Capital One Quicksilver vs. Discover it Cash Back

Finding the best rewards card to add to your wallet doesn’t have to be difficult. By knowing the type of spender you are, you can make it easier to choose between a flat-rate cash back card or bonus category cash back card.

Let’s look at the flat-rate Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card and the rotating bonus category Discover it® Cash Back to see how these different types of rewards cards stack up against each other.

Main details

Capital One Quicksilver vs. Discover it Cash Back highlights

These two popular cash back credit cards can benefit you in different ways — most of which are centered around your spending habits and whether you’d prefer a flat-rate card or a rotating category card. If you’re not quite sure which you prefer, use the following card highlights to help you decide:

Which card earns the most?

In terms of which cash back card earns the most, it all comes down to your spending habits and whether you’d be diligent about maximizing bonus category spending with the Discover it Cash Back. Here’s how your cash back comes out depending on how much you spend with each card.

Capital One Quicksilver vs. Discover it Cash Back spending example

If you maxed out your rotating category spending for every quarter and never charged anything else to your Discover it Cash Back, you’d spend $6,000 per year and earn $300 in cash back. Add your CashBack Match to that total, and you’d earn $600 in cash back in your first year of card ownership.

But let’s say you spent $6,000 on the Capital One Quicksilver instead. If all of that spending was part of its 1.5 percent cash back category, you’d earn $90 in cash back. Add in the welcome bonus, and you’d have $290 in cash back in your first year. In this example, the Discover it Cash Back clearly has the advantage. In fact, you’d have to spend $20,000 on the Quicksilver if you wanted to match the Discover it Cash Back and earn $300 by the end of the year.

But what if you didn’t max out your spending categories throughout the year? Let’s instead pretend that you have a set quarterly budget that has some overlap with Discover’s rotating bonus categories. For this spending example, we’ll use the Discover it Cash Back calendar from 2023, which had the following quarterly schedule:

• Q1 (January to March): Grocery stores, drug stores, select streaming services
• Q2 (April to June): Restaurants, wholesale clubs
• Q3 (July to September): Gas stations, digital wallets
• Q4 (October to December): Amazon.com, Target

And each quarter, let’s say your budget looks a little something like this:

• $1,200 at grocery stores
• $1,000 at restaurants
• $600 at gas stations
• $1,000 on gifts and apparel (assuming it’s all spent at Amazon.com or Target)
• $2,500 on miscellaneous spending

Let’s also say that in Q4, you took an end-of-year vacation where you spent an extra $1,500 on hotel stays and a car rental. Here’s how much you’d earn in cash back each quarter with the Capital One Quicksilver versus the Discover it Cash Back:

In this spending example, the Capital One Quicksilver actually earns slightly more cash back than the Discover it Cash Back — but only when we add in some vacation spending that takes advantage of the Quicksilver’s 5 percent cash back on hotel stays and car rentals when booked through Capital One Travel. And if we added in the welcome bonuses, the Discover it Cash Back still ultimately wins.

This example shows that even if you don’t max out your bonus categories each quarter, you’ll still be able to earn a hefty amount of cash back if your spending tends to overlap with Discover’s categories. If you’re constantly charging your everyday spending to your Quicksilver card and have the opportunity to take advantage of its 5 percent cash back category while traveling, however, you might be able to earn yourself a bit more cash back with the Quicksilver than the Discover it Cash Back.

Why should you get the Capital One Quicksilver?

The Capital One Quicksilver is a strong flat-rate cash back card with the added bonus of a 5 percent cash back rate for hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. It also offers a welcome bonus that’s pretty easy to obtain, plus a 0 percent introductory APR promotion.

Here are some other reasons you might want this card:

Additional benefits

Although this card doesn’t offer as high of a cash back rate as the Discover card (other than its 5 percent rate on select travel through the Capital One Travel portal), it’s still a respectable option for cardholders who don’t want to go through the trouble of activating categories and tracking spending.

With no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, there are plenty of reasons to get the Quicksilver.

Finally, as a Mastercard, the Quicksilver card is more widely accepted than the Discover it Cash Back, especially if you travel abroad. Discover is always expanding its network, but it’s still not as wide-ranging as that of Mastercard and Visa.

It means the Quicksilver could bring a lot of value and benefits to the right cardholder.

Redemption options

You can redeem your cash back rewards in several ways, including as:

• Checks
• Statement credits
• Gift cards
• Past credit card purchases
• Online purchases at checkout on Amazon

You can also receive your cash back automatically at a set time each year or at a specific cash value.

Recommended credit score

You need good to excellent credit — or a FICO score between 670 and 850 — to qualify for this card.

Why should you get the Discover it Cash Back?

The Discover it Cash Back has high earning potential when it comes to cash back, especially in the first year of card ownership. It also offers a 0 percent introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers.

Here are some additional reasons you might want the Discover it Cash Back for your wallet:

Additional benefits

Like the Quicksilver card, Discover it Cash Back is light on fees. There’s no annual fee or foreign transaction fees — but even better, there’s no penalty APR or late fee the first time you make a late payment (after which you’ll owe up to $41).

Of course, you also get $0 fraud liability, access to Discover’s Identity Alerts program and more.

It also doesn’t hurt that Discover is known for its customer service, with high ratings in the renowned J.D. Power credit card satisfaction survey from year to year.

Redemption options

Redeem cash back earned with this Discover card as:

• Cash (as a direct deposit into your account of choice)
• Statement credits
• Gift cards
• Amazon purchases
• Charitable donations

Recommended credit score

Similar to the Quicksilver, you need good to excellent credit to qualify for this card.

The bottom line

Both of these cash back credit cards offer plenty of perks and benefits aside from their rewards. The best option for you depends on your spending habits, as well as how much effort you’re willing to put forth 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. Though, 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 after.