Rewards credit cards—especially cash back cards—have become the standard for anyone who understands the value of having a credit card on hand but wants an incentive to use it instead of paying with a debit card or cash. Our Discover it® cash back credit cards take the guesswork out of earning cashback rewards and gives cardmembers more reasons to enjoy using Discover cash back cards.
A Guide to the Discover Rewards Program: Cashback Bonus®
Last Updated: November 3, 2023
2 min read
Key Points: How to Earn Cashback Bonus
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The Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card provides rewards for every purchase.
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You can earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
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Discover cash back rewards never expire.1
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. Discover Cashback Bonus is just what we call the rewards that you earn on every purchase that you make with a cash back Discover Card. (It’s worth noting that you don’t earn cash rewards when you use your Discover Card for balance transfers or cash advances.) If you’re currently 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. If you haven’t already done so, grab your Discover Card (for your account details) and click this link to register your account online.
We believe that the ultimate rewards are rewards that are easy to earn and easy to use. That’s why you earn cash back you can spend with Discover. One dollar earned is worth one dollar you can spend.2 (“Redeem” is the word that credit card companies use when talking about spending the rewards that you’ve earned.) Because it’s cashback, we make it worth the same as cash. (There’s one exception: when you redeem your Cashback Bonus for gift cards at popular brands, starting at $5, get gift cards with at least 5% added value on every card.)
You just have to use your Discover cash back rewards credit card to make purchases. (You won’t earn credit card rewards on a balance transfer or cash advance.)
Whether you have a Discover it® Cash Back Card, a Discover it® Gas & Restaurants Card, one of our student cash back cards, or our secured card, you earn unlimited 1% cash back on purchases (plus additional cash back depending on the card). 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. You can earn 1% cash back on purchases without hitting a cap.
Is Cashback Bonus the same thing as Cashback Match?
Nope. Cashback Match is a special extra rewards opportunity for new cardmembers: within the first twelve months of having your Discover Card, every single cent of Cashback Bonus that you earn will get a big boost, because we’ll automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year.3 (It’s unlimited, so no matter how much you earn, we’ll match it.) Even better? You don’t have to save your cash back to have it doubled after twelve months. You can earn it and redeem it in that time, and still get a match of what you earned that year. Even if you’ve already spent it.
Every Discover it® card gives you ways that you can earn more than 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 other purchases—automatically.
If you are already a Discover Cardmember with one of the cards that includes the 5% Cashback Bonus category, make sure you sign up (or “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.
You can sign up from the Discover mobile app, your online account, by calling the customer service number on the back of your credit card, or through the reminder emails that we send you to let you know of that quarter’s category.
If you have registered your account for online access, you can log in at any time and check your statement and cash rewards balance to see what you’ve earned and where. You can also visit our Cashback Calendar any time to review the current 5% category and remind yourself where you are earning more rewards this quarter. What you should know is that the category code 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, Student Gas & Restaurants Card, or Secured Card, you can earn 2% Cashback Bonus® at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically.4 These extra rewards opportunities, and other special 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% cash back on all other 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 right then and there 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 cash back in any amount, at any time.1 Here’s a brief overview of the things that you can do with your rewards (and remember, every $1 you earn in cash back is $1 you can redeem2, unless you redeem for a gift card):
- How do you turn your Cashback Bonus into bigger rewards with brand-name partners? If you want to get the most for your cashback rewards, you can get gift cards with at least 5% added value on every card. You can turn your Cashback Bonus into bigger rewards every time you redeem for gift cards or instant eCertificates from over 100 brand-name Partners. Log in to view a list of our Partners.
- $1 Cashback Bonus® equals $1 to redeem at Amazon.com5 checkout and with PayPal6. Just shop online the way you always do, and when it comes time to check out you can select your Discover Card for payment, and if you’ve linked your Cashback Bonus you can use it toward paying for your purchases.
- You can use your rewards just like cash. You can deposit it into your bank account or redeem for a statement credit or to pay your Discover bill.
- You can also redeem your Cashback Bonus as a charitable donation to places like the American Red Cross through your Discover account online.
Did you know?
Remember: every Discover credit card is a rewards card. You can enjoy no annual fee on any card.
With a Discover it® cashback rewards 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 automatically earn an unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases you make with your Discover it® card.
What's more, Discover Cashback Match automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year.3 There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
Individual promotions may include a cap on the additional Cashback Bonus that can be earned but there is no limit on the overall amount of Cashback Bonus that you can earn, and you always earn Cashback Bonus on every purchase. And your rewards never expire, so you can redeem any amount, any time.1
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, you can redeem any amount, any time.1
We will credit your account or send you a check with your Cashback Bonus balance if your account is closed or if you have not used it within 18 months. Redemption may not be available for 24-48 hours if your card is reported lost or stolen
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Rewards Redemption: Rewards never expire. We reserve the right to determine the method to disburse your rewards balance. We will credit your Account or send you a check with your rewards balance if your Account is closed or if you have not used it within 18 months. You may be unable to redeem rewards in some limited situations such as when you choose to use an electronic funds transfer to redeem rewards to a new (unverified) deposit account. Any gift card must have a minimum value of at least $5.00 to be redeemed.
- Cash and Miles products: You earn rewards which are stored in your rewards balance and must be redeemed in order to spend. Cashback Bonus® can be redeemed via statement credit, electronic deposit to a linked account, paying at select merchants, purchasing gift cards, or donating to charity. Miles can be redeemed via travel credit, statement credit, electronic deposit to a linked account, or paying at select merchants.
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Cashback Match: We’ll match all the cash back rewards you’ve earned on your credit card from the day your new account is approved through your first 12 consecutive billing periods or 365 days, whichever is longer, and add it to your rewards account within two billing periods. You’ve earned cash back rewards only when they’re 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 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 cardmembers. No purchase minimums.
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You earn a full 2% Cashback Bonus® 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, 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. 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. Even if a purchase appears to fit in a 2% category, the merchant may not have a merchant category code (MCC) in that category. Merchants and payment processors are assigned an MCC based on their typical products and services. Discover Card does not assign MCCs to merchants. Certain third-party payment accounts and digital wallet transactions may not earn 2% if the technology does not provide sufficient transaction details or a qualifying MCC. Learn more at Discover.com/digitalwallets. See Cashback Bonus Program Terms and Conditions for more information.
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Use Rewards at Amazon.com: For complete details on how to Pay with Rewards at Amazon.com see Amazon.com/DiscoverRewards. Amazon is not a sponsor of this promotion. Amazon, the Amazon.com logo, the smile logo and all related marks are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. To redeem your rewards at checkout, you must select the Discover Card from which you want to redeem rewards. If you do not pay for your full purchase with rewards, you may use the Discover Card from which the rewards were applied or an Amazon.com Gift Card to pay for the remainder of your purchase. You may not use a credit card from an issuer other than Discover or another Discover credit card enrolled in Shop with Points in conjunction with the rewards transaction.
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Use Rewards with PayPal: For complete details on how to Pay with Rewards with PayPal see PayPal.com/Discover. Pay with Rewards with PayPal will be available for eligible credit cards on eligible purchases or rewards can be donated to support a charitable cause with PayPal Giving Fund. To learn more about Pay with Rewards, see terms and conditions.
All reward redemptions are subject to Discover’s reward program terms. To redeem your rewards at checkout, you must select the Discover Card from which you want to redeem rewards. If you do not pay for your full purchase with rewards, you must use the Discover Card from which the rewards were applied to pay for the remainder of your purchase. You may not use a credit card from an issuer other than Discover or another Discover credit card enrolled in Pay with Rewards in conjunction with the rewards transaction.
PayPal, and the PayPal logo are trademarks of PayPal and its Affiliates.
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Legal Disclaimer: This site is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice. The material on this site is not intended to provide legal, investment, or financial advice and does not indicate the availability of any Discover product or service. It does not guarantee that Discover offers or endorses a product or service. For specific advice about your unique circumstances, you may wish to consult a qualified professional.