Best Discover Credit Card For Credit Card Churning in 2022

Despite being the new kid on the block among major credit card issuers, Discover has established a solid reputation for stellar customer service. In fact, this hybrid card issuer and payment network consistently ranks at or near the top of J.D. Power’s annual survey of credit card customer satisfaction.
Though it still isn’t universally accepted overseas, Discover is generally accepted at virtually all major retailers and most service providers in the U.S. It’s also unique in that none of its cards carry an annual fee, making it an excellent value for consumers.


Best Cards for Credit Card Churning by Brand


Our Picks For The Best Discover Credit Card For Credit Card Churning

If you’re considering adding the best Discover Credit Card to your wallet in 2022, the reviews below can help you identify which card best fits your spending habits and financial goals.

Best Cash Back Card: Discover it® Cash Back

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  • Welcome Bonus: Cashback match
  • Annual Fee: None
  • APR: 11.99% – 22.99%
  • Credit Score: Excellent/Good (700 – 749)

Benefits of The Discover it® Cash Back

If you’re willing to do some periodic maintenance on your account, you can accrue major cash back rewards with the Discover It Cash Back card. Specific spending categories deliver five percent cash back, but the categories change every quarter, and you’ll need to manually activate them within your account to earn the top rate—otherwise, this spending earns cash back at the standard 1 percent rate.

Like all Discover credit cards, the Discover It Cash Back card doesn’t charge users an annual fee, and it also offers a generous introductory offer of zero percent APR on purchases for the first 14 months, followed by a typical APR of 11.99 percent to 22.99 percent depending on your credit history.

The card also includes robust security measures, including free alerts that notify you when your Social Security number appears on the Dark Web, when a new credit account or loan appears on your credit report and anytime a hard inquiry is run on your account.

If something is amiss, you can freeze your account with a tap using either the Discover mobile app or its website. You won’t be held financially liable for any unauthorized spending on your card, and the company provides free overnight shipping if you need to have your card replaced for any reason.

Earning Points and Redeeming Rewards

You can earn 5 percent cash back onup to $1,500 each quarter on purchases from specific categories, which change quarterly but include retailers like Amazon, grocery stores, wholesale clubs, restaurants, gas stations and spending through PayPal.

You will need to remember to activate this higher rate on each quarter’s new categories. All other spending automatically earns 1 percent cash back. Cash back can be redeemed at any time in any amount, and cash back rewards never expire.

Welcome Offer

Discover offers an unlimited cash back match in your first year of membership, which effectively doubles your rewards for that year. If you’re planning to make a major purchase in the upcoming year, using a newly-opened Discover account can yield substantial returns—especially if it falls within a quarterly bonus category.


Best Card for Domestic Travelers: Discover it® Miles

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  • Welcome Bonus: Milesmatch
  • Annual Fee: $0
  • APR: 11.99% – 22.99%
  • Credit Score: Excellent/Good (700 – 749)

Benefits of Discover it® Miles

For frequent flyers whose trips are primarily within the U.S., the Discover It Miles Card is the best choice to translate spending into airline miles and other travel rewards. With no annual fee and zero percent APR on purchases in the first 14 months, the card earns 1.5 miles for every dollar you spend, with Discover matching those miles in the first year. Miles can be redeemed for airfare, hotel stays, ride-sharing services, gas station purchases and more—or redeemed for cash.

The Discover It Miles card includes the same robust fraud protection features as the Discover It Cash Back card, such as zero liability on unauthorized purchases, alerts on new activity related to your credit report and the ability to instantly freeze your account online or through the Discover mobile app. The card also delivers excellent value, with no overlimit fees, no late fees on your first missed payment and no foreign transaction fees.

No Blackout Dates. Simply pay for travel purchases like airlines, hotels, rental cars, and more with your Discover it® Miles card. Discover is accepted nationwide by 99% of the places that take credit cards.

Freeze your account in seconds with an on/off switch either on the mobile app or website to prevent new purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers.

Get your free Credit Scorecard with your FICO® Credit Score, number of recent inquiries and more. Get an alert if we find your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites.* Activate for free.

Earning Points and Redeeming Rewards

Earning rewards with the Discover It Miles card is easy: you’ll automatically score 1.5 miles for every dollar you spend, with no activation needed on your part. You can redeem your miles anytime for rewards like airfare, hotel nights, car rentals and more, with no blackout dates. If you prefer, you can convert your miles to cash back or apply them toward your card balance. Miles never expire and retain their value indefinitely.

Welcome Offer

At the end of your first year of membership, Discover will match all the miles you’ve earned over the course of the year. There’s no minimum spending threshold to meet and no cap on the miles you can earn.


Best Card for Dining Out: Discover it® chrome

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  • Welcome Bonus: Cashback match
  • Annual Fee: $0
  • APR: 11.99% – 22.99%
  • Credit Score: Excellent/Good (700 – 749)

Benefits of Discover it® chrome

Unlike the flat earnings rate of the Discover It Miles card, the Discover It Chrome card boosts your rewards rate on restaurant and gas station purchases, offering 2 percent cashback for the first combined $1,000 you spend in these categories each quarter. As with the other Discover cards, you’ll enjoy powerful fraud protection, highly-rated U.S.-based customer service, and no annual fee

Earning Points and Redeeming Rewards

The card automatically earns 2 percent cashback for the first $1,000 in spending on dining and fuel purchases each quarter and 1 percent cash back on all other purchases. Cashback rewards can be redeemed at any time and never expire.

Welcome Offer

Discover’s first-year cashback match applies to the Discover It Chrome card, with the company doubling the cash back rewards you earn at the end of the year after you open the account.


Best Card for Students Building Credit: Discover it® Student chrome

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  • Welcome Bonus: Cashback match
  • Annual Fee: $0
  • APR: 12.99% – 21.99%
  • Credit Score: Fair/No Credit History

Benefits of Discover it® Student chrome

The Discover it® Student Chrome card gently eases young adults and other card newbies into the world of credit. Applicants with little or no credit history are still likely to be approved, and they’ll receive a free FICO score and a mulligan on their first late payment.

The card can help students and other new cardholders build a solid credit score while earning cash back rewards at the same time, and when they refer a friend who opens an account, they’ll also receive a statement credit as a thank-you gift.

Earning Points and Redeeming Rewards

Like the standard Discover It Chrome card, the student version automatically earns 2 percent cash back at gas stations and restaurants for the first $1,000 in combined spending each quarter, as well as 1 percent cash back on all other purchases. Discover also provides an incentive for students to keep up with their studies: Cardholders will receive a $20 statement credit for each school year that they maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Discover does offer a Student Cash Back card similar to its traditional Cash Back card that earns a higher cash back rate on specific spending categories, but the majority of students may not have the time or energy to devote to tracking and activating the new categories each quarter.

Welcome Offer

The Student Chrome card provides the standard first-year cash back match from Discover, with no minimum spending or maximum rewards.


Best Card for Improving Your Credit: Discover it® Secured Credit Card

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  • Welcome Bonus: Cashback match
  • Annual Fee: $0
  • APR: 22.99%
  • Credit Score: New/Rebuilding Credit

Benefits of Discover it® Secured Credit Card

For consumers working to rebuild damaged credit, a secured card like the Discover It Secured credit card can provide a lifeline to a brighter financial future. Even better, Discover’s secured card lets users earn cash back rewards as they elevate their credit score.

Applicants simply supply bank account and tax information and invest a refundable security deposit of at least $200, and within eight months, they may be eligible to move to an unsecured card—the next step in their credit repair journey.

Earning Points and Redeeming Rewards

Cardholders earn 2 percent cash back on the first $1,000 they spend in these combined categories each quarter, as well as unlimited 1 percent cash back on all other spendings.

Welcome Offer

The Discover It Secured credit card offers the same impressive cashback match at the end of the first year. No matter how much you’ve spent on your card, Discover will double your total first-year reward.


Best Small Business Card: Discover it® Business Card

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  • Welcome Bonus: Cashback match
  • Annual Fee: $0
  • APR: 12.99% – 20.99%
  • Credit Score: Excellent/Good (700 – 749)

Benefits of Discover it® Secured Credit Card

The Discover It Business Card offers tempting perks for small businesses searching for the highest return on their investment from a credit card. Spending earns cash back at a steady 1.5 percent rate on all purchases, with no limits or special categories to track.

Account-holders can add as many as 50 employee cards at no extra cost, and there are no foreign transaction fees, no pay-by-phone fee, no over limit fee, no fee on the first late payment, and as always, no annual fee. Transactions can be downloaded easily into Excel, QuickBooks, and Quicken for streamlined tracking and budgeting.

Earning Points and Redeeming Rewards

Cardholders earn 1.5 percent cash back on every purchase, with no limits and no spending minimums to meet. Cash back can be redeemed in any amount at any time, and cash back rewards never expire.

Welcome Offer

The Discover It Business Card offers the traditional first-year unlimited cash back match, which can add up quickly if you anticipate significant expenses in the year ahead.


Best Cards for Credit Card Churning by Airline or Hotel Travel Partner


Factors to Consider When Choosing a Discover Card

All of the cards in the Discover family have a few things in common, the most notable of which is the lack of annual fees. You also won’t have to worry about fees on your first late payment or an increase in your interest rate due to late payments.

If your goal is to maximize your rewards-earning potential, the Discover It Cash Back and Discover It Student Cash Back cards are the best picks, offering 5 percent cash back on spending at specific retailers each quarter. However, you will have to take the time to activate this higher rate each quarter, which may be more time and effort than some cardholders care to invest.

For the simplest rewards structure, opt for the Discover It Miles card, which accrues 1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases, with no activation or category tracking required. It also offers the flexibility of redeeming earned miles for flights, hotel nights, car rentals and other rewards as well as converting miles to cash back.

For applicants with no credit history or those seeking to repair bad credit, the Discover It Student Chrome card and Discover It Secured card are outstanding options for building a solid credit history while earning rewards on spending.


Final Thoughts on the Best Discover Card for Churning in 2022

With its reputation for impeccable customer service and minimal fees, Discover inspires passionate loyalty from many of its cardholders. Though the cards lack some of the luxury perks of their competitorsand are not yet universally accepted overseas, thestraightforward rewards structure and flexible redemption options make them worth adding to your wallet.