Discover it Gas and Restaurant Card Review: The 4% Cash Back Hack (And the 0% Balance Transfer)

▶

This is the second of the two Discover cash back cards I've reviewed, the Discover it Gas and Restaurant card. On the surface it's a 2% card with a cap, but two things are worth paying attention to: the 0% balance transfer offer, with a transfer fee of 3% or 5% depending on when you move the balance, and a first-year hack that turns 2% into 4% on gas and restaurants.

Below is what I cover in the video, including the spending limits that trip people up and when this card actually makes sense if you're carrying credit card debt.

What you'll learn

• Where the 2% cash back applies — and the quarterly spending cap on it
• What you earn on everything else (and why that matters)
• How the 0% balance transfer offer works, including the transfer fee
• The first-year hack that gets you 4% back on gas and restaurants
• How I score the card on churning, transfers and cash back

The 2% is real, but it's capped

This card pays 2% back on gas and restaurants. The catch is the cap: the 2% applies to a cumulative $1,000 of gas and restaurant spending per quarter. So January, February and March together give you $1,000 at 2%. Spend more than that and the extra drops to 1%.

A thousand dollars a quarter works out to roughly $333 a month. If you drive a lot, you might burn through that on gas alone before you ever use it at a restaurant. That's why this isn't an everything card.

Everything else earns 1%

Outside gas and restaurants, you're getting 1% back. There are cards that pay substantially more, including cards that pay more on gas specifically. So this one belongs in a rotating or churning strategy — you pull it out at the pump and at dinner, and you use something better for the rest.

The upside: no annual fee. That means holding it costs you nothing while you decide whether it fits.

The 0% balance transfer is the real reason to look at it

If you've got a card charging you 20% or 25% and you feel like you can never get ahead, a 0% transfer is one of the strategies that actually moves the needle. You open a card like this one, transfer the balance over, and the interest clock stops for the intro period.

Here's the structure as I describe it in the video: 15 months at 0%, and a 3% transfer fee if you move the balance right when you get the card. Wait past that window and the fee goes to 5%. On a $10,000 transfer, the 3% fee adds $300, so your balance goes from $10,000 to $10,300 — but you're paying zero interest for 15 months instead of 20%-plus.

The rule is simple: pay it off inside those 15 months. When the intro period ends, the rate jumps back to a normal card rate — 20% to 30% — and you're right back where you started. Run your number through the credit card payoff calculator before you transfer so you know what the monthly payment has to be. If you want the full walkthrough, see how to do a 0% balance transfer.

The 4% hack

Here's the kicker: at the end of your first year, Discover gives you double the cash back you earned. That turns 2% on gas and restaurants into an effective 4% for year one, and 1% everywhere else into 2%.

That's what makes this card worth a shot even with the cap. Try it for a year. If you can stick to the categories, you get double back. If it didn't fit your spending, you can jettison it after the first year.

How I score it

I look at three things on every card: how easy it is to churn, how well it works for a 0% transfer, and the cash back. I'd give this one a seven or eight out of ten across all three. The cash back isn't the easiest to use — you have to remember to only pull it out for gas and restaurants. The transfer offer is decent. Churning it takes attention. For a lot of people it's two birds with one stone: a decent cash back card and a balance transfer card in one.

Key steps

1. Decide what you want the card for: cash back, a balance transfer, or both.
2. If you're transferring, do it right away to get the 3% fee instead of 5%.
3. Add the transfer fee to your balance and divide by 15 months — that's your real payment.
4. Use the card only at gas stations and restaurants, up to $1,000 per quarter.
5. At the end of year one, collect the doubled cash back and decide whether to keep it.
6. If the 15 months run out before you're paid off, know your options before the rate resets.

FAQ

Does the 2% cash back apply to all my gas and restaurant spending?

No. It applies to a cumulative $1,000 of gas and restaurant purchases per quarter — roughly $333 a month. Anything above that cap earns 1%. Everything outside those two categories earns 1% too.

How does the first year double cash back actually work?

At the end of your first year, Discover doubles the cash back you earned. So 2% on gas and restaurants becomes an effective 4% for that first year. If the categories didn't work for your spending, you can cancel the card after you collect it.

Is the balance transfer worth the fee?

Usually, if you're paying 20% or more now. Transferring $10,000 at a 3% fee costs $300 and buys you 15 months at 0%. The math only works if you actually pay it down during those 15 months — see the real numbers in is a balance transfer worth it, and if you're deciding between rewards and cash, the calculator to value points or miles and compare to cash helps.

How do I pay off credit card debt with a balance transfer?

Here's the strategy I walk through in the video. You move the balance from a card charging 20% or 25% onto a card with a 0% intro offer, and the interest clock stops for the intro period, 15 months here. Add the transfer fee to the balance and divide by 15 to get your real monthly payment. After that the rate jumps back to 20% to 30%.

What are the balance transfer fees on the Discover it Gas and Restaurant card?

As I describe it in the video, the fee is 3% if you move the balance right when you get the card. If you wait past that window, it goes to 5%. On a $10,000 transfer, the 3% fee adds $300, so the balance becomes $10,300, and then you pay zero interest for 15 months. The card itself has no annual fee.