Key takeaways
- Both the Chase Freedom Rise® and the Discover it® Student Chrome are strong starter credit cards that can help students build credit while earning cash back.
- The Chase Freedom Rise®, while offering flat-rate rewards, provides long-term benefits such as broader redemption options and potential pathways to premium Chase cards.
- The Discover it® Student Chrome has a stronger welcome bonus, intro APR offers and no foreign transaction fees.
Student credit cards can be a great first step into the world of credit. These relatively low-risk starter credit cards can help students build their credit for the next stage of their lives. Plus, some student cards offer cash back, so you can earn rewards on your spending. You just have to decide what kind of rewards card you want based on your spending habits.
Let’s take a look at how a flat-rate rewards card like the Chase Freedom Rise® compares to the Discover it® Student Chrome — two no-annual-fee options that can earn you cash back on your purchases.
Main card details
| Chase Freedom Rise® | Discover it® Student Chrome | |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome bonus |
|
|
| Rewards rate |
|
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| Intro APR offer | N/A |
|
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 |
Chase Freedom Rise vs. Discover it Student Chrome highlights
We’ve compared these two cards across multiple categories to give a full picture of each card’s strengths and weaknesses.
Welcome bonus winner
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The winner of this category is the Discover it Student Chrome. The Chase Freedom Rise offers a useful, if not humble, $25 statement credit once you enroll in automatic payments within the first three months of opening your account.
However, the Discover it Student Chrome has a much stronger welcome bonus. It will match all your cash back earnings at the end of your first year with no cap on earnings. Just spending $208 a month in dining and gas on your Student Chrome card would bring you to $50 in cash back for the year and another $50 via Cashback Match — leaving you with a total of $100 in cash back rewards for the first year.
Rewards rate winner
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The Discover it Student Chrome offers 2 percent cash back for two common spending areas for many young people — restaurants and gas (on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, then 1 percent), plus 1 percent cash back on everything else.
Comparatively, the Freedom Rise earns a flat rate of 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases. While both cards have strong earning potential, the Discover it Student Chrome just edges out its competitor by offering boosted rewards in common categories for students.
However, if you find you’d prefer flat-rate cash back without worrying about spending caps, then the Freedom Rise may be more profitable for you instead. The Freedom Rise may also provide more long-term value than the Discover it Student Chrome as well.
Intro APR winner
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The Discover it Student Chrome provides introductory APR offers on both purchases and balance transfers. With the Student Chrome, you can get a 0 percent intro APR offer on purchases for six months, as well as a 10.99 percent intro APR offer on balance transfers for six months — both followed by the same 17.24% – 26.24% Variable APR after. A balance transfer fee of 3 percent applies to each balance transfer made within the introductory period. After that, the balance transfer fee will be up to 5 percent on future transfers.
The Chase Freedom Rise does not offer any intro APRs, so the Student Chrome is the clear winner again.
Foreign transaction fee winner
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If you’re planning on studying abroad and prefer using a credit card as your main form of payment, it’s important to ensure the option you choose doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees — an additional fee on purchases made in foreign currency, whether while traveling outside of the United States or online with a foreign merchant.
The Discover it Student Chrome card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, which would make it the better option compared to the Chase Freedom Rise, which charges a 3 percent fee.
Which card earns the most?
The Discover it Student Chrome offers boosted earnings in particular categories — 2 percent cash back on dining and gas purchases each quarter on up to $1,000 spent (then 1 percent).
The Freedom Rise offers 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases, but no boosted categories. But if you simply prefer a flat-rate cash back card and already have an account with Chase, the Freedom Rise card could be your card of choice. If you spend more on dining and gas, however, the Discover it Student Chrome should be your pick.
Here’s a spending example to show how much you’d earn with each card, assuming you stay under the spending cap of $1,000 in a quarter to earn 2 percent back on gas and restaurant purchases with Student Chrome:
| Spending category | Annual spending | Chase Freedom Rise | Discover it Student Chrome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groceries | $3,000 | $45 | $30 |
| Restaurant | $1,800 | $27 | $36 |
| Gas | $1,800 | $27 | $36 |
| Miscellaneous | $3,600 | $54 | $36 |
| Total | $10,200 | $153 | $138 |
In this spending example, you’d earn $15 more each year with the Freedom Rise card. However, if you also factor in the Cashback Match welcome bonus for Discover it Student Chrome, that figure jumps to $276.
So really, these are very comparable cards, although you’d likely earn a bit more with the Discover it Student Chrome in the first year.
Why should you get the Chase Freedom Rise?
Even with a lower rate of cash back, there are still some benefits to owning a card in the Chase family. For one, you’ll have access to a standard slate of card benefits. Plus, you may have the option (though not guaranteed) to upgrade your Chase credit card to a more premium option as you build a history of responsible usage with your student account.
Why should you get the Discover it Student Chrome?
In our opinion, this card provides plenty of potential for rewards, both for your first year and beyond. Further, this card is light on fees — your first late fee is waived (after that, up to $41) and there are no foreign transaction fees. Like the Freedom Rise card, you may also be eligible for a higher credit line or be able to upgrade to a more premium Discover product post-grad with responsible usage.
The bottom line
The Chase Freedom Rise and Discover it Student Chrome are a reasonable matchup, but students will have to decide which card gives them more value based on their personal spending.
Regardless, you probably won’t earn loads of cash back with either card as a student because, odds are, you won’t be a big spender at this time in your life anyway. The real value of these cards is that they help you build credit, get a foot in the door with top credit card issuers and eventually “graduate” to better credit card offerings.
Our advice is to simply choose the best student credit card for your spending habits. Then, use it responsibly to lay a financial foundation that will serve you well down the road.
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