Discover it® Secured Credit Card benefits guide

Written by

Leeron Hoory,

Edited by

Published on October 19, 2023 | 3 min read

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Key takeaways

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is one of the best secured cards on the market. It includes rewards and a welcome offer, features that are not standard for most secured cards.
This card reports your credit activity to the three major bureaus, which helps establish credit, and includes other credit-building features.
The card also includes features like Freeze it® and Online Privacy Protection to protect cardholders from fraud

Though secured credit cards are usually light on benefits, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is a rare option that offers attractive, ongoing cash back rewards and a first-year welcome bonus.

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is a terrific choice if you have no credit history or a low credit score. This card reports your activity to the three major credit bureaus, helping you establish credit and become eligible for more premium cards in the future. Further, starting at seven months, Discover will review your account to determine if you’re eligible for an upgrade to an unsecured credit card.

Discover it® Secured Credit Card benefits

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card offers many benefits, including cash back rewards comparable to those of unsecured credit cards. Here’s a list of the top Discover it® Secured Credit Card benefits to focus on:

Ongoing cash back rewards

The cash back rewards are likely the best benefit of this card. You’ll earn 2 percent cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 combined purchases per quarter, then 1 percent. Further, you’ll earn 1 percent cash back on all spending outside those categories. Rewards can be redeemed at any time, and there’s no minimum you need to earn before redeeming them.

Cashback Match™ welcome offer

As a welcome offer, Discover will match your cash back rewards at the end of your first year — known as Discover’s Cashback Match™ program. If you earn $100 in cash back during your first year of card membership, for example, Discover will award you an additional $100, for a total of $200 in cash back earnings. There’s no limit to how much you can earn, and there are no hoops to jump through to receive your bonus.

Freeze it® feature

Discover’s Freeze it® feature lets you deactivate your card from your online portal or app, blocking new purchases, cash advances or balance transfers. This feature acts as an on-and-off switch for your card, which is helpful if your card is lost or stolen.

Automatic account reviews

After seven months, Discover will automatically review your account to consider your eligibility for an unsecured card. Typically, the issuer will look at your payment history and see how responsible you were with your card use. If you’re eligible, then Discover refunds your security deposit and you may be eligible for a higher credit limit, depending on your creditworthiness.

Online Privacy Protection feature

With its Online Privacy Protection feature, Discover will remove any personal information about you from 10 of the most popular people-search websites. These websites often store personal information, such as addresses and phone numbers. Similar services typically charge around $100 per year.

You’ll also be able to receive free alerts whenever someone pulls your credit or if your Social Security number appears on the dark web.

FICO credit score access

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card gives you free access to your FICO credit score via the Discover mobile app. This can help you monitor your credit and track what’s impacting it.

No annual fee

Given that this card has no annual fee, you won’t have to worry about offsetting the cost with rewards earned. It’s common for secured credit cards to charge an annual fee between $25 and $50, so this perk will save you an extra expense.

To open an account, you must provide a refundable security deposit, which will become your credit line. The minimum deposit is $200, and the maximum is $2,500.

Maximizing the Discover it® Secured Credit Card

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card works best as a transition or starter card — in other words, a card for building your credit until you can eventually graduate to an unsecured card with higher rewards.

The best way to receive the most benefits from this card is by paying your card on time and in full. By following these steps over the course of seven months, you may improve your credit profile and enhance your chances of being considered for an unsecured Discover card — such as the Discover it® Cash Back. However, approval is not guaranteed. You’ll also want to avoid paying the Discover it® Secured Credit Card’s 27.49% Variable APR *Rates as of December 12, 2024. by fully paying your card balance on time, lest interest charges eat up any rewards you earn.

To further boost your chances of graduating to an unsecured card, keep an eye on your credit score and personal info with this card’s various perks.

The bottom line

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is one of the best secured credit cards available to those with limited or no credit, given its ongoing cash back rewards structure, welcome offer and credit-building features.

Before you apply, be sure to check out our list of the best secured credit cards in case another option interests you.