Discover it and Active Cash, ranked
Discover Discover it Cash Back, Wells Fargo Active Cash — every spend category, ranked by what each card actually returns.
Everything else
- Active Cash 2.0% 2% base rate
- Discover it Cash Back 1.0% 1% base rate
Gas
- Discover it Cash Back 5.0% 5%, rotating this quarter
- Active Cash 2.0% 2% base rate
Drugstores
- Discover it Cash Back 5.0% 5%, rotating this quarter
- Active Cash 2.0% 2% base rate
Flights
- Discover it Cash Back 5.0% 5%, rotating this quarter
- Active Cash 2.0% 2% base rate
Public transit
- Discover it Cash Back 5.0% 5%, rotating this quarter
- Active Cash 2.0% 2% base rate
What the numbers are doing
Discover it Cash Back wins gas, drugstores, flights and public transit at 5% only because the rotating calendar is on them this quarter. The quarter ends September 30, 2026; after it the card earns 1% there, and no later quarter in the published calendar brings it back.
Abroad the answer flips: Active Cash charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so once that comes off the rate Discover it Cash Back is the better card for everyday spend.
Where they differ: Active Cash takes everything else; Discover it Cash Back takes gas, drugstores, flights and public transit.
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