Cash Back’s rotating categories, it’s hard to go wrong with either.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is Discover it Student Cash Back the same as Discover it Student Chrome?

No. Student Cash Back offers 5% cash back on rotating purchase categories, while Discover Student Chrome gives 2% cash back on gas and restaurant purchases only.

Which is better: Discover Student Cash Back or Student Chrome?

Cardholders can earn slightly more with the Discover it Student Cash Back card because of its reward structure, which is different from that of the Student Chrome card. However, this only happens if you maximize all rewards possibilities. Some people may not want to worry about doing that. As otherwise the cards are the same, neither can really be considered better than the other.

What is the difference between Discover it Student and Discover it Secured?

The Discover it Student and Discover it Secured cards are very different. The Student cards are, per their name, for students, who usually have a limited credit history and need a card for beginners. They don’t require any collateral to open them. The secured card is aimed at anyone who has a limited credit history or poor credit, not just students, and you must put down a cash security deposit to open one.