Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

Base Earn Rate

Top Earn Categories

Network

Key Benefits

Pros

• +5% on rotating categories up to $1,500/quarter when activated
• +3% on dining and drugstores with no annual cap
• +5X on Chase Travel portal purchases
• +$0 annual fee with Mastercard World Elite benefits
• +Transfer points 1:1 to travel partners with Sapphire card

• +Cashback Match doubles ALL rewards earned in first year - unlimited
• +5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1,500 spend/quarter)
• +No annual fee ever
• +No foreign transaction fees (rare for no-AF cards)
• +0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers

Cons

• −Must activate quarterly categories or miss 5% bonus
• −$1,500 quarterly cap on 5% categories ($300 max bonus/quarter)
• −3% foreign transaction fee
• −Points worth only 1 cent without Sapphire card pairing
• −Welcome bonus lower than Sapphire cards

• −Discover network has lower acceptance than Visa/Mastercard, especially internationally
• −Must activate 5% categories each quarter or earn only 1%
• −$1,500 quarterly cap on 5% categories limits high spenders
• −After year one, effective earn rate drops significantly
• −Base rate of 1% on non-bonus spending is below flat-rate alternatives

Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

Base Earn Rate

Top Earn Categories

Network

Key Benefits

Pros

• +5% on rotating categories up to $1,500/quarter when activated
• +3% on dining and drugstores with no annual cap
• +5X on Chase Travel portal purchases
• +$0 annual fee with Mastercard World Elite benefits
• +Transfer points 1:1 to travel partners with Sapphire card

• +Cashback Match doubles ALL rewards earned in first year - unlimited
• +5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1,500 spend/quarter)
• +No annual fee ever
• +No foreign transaction fees (rare for no-AF cards)
• +0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers

Cons

• −Must activate quarterly categories or miss 5% bonus
• −$1,500 quarterly cap on 5% categories ($300 max bonus/quarter)
• −3% foreign transaction fee
• −Points worth only 1 cent without Sapphire card pairing
• −Welcome bonus lower than Sapphire cards

• −Discover network has lower acceptance than Visa/Mastercard, especially internationally
• −Must activate 5% categories each quarter or earn only 1%
• −$1,500 quarterly cap on 5% categories limits high spenders
• −After year one, effective earn rate drops significantly
• −Base rate of 1% on non-bonus spending is below flat-rate alternatives

Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

Base Earn Rate

Top Earn Categories

Network

Key Benefits

Pros

• +5% on rotating categories up to $1,500/quarter when activated
• +3% on dining and drugstores with no annual cap
• +5X on Chase Travel portal purchases
• +$0 annual fee with Mastercard World Elite benefits
• +Transfer points 1:1 to travel partners with Sapphire card

• +Cashback Match doubles ALL rewards earned in first year - unlimited
• +5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1,500 spend/quarter)
• +No annual fee ever
• +No foreign transaction fees (rare for no-AF cards)
• +0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers

Cons

• −Must activate quarterly categories or miss 5% bonus
• −$1,500 quarterly cap on 5% categories ($300 max bonus/quarter)
• −3% foreign transaction fee
• −Points worth only 1 cent without Sapphire card pairing
• −Welcome bonus lower than Sapphire cards

• −Discover network has lower acceptance than Visa/Mastercard, especially internationally
• −Must activate 5% categories each quarter or earn only 1%
• −$1,500 quarterly cap on 5% categories limits high spenders
• −After year one, effective earn rate drops significantly
• −Base rate of 1% on non-bonus spending is below flat-rate alternatives