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Discover it Cash Back: terms, score and downsides

Not credit advice. Facts and math from issuer pages and the CFPB, each with its date. Offers change; approval depends on your credit. Verify on the issuer's site.

Rubric score 77.4% across 78 cards. Issuer page ↗

Downsides first

• Late fee up to $41
• Rotating 5% quarterly categories need activation and change each quarter; not modeled (we count the 1% base). First-year Cashback Match not counted.

Terms & fees

• IssuerDiscover (Capital One)
• Typecash back
• Annual fee$0 discover.com, 2026-10-11
• Regular purchase APR17.74%–26.74% variable discover.com, 2026-10-11
• Rewards5% rotating quarterly categories (activation, quarterly max); 1% other; first-year Cashback Match discover.com, 2026-10-11
• Sign-up bonus (≈$)not found discover.com, 2026-10-11
• Intro APR15 months 0% intro APR 15 months on purchases and balance transfers discover.com, 2026-10-11
• Foreign transaction feenone Pricing schedule (06/30/26) lists no foreign transaction fee discover.com, 2026-10-11
• Penalty APRnone Discover agreement table: 'Penalty APR None' files.consumerfinance.gov, 2026-06-30
• Late feeup to $41 up to; $0.00 for first occurrence; $30.00 if not charged a late fee within last six billing cycles; $41.00 otherwise files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Balance transfer fee3% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Cash advance fee5% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Credit needed620–719, 720+ (CFPB TCCP targeted tiers) files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Grace period25 days files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Cash advance APR29.24% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• CFPB survey APR (2025-12-31)16.74%–29.24% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31 older; issuer figure above is newer

Complaint record (CFPB)

• Complaints, last 12 months3,371
• Trend▼ 61.5% (last 12 mo 3,371 vs prior 12 mo 8,752)
• Timely response (last 36 mo)100.0%
• Top issueIncorrect information on your report
• Insurance statusFDIC record for Discover Bank: not found

Company-level (DISCOVER BANK), all products, as of 2026-10-12. Discover complaints: full record → Shown for context; does not change the score.

Score breakdown

• Annual fee 10.0/10Annual fee $0 (as of 2026-10-11). Rubric: $0=10, ≤$95=8, ≤$395=5, ≤$695=3, more=1 (perks/credits are not counted).
• Rewards rate 6.0/10Base 1% on everything, top category 5% (as of 2026-10-11; points/miles valued at 1¢). Score = base/2%×7 + min(top,6)/6%×3. 5% rotating quarterly categories (activation, quarterly max); 1% other; first-year Cashback Match
• Sign-up bonus n/a/10not found — unknown, scored 2.7/10 (lower of neutral 5 and comparison median)
• Intro 0% APR 7.1/100% intro APR 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (as of 2026-10-11). Score = months/21×10.
• Regular APR 8.4/1017.74%–26.74% variable (as of 2026-10-11); midpoint 22.24%. Score = (34 − midpoint)/1.4, 0–10.
• Foreign transaction fee 10.0/10No foreign transaction fee (as of 2026-10-11).
• Regulatory record (CFPB) 10.0/10Issuer Discover (Capital One): Base 10, no actions in last 5 yrs found. Note: CFPB Discover student-loan consent order dated Dec 2020 (outside 5-year window); Capital One parent: see Capital One

0.143×10.0 + 0.143×6.0 + 0.143×2.7* + 0.143×7.1 + 0.143×8.4 + 0.143×10.0 + 0.143×10.0 = 7.75 → 77.4% (* unknown, imputed)

Is Discover it Cash Back worth it? (break-even math) →Value for my spending →

Compare with

Discover it Cash Back vs Chase Freedom Unlimited · Discover it Cash Back vs Chase Freedom Flex · Discover it Cash Back vs Citi Double Cash · Discover it Cash Back vs Wells Fargo Active Cash · Discover it Cash Back vs Capital One Quicksilver · Discover it Cash Back vs Capital One Savor

No paid placement. No issuer pays VaultRubric for inclusion or rank; links go to the issuer's own page. Ranks come only from the published rubric below.

FAQ

What is the Discover it Cash Back annual fee?

$0

What is the Discover it Cash Back APR?

17.74%–26.74% variable

Estimates, not financial advice. Taxes, insurance, PMI and fees vary by lender, county and city; confirm with your lender, dealer and state agency before acting.