Discover it® Student Chrome review: Cash back for gas and dining out

Written by: Louis DeNicola
• Updated •2 min read
This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.
Young college student paying a man for a textbook using the Discover it Chrome Card for StudentsImage: Young college student paying a man for a textbook using the Discover it Chrome Card for Students

In a Nutshell

The Discover it® Student Chrome could be a good fit for you if you drive a lot and don’t have a meal plan.
Louis DeNicola is a personal finance writer and has written for American Express and Discover. Editorial Note: Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Heads up: What you should consider before applying for Discover it® Student Chrome

The Discover it® Student Chrome might not be the best fit for every student.

For starters, if you have an on-campus meal plan and don’t have a car, the bonus cash back at restaurants and gas stations might not be valuable to you. A different student credit card that offers a higher cash back rate on every purchase, or has different bonus categories, could be a better fit.

Another thing to consider is that Discover is also a credit card network, like Visa and Mastercard. More merchants accept Visa or Mastercard credit cards than Discover credit cards.

In general, student credit cards may offer you a lower credit limit than nonstudent cards. This could lead to a higher credit utilization rate if you’re not careful with how much you’re charging to the card, and that could end up affecting your credit scores. But if you keep an eye on your spending and make on-time payments, a student card can be a good opportunity for you to start to build your credit.

Which Discover card is best for students?

Discover’s other student card, the Discover it® Student Cash Back card, is similar but has a different rewards program.

With the Discover it® Student Cash Back card, you’ll get 5% cash back in purchases in select categories each quarter you activate, up to a quarterly cap (then 1%). You’ll also get 1% back on all other purchases.

This means you have to remember to “activate” the categories every few months, though. The categories rotate every three months.

Which card is better for you depends on your lifestyle and personal preferences: Do you eat out and drive frequently? Or does a rotating rewards category suit you better?

Bottom line: Is the Discover it® Student Chrome right for you?

If you’re a college student who often dines out or drives regularly, the Discover it® Student Chrome could be a good credit card for you to use to start building your credit. But it’s worth considering other starter credit cards in case their rewards programs are be a better fit for your spending habits.

About the author: Louis DeNicola is a personal finance writer and has written for American Express, Discover and Nova Credit. In addition to being a contributing writer at Credit Karma, you can find his work on Business Insider, Cheapi… Read more.