How to Find the Best Cash Back Credit Card for You
8 min read
A Guide to the Discover Rewards Program: Cashback Bonus®
8 min read
Last Updated: September 30, 2025
Key Takeaways
- With Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card earn cash back on everything you buy.
- You can earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
- Redeem cash back for any amount.
Reward credit cards—especially cash back cards—have become the standard for anyone who knows the value of having a credit card on hand but also wants an incentive to use it. Cash back incentives on credit cards are something you can’t get when you pay with cash and rarely when paying with a debit card.
Cashback Bonus basics
With a Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card, you earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.
That means you will earn $5 cash back for every $100 spent in the quarterly bonus rewards category, up to the quarterly maximum. Use the 5% Cashback Bonus calendar to see the bonus category for your Discover Card each quarter.
The earning potential doesn't stop there. You earn unlimited 1% cash back on all your other purchases—automatically.
What's more, with Discover Cashback Match we’ll automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year.1 There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
Cashback Bonus details
Learn about how our Discover it® cash back credit cards take the guesswork out of earning cashback rewards and gives cardmembers more reasons to enjoy using their Discover card.
First things first: Cashback Bonus® is the name of the cashback rewards program from Discover. It's not a one-time payout or a single, limited bonus. With a cash back Discover card, you earn rewards on every purchase; the rewards are what we call the Discover Cashback Bonus.
If you’re a Discover Cardmember, you’ll be able to manage your account, see your rewards balance, redeem your cash back, activate bonus category offers, and more, by setting up an online account. To set up, grab your Discover Card (for your account details) and click this link to register your account online.
It’s worth noting that you don’t earn cash rewards when you use your Discover Card for balance transfers or cash advances.
We believe that the ultimate rewards are rewards that are easy to earn and easy to use. With Discover, you earn cash back you can spend, not points. So, every $1 you earn is worth $1 when you redeem.
Because it’s cashback, we make it worth the same as cash. There’s one terrific exception: you can redeem rewards for gift cards at popular brands.2
Note: “Redeem” is the word that credit card companies use when talking about spending the rewards that you’ve earned.
It’s simple. Use your Discover cash back rewards credit card to make purchases. Note: You won’t earn credit card rewards on a balance transfer or cash advance.
It doesn’t matter which Discover® cashback card you have, you earn unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases—plus additional cash back depending on the card. Cashback Bonus® works on a Discover it® Cash Back Card, a Discover it® Chrome Gas & Restaurants Card, and our student cash back cards.
It’s unlimited because we don’t stop you from earning 1% Cashback Bonus on purchases at any point, no matter how much cash back you’ve racked up already.
Is Cashback Bonus the same thing as Cashback Match?
Cashback Match is a - extra reward for new cardmembers. We’ll 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 Even if you’ve redeemed your Cashback Bonus, you still get a match of what you earned that year.
Every Discover it® card gives you ways that you can earn more than a 1% cashback reward on certain kinds of purchases. You can think of these extra rates of rewards as a bonus category—and these DO come with some limits on how much you can earn.
Here are two examples: With the Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card or Student Cash Back Card, you’ll earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, you’ll earn 1% cash back on all your other purchases—automatically. No maximum, no activation needed.
If you are already a Discover Cardmember with one of the cards that includes the 5% Cashback Bonus category, you need to activate to earn each quarter. Once you’ve activated, you’re all set! Just use your eligible Discover Card to spend in that category and you’ll earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
Don’t worry if you don’t activate the bonus category—you’ll earn 1% Cashback Bonus® on all purchases.
You can activate (sign up) in several ways.
- Use your Discover mobile app
- Activate through the online through the Discover portal
- Call the customer service number on the back of your credit card
- Respond to the reminder email that we send you to let you know of that quarter’s category.
Have you registered your account for online access? If so, you can log in at any time and check your statement and cash rewards balance to see what you’ve earned (and where you earned it). You can also visit our Cashback Calendar any time to review the current 5% category and remind yourself where you can earn more rewards this quarter.
What you should know is that the category code applied to your purchase is issued by the merchant. So if a restaurant uses a charge code for a doctor’s office, there’s no way for Discover to know that it was a restaurant. Luckily, this kind of miscoding isn’t a prevalent issue.
Each quarter you can earn up to $75 cash back in the 5% category.
There’s no limit to the amount of cashback rewards that you can earn on other purchases because you’ll get unlimited 1% rewards on every purchase with your Discover® cash rewards credit card.
With the Discover it® Gas & Restaurants Card or Student Gas & Restaurants Card, you can earn 2% Cashback Bonus® at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically. Plus earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.3
These extra rewards opportunities, and other cashback reward offers that you may receive throughout the year, do have limits. We don’t keep it a secret: any offer for additional cash back rewards will clearly state the cap so you know how much you can earn. But remember—even if you max out your earning in a bonus category, you’ll still earn 1% Cashback Bonus® on all purchases.
There are lots of ways that you can redeem (or spend) your Discover cash back credit card rewards. You can browse your options and redeem when you log in to your Discover credit card account online.
If you have more questions or want someone to talk you through the options, you can always call customer service using the number on the back of your card. And don’t forget, you can redeem your Cashback Bonus® in any amount. Here’s a brief overview of the things that you can do with your rewards
- How do you turn your Cashback Bonus into bigger rewards with popular partners? If you want to get the most for your cashback rewards, you can redeem rewards for gift cards at popular brands.2 You can turn your Cashback Bonus into bigger rewards when you redeem for gift cards (or instant eCertificates) from over 100 brand-name Partners. Log in to view a list of our Partners.
- You can use your rewards just like cash. You can deposit it into your bank account or redeem Cashback Bonus® in any amount to help pay down your balance.
Individual promotions may include a cap on the additional Cashback Bonus that you can earn. But there’s no limit on the overall amount of Cashback Bonus that you can earn and you always earn Cashback Bonus on every purchase.
It's free and easy. If you are already a Discover it® cardmember, log in to your account online or call 1-800-DISCOVER (1-800-347-2683) to activate. Remember, you must activate every quarter.
Not registered for online account access? Register Now.
No, rewards don't expire for the life of the account.{match}
The bottom line
Credit card rewards offer a greater incentive than using cash or your debit card. With Cashback Bonus from Discover, you earn rewards on every purchase.
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Legal Disclaimer: We hope you found this helpful. Our content is not intended to provide legal, investment or financial advice or to indicate that a particular product or service is available or right for you. For specific advice about your unique circumstances, consider talking with a qualified professional. Capital One does not provide, endorse or guarantee any third-party product, service, information, or recommendation listed above. The third parties listed are solely responsible for their products and services, and all trademarks listed are the property of their respective owners. By clicking on some of the links provided, you may be taken to a third-party website that is not hosted by Capital One. In those cases, the owner of the website is responsible for the website content. Their privacy practices and level of security may be different from Capital One's, so please review their policies. Some of the above information may not describe the features and offerings of your specific Discover account. Please review your account terms for details on your specific account.
Cashback Match: We’ll match all the cash back you’ve earned on your credit card from the day your new account is approved through your first 365 days and add it to your rewards account within two billing periods. You earn cash back only when transactions are processed, which may be after the transaction date. We will not match: rewards that are processed after your match period ends; statement credits; rewards transfers from Discover or Capital One checking or other deposit accounts; or rewards for accounts that are closed. This promotional offer may not be available in the future and is exclusively for new cardholders. No purchase minimums.
Discover Match: We’ll match all the miles you've earned on your credit card from the day your new account is approved through your first 365 days and add it to your rewards account within two billing periods. You earn miles only when transactions are processed, which may be after the transaction date. We will not match: rewards that are processed after your match period ends; statement credits; rewards transfers from Discover or Capital One checking or other deposit accounts; or rewards for accounts that are closed. This promotional offer may not be available in the future and is exclusively for new cardholders. No purchase minimums.
Subject to availability. See gift cards for details, terms, and conditions. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Product may not be available in all states. The gift cards featured are not sponsors or otherwise affiliated with this company.
2% Cash Back at gas and restaurants: You will earn 2% cash back on your first $1000 in combined purchases at gas stations (stand-alone) and restaurants each calendar quarter. Calendar quarters begin January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Purchases at gas stations and restaurants over the quarterly cap, and all other purchases, except as noted below, earn 1% cash back. Gas station purchases include those made at merchants classified as places that sell automotive gasoline that can be bought at the pump or inside the station, and some public electric vehicle charging stations. Gas stations affiliated with supermarkets, supercenters, and wholesale clubs may not be eligible. Restaurant purchases include those made at merchants classified as full-service restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, fast-food locations, and restaurant delivery services. Restaurants located inside of or affiliated with another business, such as hotels or retails stores and establishments classified as a bakery, may not qualify. Purchases must be made with merchants in the U.S. To qualify for 2%, the purchase transaction date must be before or on the last day of the offer or promotion. For online purchases, the transaction date from the merchant may be the date when the item ships. Rewards are added to your account within two billing periods. Capital One uses merchant category codes to determine if a purchase is in one of the additional cash back categories. This means that sometimes a purchase may not earn additional cash back. For example, some food trucks or food carts may use a merchandise code and restaurants in department stores or hotels may use a merchandise or hotel code instead of a dining code. Certain third-party payment accounts and digital wallet transactions may not earn additional cash back if the technology does not provide sufficient transaction details or a qualifying MCC. Capital One is not responsible for merchant category codes used by merchants. Applies to all rewards: Earnings will apply to net purchases (purchases minus any credits or returns). Cash advances, balance transfers, transfers from Discover or Capital One checking or other deposit accounts, and checks used to access your account are not considered purchases and will not earn rewards. Portions of purchases paid with rewards, transactions that do not comply with our policies and/or applicable laws, or any cash you receive in connection with a purchase at the point of sale through Discover's Cash at Checkout feature will not earn rewards. See Your Rewards Program Terms & Conditions and your online account for more details.
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