Discover it Student Cash Back

For a first card, the standout is Discover's first-year Cashback Match, which doubles everything you earn, so 5% on rotating quarterly categories effectively becomes 10% and 1% becomes 2% for 12 months. You have to activate the rotating categories each quarter and they're capped, so it's not fully passive, and Discover's weaker acceptance abroad makes it a poor study-abroad card. Earn $300 in year one and the match turns it into $600. It accepts students with limited credit and reports to all three bureaus, which is the real point for credit-building; confirm current categories and the 0% intro length on Discover's site.

Discover it Student Cash Back at a glance

Rewards & perks

• The first-year Cashback Match roughly doubles what you earn
• 5% on categories that rotate each quarter
• No surcharge on purchases made abroad

Pros

• Carries no yearly fee
• Strong value in the first year
• Open to students with a thin credit file

Cons

• Discover sees less acceptance overseas
• The rotating categories need to be activated
• A quarterly cap on the 5% rate

Who should apply

• Be enrolled as a college student
• A U.S. Social Security number
• Limited or fair credit is accepted

Before you apply: card terms change often. Confirm the current annual fee, APR, welcome offer and rewards on the official Discover site. CreditCardCompare is an independent comparison resource, not the card issuer, and this is not financial advice.