Capital One Quicksilver vs. Discover it Cash Back

If you’re looking for a cash back credit card you can use daily to earn rewards on common purchases, the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card and Discover it® Cash Back are good options. Though they both earn cash, the rate you’ll earn your rewards differs greatly between them.

The Quicksilver from Capital One is a flat-rate cash back card that earns unlimited 1.5 percent cash back on every purchase. Discover it Cash Back has rotating 5 percent bonus categories such as groceries, gas and dining. And since neither of these cards has an annual fee, you can fare well with either if you pay your balance off each month to avoid interest charges. To determine which offer is right for you, we must dig deeper into the rewards structure and secondary card features.

Card details

Card	Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card	Discover it Cash Back
Rewards rate	Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase Unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel	5% cash back on rotating quarterly bonus categories (on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter after activating, then 1%) 1% cash back on all other purchases
Sign-up bonus	$200 if you spend $500 in the first 3 months	Cashback Match™ (all cash back earned at the end of your first year is matched)
Annual fee	$0	$0
Introductory APR (balance transfers and new purchases)	0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then 19.99% – 29.99% variable APR	0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then 16.99% – 27.99% variable APR

Capital One Quicksilver vs. Discover it Cash Back

Welcome offer

The winner: Discover it Cash Back

As a welcome bonus, the Discover it Cash Back will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year through the issuer’s Cashback Match program. So if you earn a total of $100 of cash back rewards at the end of your first year, for example, Discover would award you an additional $100 in cash back, for a total of $200 in rewards. Since there’s no cap on the rewards you can earn (other than the quarterly spend cap of $1,500) and get matched, the Discover card is the clear winner here.

However, if you want a straightforward, predictable welcome bonus — or if you don’t think you’ll earn at least $100 in cash back by the end of your first year — the Quicksilver is your card.

Rewards rate

The winner: Discover it Cash Back

The Discover it Cash Back is a rotating bonus category cash back card, meaning you can earn 5 percent cash back on rotating category purchases that change every quarter (upon activation), then 1 percent. On all other purchases, you’ll also earn 1 percent cash back.

The bonus categories featured on Discover’s cash back calendar tend to cover popular categories like groceries, gas stations, restaurants and online stores like Amazon.com, Target.com and Walmart. For January through March 2023, for example, you can earn 5 percent cash back on grocery stores, drug stores and select streaming services. The catch is that you only have one quarter to maximize your purchases in a particular category, then in the next quarter entirely different categories will get you the higher cash back rate.

If you’d prefer no-fuss cash back, the Quicksilver Card would be ideal. Although you’ll only earn 1.5 percent back on all purchases, your earnings are unlimited, and there are no categories to activate or keep track of. Further, if you can easily spend a good chunk of money on hotels and rental cars while booking through Capital One Travel, you might earn more than you expected with the Quicksilver.

Intro APR offer

The winner: Discover It Cash Back

Both cards offer 0 percent APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months within account opening. A 15-month introductory period for balance transfer cards is standard for balance transfer cards; some of the best balance transfer cards offer much longer intro periods.

These cards also have the same 3 percent intro balance transfer fee, though the Quicksilver’s intro balance transfer fee lasts the entire intro period of 15 months, versus the Discover it Cash Back card’s intro transfer fee lasts only 60 days. Nevertheless, the Discover it Cash Back has a slight edge due to its lower variable APR, which is notably lower than the average credit card APR rates right now. That APR may make a huge difference to cardholders who aren’t able to resolve their entire balance before the intro period ends but still seek to pay off their debt as quickly as possible.

Which card should you get?

For daily spending, the Capital One Quicksilver is a strong choice with its unlimited 1.5 percent cash back on every purchase. Meanwhile, the Discover it Cash Back earns 5 percent cash back on quarterly bonus categories. Both cards have welcome offers and intro periods with 0 percent APR on balance transfers and purchases.

• If you want ongoing value from your card: With its unlimited 1.5 percent cash back, the Capital One Quicksilver is ideal for daily spending, without you needing to worry about enrolling in bonus categories or wondering if this purchase will earn you 5 or 1 percent of cash back.
• If you love to travel: The Capital One Quicksilver Card earns unlimited 5 percent cash back on hotels, and rental cars, booked through the issuer’s travel portal. Hotels and flights tend to be the most expensive aspects of any trip, so that 5 percent cash back will earn you more cash back than you’d think. Plus, any of your other travel expenses will also get you 1.5 percent cash back.
• If you want a great welcome offer: The Discover it Cash Back has unlimited dollar-for-dollar cash-back matching at the end of your first year. If you manage to maximize the Discover card’s rotating categories each quarter, you’ll earn up to $300 cash back at the end of your first year. After Discover matches that number, you’ll have $600 in rewards.
• If you want to maximize your cash back: With a little bit of extra effort, the Discover it Cash Back can earn you far more than the Quicksilver would, if you spent the same amount of money. In fact, according to CreditCards.com experts, spending $15,900 (annual spend estimation for the average cardholder), the Quicksilver would earn you $250 in the first year, whereas the Discover it Cash Back card would get you $399.

Bottom line

These cards are two of the best cash back credit cards that offer plenty of perks and benefits aside from their rewards. The best option for you will depend on your spending habits and how much effort you want to put into optimizing your cash back.

For the set-it-and-forget crowd, the Capital One Quicksilver will yield a respectable amount of cash back with its flat-rate structure. Those who are dead set on tracking bonus categories stand to earn more rewards with the Discover it Cash Back, both in the first year of card ownership and beyond.