Discover® Student Card Review

The Discover® Student Card, issued by Discover, is designed for students with very good credit who are looking for a cash reward credit card.

Through the reward program, cardholders earn a 5% rebate for purchases made in popular categories that change four times a year such as travel, gas, restaurants, movies, and more. In addition, cardholders earn up to 1% for general purchases.

Those who spend up to $1,500 on general purchases will receive a .25% rebate, between $1,500 and $3,000 will receive a .5% rebate, and over $3,000 will receive a 1% rebate.*

Cardholders also earn a 0.25% rebate at select warehouse clubs and discount stores, and they can earn a double Cashback Bonus® for redeeming their rebates for gift certificates from participating Discover® Card Partners. There is no yearly limit on the amount of rebates that can be earned, and rebates do not expire as long as the account is active within a 36-month period.

Aside from the reward program, the card also provides platinum benefits, including online account management, no liability for unauthorized transactions, and discounts on products and services at participating merchants and retailers.

The APR for this card is reasonable, but there is no annual fee and 0% interest on purchases for six months.

Therefore, those who plan to spend over $3,000 a year (to earn the 1% cash rebate), plan to use their Cashback Bonus® award at participating retailers (to earn a full 5% rebate and double cash rebates), and plan to pay in full each month (to avoid costly finance charges) will benefit most from what the Discover® Student Card has to offer.

Students who plan to carry a large balance should consider a lower interest rate card that applies the "Average Daily Balance" method. Any finance charges saved will be more than any cash rebates earned.

*It is important to note that like many cash reward cards, the highest rebate offered will not apply to all purchases made with the credit card. In this case, 1% will be applied only to those purchases made after the cardholder spends over $3,000 in one year, so the overall cash rebate earned will be less than 1%, depending on the amount spent. For instance, if the cardholder were to spend $4,000, only $1,000 of this amount would be applied towards the 1% rebate. However, this does not take into account any promotional offers or the full 5% Cashback Bonus® award.