The Ultimate Guide to Credit Cards
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card VS. Discover it® (4 Key Differences)

Capital One Quicksilver Vs Discover It
Linsey Knerl

Written by: Linsey Knerl

Linsey Knerl
Linsey Knerl

Linsey Knerl is a finance author and public speaker with a passion for helping everyday families earn more and live better. Her work can be seen in Investopedia, PC Mag, The Christian Science Monitor, TIME, Wise Bread, Next Avenue, MSN Money, and numerous other leading outlets. Her expertise lies in business economics, credit scores and reports, and saving and budgeting. Linsey has shared her financial knowledge with audiences at SXSW, FinCon, and the ASJA annual NYC convention.

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Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro
Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to the CardRates team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Florida. Today, Lillian edits all CardRates content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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Advertiser Disclosure

If you have taken good care of your credit, you may be in the position to choose between the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card and the Discover it® Cash Back credit cards. Both offer some very attractive perks, but which one is best? Since your decision may come down to picking between VISA or Discover, the following differences will be important to consider.

Let’s take a look at the Capital One Quicksilver vs. Discover it® cards, including their issuing banks and networks, cash-back offers, cardmember benefits, and differences in their mobile app offerings.

1. Differences in the Issuing Banks & Networks

While both cards are offered to those with a very good to excellent credit history, the similarities don’t go much beyond that, starting with the issuers and networks. Capital One is a growing bank with branches across the country, and its cards are typically operated on the Visa or Mastercard credit card processing networks.

Discover, on the other hand, acts as its own issuing bank and processing network. While Discover acceptance is basically on par with Visa and Mastercard in the U.S., international acceptance is still lagging behind in some areas. 

2. Differences in Cash-Back Offers

While the details of certain bonus and new-customer offers can change, both cards offer cash back for all purchases. The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card gives 1.5% on all purchases, regardless of category.

CASH BACK RATING

★★★★★
4.8

OVERALL RATING

  • Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
  • Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day
  • $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
  • Enjoy up to 6 months of complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024
  • Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply
  • No rotating categories or sign-ups needed to earn cash rewards; plus, cash back won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how much you can earn
Intro (Purchases)
Intro (Transfers)
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Credit Needed
0% for 15 months
0% for 15 months
19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
$0
Excellent, Good

The Discover it® Cash Back, on the other hand, offers bonus cash back in rotating quarterly categories. 

Discover it® Cash Back Review

at Discover Card'ssecure website

CASH BACK RATING

★★★★★
4.9

OVERALL RATING

  • INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.
  • Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.
  • Redeem your rewards for cash at any time.
  • Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app.
  • Get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 17.24% to 28.24% Standard Variable Purchase APR applies, based on credit worthiness.
  • No annual fee.
  • Terms and conditions apply.
Intro (Purchases)
Intro (Transfers)
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Credit Needed
0% Intro APR for 15 months
0% Intro APR for 15 months
17.24% - 28.24% Variable APR
$0
Excellent/Good

Both cards claim to give you the option to redeem your cash back rewards at any time, for any amount.

3. Differences in Standard Card Member Benefits

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card customers will receive the traditional protections that all Capital One credit cardholders currently enjoy. These include fraud protection on 100% of unauthorized purchases, extended manufacturer’s warranty protection, and the Eno® assistant with virtual card numbers. 

Discover has its own benefits, including the comprehensive FICO Score tracking and Social Security number alerts. Discover will also overnight a replacement card at no cost to you, if your card should become lost or stolen, and provides fraud liability protection on unauthorized purchases.

4. Differences in Mobile App Offerings

Capital One’s Wallet App lets customers keep a record of receipts on the go – before ever leaving the store – so that keeping track of purchases is easier than ever. Detailed retailer and transaction info is displayed in an easy-to-read format, and up to 25 gift cards can be “digitized” for simpler purchasing without carrying around stacks of plastic. Capital One also provides its own version of a credit score for free.

Discover’s own mobile app does the traditional banking tasks of seeing balances and activity, but also includes a clever “freeze” feature, which allows you to temporarily disallow new purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers in the event you lost your card or suspect fraud. App users can also view their FICO Score for free, as well as view and redeem partner offers and Cashback Bonus® rewards.

Final Thoughts

While the differences may be significant, both the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card and Discover it® Cash Back cards seem to be competing in the market by continually offering innovative benefits for card members. In addition to special new-member offers, such as special balance transfer rates and introductory promo perks, both the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card and the Discover it® Cash Back would make a good addition to any credit card user’s toolkit.

Advertiser Disclosure

CardRates.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation for referrals for many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across CardRates.com (including, for example, the order in which they appear). CardRates.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.