- Discover automatically matches rewards earned at the end of your first year — no need to enroll.
- If you earned $500 in cash back over your first year, it would be matched for a total of $1,000.
- Read Business Insider's guide to the best rewards credit cards.
Introduction to Discover Cashback Match
Many of the best cash-back credit cards come with a welcome bonus offer of some type, which you'll usually earn when you meet a minimum spending requirement within a specified time frame. For example, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Discover credit cards do things a bit differently. For one, none of its cards charge an annual fee; they favor simplicity over long lists of cardholder perks.
And instead of an initial bonus or a higher rate of return on all your spending, Discover credit cards offer a "delayed" bonus of sorts — Discover Cashback Match® — which can be hugely beneficial if you spend a lot of money on your credit card in the first year.
$0
0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers
18.24% - 27.24% Variable APR
Earn Unlimited Cashback Match®
Good to Excellent
- From January 1 to March 31, 2025, earn 5% cash back at restaurants, home improvement stores, and select streaming services on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1%
- Discover will match your cash back earned at the end of your first account year
- No annual fee
- Cap on how much bonus cash back you can earn each quarter
- If the quarterly categories aren't convenient for you, you can earn more cash back with a different card
The Discover it® Cash Back is one of the best credit cards that offers 5% back on popular rotating categories up to a spending limit. Your rewards are matched by Discover after the first 12 months, and the card has no annual fee.
Discover it Cash Back- Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers–only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.
- 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 unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- Redeem your rewards for cash at any time.
- Apply and you could get a decision in as little as 60 seconds. No annual fee.
- Start shopping and earning rewards in minutes with our digital card, before your physical card arrives in the mail, if eligible.
- Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. Activate by mobile app for free.
- Get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 18.24% to 27.24% Standard Variable Purchase APR applies, based on credit worthiness.
- Terms and conditions apply.
$0
0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases
18.24% - 27.24% Variable APR
Unlimited match of all the miles you've earned at the end of your first year
Good to Excellent
- Unlimited 1.5x miles on all purchases
- Discover matches all the miles you've earned at the end of your first year
- Limited benefits compared to other travel rewards cards
If you're looking for a no-annual-fee credit card with a simple rewards structure, the Discover it® Miles is worth considering. Its biggest strength is the 1.5x miles it earns across the board, along with Discover's Unlimited Bonus program that matches all the rewards you earn in the first year.
Discover it® Miles- Unlimited Bonus: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers—only from Discover. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match. You could turn 35,000 Miles to 70,000 Miles.
- Automatically earn unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase
- No annual fee
- Turn Miles into cash. Or redeem as a statement credit for your travel purchases like airfare, hotels, rideshares, gas stations, restaurants and more.
- 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 18.24% - 27.24% Standard Variable Purchase APR will apply.
- Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. Activate by mobile app for free.
- Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide.
- Terms and conditions apply.
How Cashback Match works
Discover credit cards have different earning rates and bonus categories, with some offering a higher rate of rewards than others. However, all Discover credit cards offer a Cashback Match® component, which boosts the rewards new card members earn after the first year.
Earning cashback and the matching process
Once you open an eligible Discover credit card, you'll earn rewards based on your card's rewards schedule as usual. After 12 months, however, Discover will match all the rewards you earned at the end of your first 12 months with no limits (even on bonus categories). You don't need to do anything to activate this match feature.
For example, if you spent $20,000 on the Discover it® Miles in your first year, earning 1.5 miles for each dollar you spent, you would initially earn 30,000 miles. However, Discover would match all the rewards you earned for a total of 60,000 miles after your first 12 months.
The same is true with the Discover it® Cash Back, which offers 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in quarterly bonus categories that rotate (then 1% back), as well as 1% back on all other purchases (from January 1 to March 31, 2025, earn 5% cash back at restaurants, home improvement stores, and select streaming services on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1%).
If you maxed out each of Discover's quarterly bonus categories each year, you would earn $300 in these categories alone. If you also used your card for $20,000 in regular spending each year, you would earn $200 in rewards. This equals a total of $500 in rewards for the year, which Discover would match for a total of $1,000 in cash back after 12 months.
You can redeem your matched Discover rewards in the same ways as all other rewards you've earned, including gift cards, statement credits, cash back, purchases on Amazon.com, and donations to Discover's charity partners.
Also, note that you don't have to wait to redeem your rewards until 12 months are up and you receive the bonus; you can spend your regular Discover rewards throughout the year and Discover will still match the amount you earned after 12 months.
Eligibility and enrollment: Who qualifies for Cashback Match?
New eligible Discover credit cardholders can see all their rewards matched at the end of their first year. The following cards are all eligible for Cashback Match®, and you can read our individual card reviews by clicking on the link:
- Discover it® Cash Back
- Discover it® Student Cash Back
- Discover it® Miles
- Discover it® Secured Credit Card
- Discover it® Student Chrome
Make sure you compare all the best Discover credit cards to wind up with the best option for your spending style.
Maximizing your cashback rewards
The Discover Cashback Match® program is worth exploring if you are willing to give up an intro bonus offer in exchange for a delayed bonus equivalent to the amount you spend on your credit card during year one.
Strategic spending and leveraging Discover's rotating categories
One effective way to maximize your opportunity to earn double rewards in your first year is by getting the Discover it® Cash Back or the Discover it® Student Cash Back credit card.
These two cards earn 5% cash back on rotating categories that change every quarter, on up to $1,500 in combined eligible purchases when you activate the bonus feature. If you maxed out each category during your first year, you'd get a whopping 10% back, or $600 (10% of $1,500 x 4 quarters) after factoring in your Cashback Match® rewards.
Discover Cashback Match frequently asked questions
Discover's Cashback Match® program automatically doubles the cashback rewards earned at the end of your first year with a Discover credit card. The amount that can be matched is unlimited.
After your new credit card has been open for 12 consecutive months, Discover tallies up your rewards earned over that time and matches that amount, adding the sum to your program account within one or two billing periods.
First-year cardholders can enjoy Discover Cashback Match® benefits after their first 12 months of card ownership. There's no need to enroll; the benefit is automatically applied to qualifying accounts.
Pay attention to Discover's 5% cashback bonus categories, which rotate quarterly. Make the most of your everyday purchases and use your Discover card for all eligible spending to increase your potential rewards.
Yes, Cashback Match® is earned in addition to any other rewards you earn with your Discover card, including the 5% cashback bonus in rotating categories and the 1% cashback on all other purchases.
