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Discover it Student 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 72.4% 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).

Terms & fees

IssuerDiscover (Capital One)
Typestudent
Annual fee$0 discover.com, 2026-10-11
Regular purchase APR16.74%–25.74% variable discover.com, 2026-10-11
Rewards5% rotating quarterly categories (activation, quarterly max); 1% other; first-year Cashback Match discover.com, 2026-10-11
Sign-up bonus (≈$)not found discover.com, 2026-10-11
Intro APR6 months 0% intro APR 6 months on purchases 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 neededNo credit score required to apply discover.com, 2026-10-11
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)16.49%–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 2.9/100% intro APR 6 months on purchases (as of 2026-10-11). Score = months/21×10.
Regular APR 9.1/1016.74%–25.74% variable (as of 2026-10-11); midpoint 21.24%. 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* + 0.143×2.9 + 0.143×9.1 + 0.143×10.0 + 0.143×10.0 = 7.25 → 72.4% (* unknown, imputed)

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

Compare with

Discover it Student Cash Back vs Capital One Quicksilver Student · Discover it Student Cash Back vs Chase Freedom Rise · Discover it Student Cash Back vs Capital One Savor for Students · Discover it Student Cash Back vs Discover it Student Chrome

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FAQ

What is the Discover it Student Cash Back annual fee?

What is the Discover it Student Cash Back APR?

16.74%–25.74% 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.