How to Get Discover Sign-Up Bonuses

A credit card sign-up bonus can be a great way to earn a lot of rewards with your new credit card. However, the requirements can vary depending on which credit card you get.

Some credit card’s intro bonuses require you to spend thousands of dollars within a few months of opening your account. You don’t earn the bonus if you don’t meet the minimum spending requirement, which could lead people to overspend.

But with Discover’s credit cards, all new cardmembers can receive a welcome bonus that matches their cash back rewards or miles that they’ve earned at the end of their first year with the card.¹

How do Discover card sign-up bonuses work?

Discover credit cards have either Cashback Match for cash back credit cards or Discover Match® for the Discover travel card. Both programs work in a similar way:

• You’re automatically enrolled when your account is opened
• There’s no minimum spending requirement or maximum rewards
• Discover matches all the cash back or miles you earn at the end of your first year with your card ¹
• You’ll receive the match within two billing periods at the end of your first year
• Your account must remain opened to get the matched amount
• Your rewards, including the rewards from the match, never expire²

There are plenty of way to earn cash back. If you are approved for the Discover it® Cash Back card, you can earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum each time you activate. The quarterly categories are included on Cashback Bonus® calendar. You also earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other everyday purchases.

Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. There is no limit to how much we’ll match.¹ If you earn $20 cash back, Discover will give you another $20. If you earn $50 cash back, Discover will give you another $50. If you earn $150 cash back, Discover will give you another $150.

Discover credit cards that offer sign-up bonuses

Discover credit cards share a variety of benefits. All Discover cards have no annual fee or no foreign transaction fee, and every Discover credit card has a sign-up bonus that will match all the cash back or miles that you’ve earned at the end of your first year.¹

• Cash Back Credit Card
• Student Cash Back Credit Card
• Secured Credit Card
• Student Chrome Credit Card
• Travel Credit Card
• Gas & Restaurants Credit Card
• NHL® Credit Card

Additionally, some Discover credit cards may also have introductory annual percentage rate (APR) offers for new cardmembers. For example, you may qualify for a card that has a  low intro APR purchase offer, and you can save on interest for your purchases during the promotional period.

Some cards also (or alternatively) have a low intro APR balance transfer offer. With these types of offers, you can transfer a balance to the card meaning you can save on interest when you transfer high interest debt. There’s often a balance transfer fee, but you still may be able to save money and pay down the balance faster. 

Does Discover offer other sign-up bonuses?

Discover credit cards all offer either the Cashback Match or Discover Match®, depending on whether it is a cash back or travel card.

How to apply for a Discover card with a sign-up bonus

You can apply for a Discover credit card online or over the phone. However, before filling out and submitting an application, you may want to use the Discover pre-approval tool to find out if you’re pre-approved for a card.

When you submit a credit card application, the credit card company will generally check your credit history, credit score, and other information to see if you qualify for the card.

Discover’s pre-approval tool uses a soft inquiry, a type of credit check that doesn’t impact your credit score, when determining if you qualify for a pre-approved offer. If you’re pre-approved, you can see the APR and offers for each card and then decide which one will be the best fit. But if you apply for a pre-approved offer, a hard inquiry will be placed on your credit report.

While Discover’s cards share many benefits, you may want to look at the APR offers and whether a bonus category aligns with where you usually spend money. You can complete and submit the application after comparing the options and finding the best fit.