For as long as I can remember, the welcome bonus on the Discover It card has been $100 after your first purchase, with the cashback you earn in the first year being doubled.
That’s recently changed. You can now earn a $200 bonus, although there is a higher minimum spend requirement. Despite the referral offer not showing the $200 bonus, if your partner already has a Discover card then it’ll still make more sense for them to refer you than to use this new $200 direct link.
The Offer & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $190 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates $200 Back + First Year Double Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler Get $200 after spending $500 in the first 3 months. All cashback earned in first 12 months will be doubled including 5% earned in rotating categories. No Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: This is a great choice for its rotating 5% categories Earning rate: 5X in rotating categories, up to $1,500 spend per quarter Base: 1% Dine: 5% Card Info: Discover issued by Discover. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. |
Quick Thoughts
The main reason people get the Discover It card is due to its rotating categories on which you can earn 5% on up to $1,500 spend per quarter. If you max out those 5% categories throughout the year, you’ll earn $300 cashback per year which, in your first year of card membership, would be doubled to $600. Other than those 5% categories though, the Discover It card isn’t compelling for day-to-day usage beyond the first year as it only earns 1% cashback on all other purchases; this can make more sense in the first year as that’ll be doubled to 2% cashback.
As mentioned earlier, the welcome bonus for the longest time has been $100 after your first purchase. This latest offer doubles that to $200, but comes with a higher—albeit not at all stringent—minimum spend requirement of $500 in your first three months.
You’d think that would make the $200 offer a no-brainer, but it’s not if your partner has a Discover It card of their own. That’s because the referral offer is $100 for the person being referred and $100 for the referrer. That means between the two of you, you’d earn the same $200 bonus cashback, but with the added benefit of only needing to make a single purchase to trigger that cashback, rather than having to spend $500 on the card in the first three months.
It’s not clear if this new $200 direct welcome offer is the new normal, or if it’s a limited time bonus. If your partner has a Discover It card (or if you have one and you want to refer them), it might be worth holding off on applying in case the referral offer gets boosted to $200, whether that’s for both sides or only the person being referred.
If you are planning on getting a Discover It card, it’d probably be worth applying before July 27, 2026 as that’s when some—or maybe all—Discover cardholders will be getting moved to Capital One. Discover cards tend to be easier to get approved for than Capital One cards, so this could be a good way of getting a foot in the door at Capital One if you’ve not otherwise had any success.
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I really am curious what the interaction with Cap1 will be on this card. The 5% back on the travel portal will genuinely push me towards the portal at least sometimes.
old news