Discover it Student vs SavorOne Student: the best first card for a college budget
A first-year match on rotating 5% categories, or a steady 3% on food and streaming. We model a real student budget.
Cards in this article
On this page5 sections
The two student cards on our list are both free, both built for a thin credit file, and both pay rewards. Discover it Student Cash Back pays 5% on rotating categories and doubles your first year. Capital One SavorOne Student pays a steady 3% on food, streaming and entertainment. We ran a realistic student budget through both, and the winner changes between year one and year two.
| Attribute | Discover it Student Cash BackDiscover | Capital One SavorOne StudentCapital One |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Network | Discover | Mastercard |
| Category | Student | Student |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 |
| Welcome bonus | Cashback Match: Discover matches all cash back earned at the end of the first year. | $50 cash bonus after $100 in purchases in the first 3 months. |
| Rewards rate | 5% on rotating quarterly categories on up to $1,500 per quarter after activation, 1% on everything else. | 3% on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery stores, 8% on Capital One Entertainment, 1% on everything else. |
| Regular APR | 0% intro APR for 6 months on purchases, then 18.24% - 27.24% Variable | 19.24% - 29.24% Variable |
| Recommended score | Limited credit history, students | Limited credit history, students |
How each student card earns
Discover it Student pays 5% on rotating quarterly categories on up to $1,500 of spending per quarter, after you activate them, and 1% on everything else. At the end of your first year, Discover matches all the cash back you earned, with no cap. It also lists a 0% intro APR for 6 months on purchases and a free FICO score in the app.
SavorOne Student pays 3% on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery stores, 8% on Capital One Entertainment purchases and 1% on everything else. It pays a $50 bonus after $100 of purchases in the first 3 months and lists automatic credit line reviews. It uses the same 3% categories as the regular SavorOne.
A student budget, run through both cards
Our hypothetical student spends $600 a month on the card: $150 eating out, $200 on groceries, $50 on streaming and entertainment, and $200 on everything else, such as transit, a phone bill and books. We assume $100 a month of that “everything else” happens to fall in Discover’s current 5% category, a middle-of-the-road guess, since the categories rotate.
Discover it Student
- 5% categories: $100 a month × 12 × 5%
- $60
- Everything else: $500 a month × 12 × 1%
- + $60
- Cash back earned in a year
- $120
- Cashback Match, year one only
- + $120
- Year one
- $240
- Year two
- $120
Capital One SavorOne Student
- Dining, groceries, streaming and entertainment: $400 a month × 12 × 3%
- $144
- Everything else: $200 a month × 12 × 1%
- + $24
- Cash back earned in a year
- $168
- Welcome bonus after $100 in 3 months, year one only
- + $50
- Year one
- $218
- Year two
- $168
Discover wins year one by $22, because the match doubles everything. SavorOne wins every year after by $48, because 3% on food and entertainment beats 1% on most of the budget. Over two years, SavorOne comes out $26 ahead on these numbers.
When Discover wins year two too
Discover catches up only if more of the budget falls in its 5% categories. On this budget, every dollar moved into a 5% category adds 4 cents to Discover’s total and nothing to SavorOne’s. The $48 gap closes once another $1,200 a year moves into the categories: $2,400 a year in total, which is $200 a month, or $600 a quarter, well under the $1,500 quarterly cap.
So the question is practical: will a student reliably put $200 a month into whatever Discover’s categories are that quarter, and activate them every time? Some quarters will line up with a student’s life and some will not. If the answer is “probably not”, SavorOne is the better long-term card. Try your own budget:
Enter what you spend in a typical month. Put purchases that fall in Discover’s 5% category this quarter in their own line, and take them out of the other lines.
Your monthly spending
Net value per year
$7,200 spent a year
$168 rewards − $0 fee
Best fit for these numbers
$120 rewards − $0 fee
Ongoing years only: the Cashback Match (which doubles Discover’s first year) and SavorOne’s $50 bonus are excluded. The 5% cap is $1,500 a quarter, modelled as $6,000 a year. We assume Discover’s 5% purchases fall outside SavorOne’s 3% categories; if this quarter’s category is groceries or restaurants, both cards would pay a bonus on it. Estimates only; ongoing value, excluding welcome bonuses unless stated.
Beyond the rewards: rates, extras and habits
Discover it Student lists 0% intro APR for 6 months on purchases, then 18.24% to 27.24% variable. SavorOne Student runs 19.24% to 29.24% variable. Both rates are high, which is typical for cards built for thin files, and both are irrelevant if the balance is paid in full each month. A student who carries $500 for a year at 25% pays about $125 in interest, more than Discover earns in year two on our budget and most of what SavorOne earns.
- No foreign transaction fees on either card, useful for a semester abroad, although Discover acceptance can be narrower than Mastercard’s outside the U.S.
- Free FICO score in the Discover app, a practical way to watch a new file grow.
- Automatic credit line reviews on SavorOne Student, which can lower utilization as your limit rises.
- 8% on Capital One Entertainment with SavorOne Student, if you buy tickets that way.
If neither card fits, for example because you have no income to list yet, our guide to building credit from zero covers secured and credit-builder options. And once your file is established, the regular SavorOne is compared with the Amex Gold in a head-to-head on dining rewards.
Our verdict
SavorOne Student for most students, Discover for category planners
On a typical student budget, SavorOne Student earns more from year two onward with no quarterly homework, and its $50 bonus has the lowest spend threshold on our list. Discover it Student wins year one through the Cashback Match and keeps winning only if $200 a month or more reliably lands in its 5% categories. Either way, pay in full: the credit history is worth more than the cash back.
Best for most students
Capital One SavorOne Student3% on food, streaming and entertainment, no activation.
Best first year
Discover it Student Cash BackCashback Match doubles everything earned in year one.
No credit history yet
Chime Credit Builder VisaNo credit check, no minimum security deposit, no interest.
Questions readers ask
Which is better for students, Discover it Student or SavorOne Student?
On a typical budget centred on food and entertainment, SavorOne Student earns more from the second year, while Discover it Student usually wins the first year because Discover matches all cash back earned in year one. Discover stays ahead only if a large share of spending falls in its rotating 5% categories.
Do student credit cards build credit?
Yes. A student card is a regular credit account that reports to the credit bureaus, so paying on time and keeping the balance low builds your credit history. Paying late or carrying a large balance can hurt it.
Can I get a student credit card with no credit history?
Student cards are designed for applicants with limited or no credit history, but approval is always the issuer’s decision and usually considers income. Secured and credit-builder cards are the alternative if a student card is not an option.
Do Discover it Student and SavorOne Student have annual fees?
No. Neither card charges an annual fee, and neither charges foreign transaction fees.