How to Save Over $1,000 This Year With the Discover It Cash Back Card

The Discover it® Cash Back card is a unicorn among credit cards. Not only does it earn 5% back on rotating quarterly rewards categories that you must activate, but it also offers one of the best credit card welcome bonuses out there -- Discover will match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. This could turn $300 into $600, $500 into $1,000, or even $800 into $1,600.

I can testify to this card's potential. By the end of my Discover it® Cash Back card's first year, I generated around $1,650 in cash back. My wife, too, can testify. After she saw the card's potential, she applied for one and generated roughly $1,000 within her first year. Now if only I could get my cats to sign up for a card, they might finally start pulling their weight.

As I discovered with my card, it's easy to earn $1,000 in cash back, especially if your spending aligns with the bonus categories. If you're on the fence, here's how it can be done.

1. Max out bonus categories

The best way to maximize your card's cash back is to take advantage of your card's bonus rate.

The Discover it® Cash Back card earns 5% back every quarter on rotating bonus categories, such as grocery stores, gas stations, or restaurants. These categories must be activated before the quarter begins (Discover typically gives you ample notice), or you won't earn 5% back. You can earn up to $75 each quarter ($1,500 spent) before the bonus rate reverts to the card's standard 1%. With Discover's first-year cashback match, that $75 turns into $150

If you can max out bonus categories for four consecutive quarters, you can generate $300 in cash back. This becomes $600 with Discover's first-year cashback match.

However, depending on when you apply, you might have the opportunity to max out five bonus categories. For example, if you apply in the middle of a quarter (like July 15), you could activate that category's bonus. Although you would only have six weeks left, you'd still have some time to max out the quarter's spending. You would then have three full quarters and one half quarter. Maxing out spending for these five quarters would generate $750 with Discover's first-year cashback match.

2. Enroll in special offers

Every now and then, Discover will send you offers via email to activate additional bonus quarterly categories. These categories have different rules than the regular quarterly categories, but they can add to your total cashback match.

For example, I recently received a special offer for 6% back on Amazon.com on up to $1,000 spent. That's an additional $60 in cash back! With Discover's first-year cashback match, this would turn into $120.

3. Use the card for everyday spending

Credit card wisdom tells us to always carry a card with a high flat rate. This will help to earn more for spending that doesn't slot easily into bonus categories. For example, buying books at a local bookstore or clothes at a boutique shop may not earn more than 1% on most credit cards. In this regard, some of the best credit cards will earn a flat rate of 2%, which puts the Discover it® Cash Back card in good company -- at least for its first year.

With Discover's first-year cashback match, this card earns at least 2% back on all purchases. That's 1% back with the card's flat rate and 1% with Discover's cashback match. If you put all your regular spending on this card, it could easily make up the difference between what you earn in bonus categories and what you need to surpass four figures in rewards.

The best part about the Discover it® Cash Back's matching program is that there's no cap on how much you can earn with it. Earning $1,000 in rewards is a modest goal to start with, but as you'll probably find out, it's realistic to earn more than that, especially if you max out the bonus categories each quarter.