Discover it® Cashback Match™

10-second breakdown:

Another credit card perfect for consumers who keep excellent credit scores, the Discover it Cashback Match card is great for people who love their cash back rewards.

Key benefits:

• Earn 5% cash back in categories that change each quarter
• Cashback Match™ is a program that doubles the cash back at the end of your first year.
• Refer friends and you’ll get $50 cash back once their account is open.

Who it’s for:

Many of the top credit cards for high credit score consumers tend to focus on travel rewards or merchandise. That’s great, but if you already live in paradise or don’t really care about collecting more stuff, this could be the card for you.

This card is for individuals with excellent credit (750 or above).

The details:

Discover has your back, their Discover it Cashback Match credit card has one of the best cash back programs in the industry. For the first year, the Discover it Cashback Match card is really cheap too. You get 0% APR for the first 12 months on both balance transfers and purchases. After that, the rate depends on your credit score and will fall somewhere in the range of 11.24% up to 23.24%. There’s also no yearly fees with the card to worry about.

The Discover it Cashback Match card offers 1% cash back on everyday purchases and 5% cash back, on purchases up to $1500 quarterly, on various rotating categories. The categories are chosen by Discover well in advanced, 2016 saw gas and ground transportation in the first quarter, restaurants and movies in the second, home improvement and Amazon.com in the third and Sam’s Club, Department Stores and more Amazon.com for the last quarter.

Although Discover decides the categories, they weren’t chosen at random. Discover looked at a few recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to track when consumers spend the most on these categories, so if you’re similar to most Americans you shouldn’t have a problem racking up the rewards cash.

So what makes the Discover it Cashback Match such a great deal? There are other 5% cash back cards on the market, some with lower credit score thresholds. What makes the Discover card so irritable and absolutely worth your time is the fact that Discover will match 100% of the cash back you earn in the first year and give it to you in one lump sum at the end of the year. You read that right, they will literally double your cash back reward for the first year you’re a card holder.

Ignoring the unlimited 1%, if you managed to max out the 5% bonus each quarter, you would normally get $300 for the entire year but Discover will double it and give you an additional $300 at the end of the year.

The first year cash doubling may be the headliner, but there are a lot of other features to love about the card. Discover is extremely flexible with redeeming your rewards, you can redeem any amount, at any time for statement credits or gift cards.

Discover also runs one of the best online bonus malls in the industry, their ‘Discover Deals.’ It offers cardholders a bonus 5% to 20% cash back at over 200 online retailers. They also offer in-store coupons if you want to make your way out to the mall. The really cool part is that the double cash back offer also works on Discover Deals purchases, so you could potentially be getting 20% back now and then doubling it at the end of the year.

In addition to all of the cash back bonuses, Discover offers quite a few perks to keep customers happy. There’s no annual fee, and you get free access to your FICO score. In addition, there’s no foreign transaction fees and they offer the unique ‘Freeze It’ feature that prevents anyone else from using your card if it’s lost or stolen. With the push of a button on your smartphone you can shut the card down, and if you find it later turn it back on without ordering a new one.

They’re also quite forgiving if you are a little absent minded. Discover won’t boost your APR up if you pay late. In addition, they’ll wave the first late payment fee so it’s like it never happened.

No card’s perfect though, there are a few things to keep in mind with the Discover it Cashback Match card. First up, there aren’t any sign-on bonuses. Other cash-back cards offer $X if you spend $X within the first three months, giving instant gratification. With Discover’s card you need to wait until the end of the year to get your bonus. In addition, the categories may not fit your lifestyle. Maybe you travel a ton and don’t care about Amazon. Unfortunately you’re out of luck, Discover picks the 5% cash back categories and set them based on what ‘normal’ American consumers tend to spend the most on.

Assuming you meet their strict credit score requirements, the Discover it Cashback Match card has the best cash back program in the industry. If travel or merchandise doesn’t interest you, you won’t find a better card for getting cold hard cash back in your wallet.

For complete rankings of all personal credit cards, go here.

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