Discover it  Chrome Overview:

Apply now

Full review

Discover it Chrome Credit Card

2% cash back on gas and dining, no annual fee!

  • Welcome bonus: None
  • Rewards: 2% cash back on gas and dining (on up to $1,000 in purchases each quarter), 1% on all other purchases
  • Redemption: Redeem directly for cash back, or for gift cards
  • Annual fee: $0
  • Apply now>>

Highlights

  • Cashback Match: All the cash back you earn in the first year is doubled, so during the first year this card effectively earns 4% cash back on dining and gas, and 2% on everything else. For a detailed analysis, see: Introduction to Discover Cashback Match
  • 0% APR on Purchases: For balances generated by purchases within the first 12 months, you only need to pay the minimum each month to avoid interest. Please read carefully: “How 0% APR Credit Card Payments Work”
  • Good Grades Reward: If you are a US college student, you can get an extra $20 reward each school year with a GPA > 3.0, for up to 5 years.
    • Only newly opened accounts are eligible (effective now); existing cardholders cannot get it
    • When applying, you must select your status as college student (this does not affect your other card benefits)
    • You can receive the Good Grades Reward for up to five years, or until you graduate
    • If combined with the current Cashback Match available on new applications, the first-year Good Grades Reward can also be doubled to $40
    • For the official explanation and steps, see: Official explanation and reward steps
  • No FTF: Among cards with no foreign transaction fee, Discover is especially convenient to use in China because it runs on the UnionPay network there. Many smaller places do not accept Visa or MasterCard.
  • Shopping portal (Discover deal): Discover’s own shopping portal also offers at least 5% cash back at merchants including Walmart, sears, Staples, apple store, and more. This can stack perfectly with the cash back from the credit card itself. When Discover deal is combined with Discover’s Q4 online shopping bonus, plus the current Cashback Match, you can get as much as 30% cash back at some stores. For details, see: “How to Use Discover Deals to Get Cashback”
  • Discover credit card benefits
    • Price protection: If an item you bought drops in price within a certain period, you can ask the card issuer to refund the difference
    • Free credit score: Each month it provides your real TransUnion credit score (FICO), so you can track changes in your score. This is one of the best free credit scores offered by major banks. For a detailed comparison, see: “Which Free Credit Score Is Best”
    • Extended warranty: For items purchased with the card, the manufacturer’s warranty is automatically extended by one year

Drawbacks

  • The first-year 4% is nice, but starting in the second year, dining and gas go back to 2% cash back, which is not very impressive
  • The quarterly cap for bonus cash back on dining and gas is relatively low, so this card is not ideal for heavy spenders

My Take:

This card is best suited for people who spend a lot on dining and gas. The effective 4% cash back in the first year is quite attractive. However, the biggest downside is that the cap on the 2% cash back category is quite low: only $1,000 per quarter. If your spending is moderate, that may still be acceptable.

Personally, I did not apply for this card. When I first came to the US and got my SSN, I applied directly for the student version of the Discover it credit card. If you are willing to pay a little attention to the rotating 5% quarterly categories, then you should choose the Discover it credit card instead. That is because the Discover it credit card has one quarter each year with 5% on dining and another quarter with 5% on gas, so on average it comes out ahead of this card. More importantly, all the other benefits, including the Good Grades Reward, are the same as this card.

Application

  • Application difficulty: Relatively low; suitable for people with no credit history who want to build credit

Discover Credit Card Application Guide

  • Application status check link, or call: (800) 347-3085
  • Two-card limit: Each person can hold up to 2 Discover credit cards, with at most one student card. You must hold your first card for at least one year before applying for a second card. It is possible to hold two of the same card, but after submitting the second application, you will need to call to have it processed.
  • If you are not instantly approved, you can call the reconsideration line (1-800-347-2683) to speed up the review or ask a specialist to reconsider a denied application.
  • More about applying for Discover credit cards

Application Links:

jjs