Want to have your cake and eat it too? The best Discover cards offer both rewards and 0% financing, and all Discover credit cards have no foreign transaction fees. Take a look at our favorite Discover picks!
Best Overall
For general purchases, check out the Discover it card, a 5% cash back card that gives bonus rewards in categories that rotate throughout the year, up to $1,500 a quarter, so purchase eligibility changes quarterly. In 2013, you’ll earn 5% back on restaurants and movies January through March, “spring style” April through June, gas and “summer fun” July through September, and holiday shopping October through December. You’ll also get 14 months of no interest on purchases and balance transfers – either 14 months of 0% on purchases and transfers, or 6 on purchases and 18 on transfers.
Best Student Card
The Discover it for Students follows the pattern of the other Discover cards: it’s good, but not the top of its category. It has no annual fee, and earns 5% cash back on bonus rewards categories that change quarterly – basically the same as the regular Discover It cards, but with just 6 months of 0% interest on purchases.
The Citi Forward student card is among the better ones: you earn 5% cash back on entertainment, which is officially defined as dining out, music and movies, but spans fast food and even many bars. You get 1% back on everything else, with no reservations. And it gives 1,000 bonus points if you sign up for paperless statements, while the More has a knockout bonus of nothing. The Forward has no annual fee, but its rewards are capped at 75,000 ThankYou Points a year. This works out to $15,000 spent on bonus categories, which is probably far, far more than you’re spending a year. In our opinion, it’s got the it beat by a mile.
Best Business Card
Let’s face it: Discover’s business offerings are sub-par. The best of the lot is the Discover Miles, offering 2 miles per $1 spent on gas and travel (up to $5,000 spent annually) and 1 mile per $1 spent elsewhere. It has no foreign transaction or annual fee…but that’s about it. If you want a decent business card, check out:
The Capital One Spark Cash: Also boasting no foreign transaction fee, the Spark Cash cards either come with a flat 2% rewards rate and a $59 annual fee (waived the first year) or 1.5% rewards and no annual fee. And unlike Discover, these cards have broad international acceptance.
The Chase Ink Cash: The Ink Cash has no annual fee, and offers 5% rewards on office supplies, cable, Internet, phone and utilities, up to $25k spent annually; 2% on gas and restaurants, again up to $25k; and an unlimited 1% elsewhere. And that’s on top of the killer $200 signup bonus!
