Discover Bank Review: Checking, Savings and CDs

Discover Bank offers excellent accounts and a massive free ATM network, and it does not charge monthly or overdraft fees.
Margarette Burnette
By Margarette Burnette 

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Overall bank rating

Discover Bank
  • Savings

  • CD rates

  • Checking

  • Banking experience

  • Overdraft fees

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

The bottom line:

Discover Bank® checking lets you earn cash back when you make qualifying debit card purchases each month, and it provides free access to a broad ATM network. The online bank also offers a strong high-yield savings account. But customers who prefer to bank in person won’t like that Discover® has only one physical branch.

Editor's note: Discover's Cashback Debit account is not currently available to new customers.

Best for: Customers who value competitive rates, checking perks and ATM access over branches, and might overdraft from time to time.

Pros

  • No monthly fees on checking and savings accounts.
  • Cash back rewards checking account.
  • Solid rate on savings.
  • Large ATM network.
  • Paychecks available up to two days early with direct deposit.

Cons

  • Only one physical branch location.
  • Doesn't accept cash deposits.

Full review

Discover Bank Online Savings

Savings

Member FDIC

5.0

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
APY
3.50%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Bonus
$200
Requirements to qualify
Learn more

at Discover Bank

The Discover online savings account’s annual percentage yield compares favorably with the national average of 0.35%, and you won’t have to pay maintenance fees for this account. There are also no minimum balance requirements to earn interest.

Discover offers a $150 or $200 bonus for opening your first Discover Online Savings Account (expires 03/15/2023). See below for more details, or see it on our list of best bonuses.

Online Savings Account details from Discover: "Annual Percentage Yield (APY). Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 02/24/2023. Applies to personal accounts only. APY may change before or after the account is opened. No minimum deposit to open."

Bonus offer details from Discover: "To get your $150 or $200 Bonus: What to do: Apply for your first Discover Online Savings Account, online, in the Discover App or by phone. Enter Offer Code NW323 when applying. Deposit into your account a total of at least $15,000 to earn a $150 Bonus or deposit a total of at least $25,000 to earn a $200 Bonus. Deposit must be posted to account within 30 days of account open date. Maximum bonus eligibility is $200."

"What to know: Offer not valid for existing or prior Discover savings customers or existing or prior customers with savings accounts that are co-branded, or affinity accounts provided by Discover. Eligibility is based on primary account owner. Account must be open when bonus is credited. Bonus will be credited to the account within 60 days of the account qualifying for the bonus. Bonus is interest and subject to reporting on Form 1099-INT. Offer ends 03/15/2023, 11:59 PM ET. Offer may be modified or withdrawn without notice."

Discover Bank CD

CD

Member FDIC

4.5

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
1-year APY
4.50%
3-year APY
4.30%
5-year APY
4.10%
Minimum deposit
$2,500
Learn more

at Discover Bank

Discover Bank offers strong CDs with a broad range of term lengths, up to 10 years. The minimum required deposit of $2,500 is higher than what’s required at some other banks.

CD details from Discover: “Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 02/24/2023, is subject to change without notice, and will be determined and fixed for the term at funding. Applies to personal accounts only. A penalty may be charged for early withdrawal. Minimum deposit to open is $2,500."

Discover Bank Cashback Debit
Discover Bank Cashback Debit

Checking

Member FDIC

5.0

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
Monthly fee
$0

Editor's note: Discover's Cashback Debit account is not currently available to new customers.

Discover’s Cashback Debit is a rewards checking account that lets you earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month. Plus, there’s no monthly service charge and no monthly balance requirement. Discover Cashback Debit offers access to over 60,000 fee-free ATMs and paychecks are available up to two days early with direct deposit.

Account holders can fund their account in a few ways: online transfer from a different bank, mobile check deposit or mailing a check to the bank. Cash deposits aren’t currently accepted.

» Looking for more checking account options? Check out NerdWallet's best checking accounts

Cashback Debit details from Discover: "ATM transactions, the purchase of money orders or other cash equivalents, cash over portions of point-of-sale transactions, peer-to-peer (P2P) payments (such as Apple Pay Cash), and loan payments or account funding made with your debit card are not eligible for cash back rewards. In addition, purchases made using third-party payment accounts (services such as Venmo® and PayPal™, which also provide P2P payments) may not be eligible for cash back rewards. Apple, the Apple logo and Apple Pay are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries."

See Discover's website for more details.

Banking experience

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

Discover offers a high-quality web experience and its mobile banking apps receive high ratings from customers, and representatives are available by phone all day, every day. You also can reach the bank through mail and social media.

There is a downside for those unwilling to let go of face-to-face banking: Unless you live near Greenwood, Delaware — where Discover Bank has its only branch — you’ll need to do your banking online.

MORE » Check out NerdWallet's Discover it Cash Back Credit Card Review

Overdraft fees

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

Like an increasing number of banks, Discover Bank doesn’t charge a fee for overdrafts. If you don’t have enough money in your account to cover a purchase, and you’ve enabled overdraft protection, Discover will pull the money from your designated funding account. If you don’t have enough in your funding account or you haven’t enabled overdraft protection, the transaction will be declined, and you won’t be charged a fee.

Transfers from a linked account that cover your overdrafts are free. Other banks may charge for this service. Note that there is no option to have an overdraft line of credit.

Discover Bank Online Savings

Savings

Member FDIC

5.0

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
APY
3.50%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Bonus
$200
Requirements to qualify
Learn more

at Discover Bank

The Discover online savings account’s annual percentage yield compares favorably with the national average of 0.35%, and you won’t have to pay maintenance fees for this account. There are also no minimum balance requirements to earn interest.

Discover offers a $150 or $200 bonus for opening your first Discover Online Savings Account (expires 03/15/2023). See below for more details, or see it on our list of best bonuses.

Online Savings Account details from Discover: "Annual Percentage Yield (APY). Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 02/24/2023. Applies to personal accounts only. APY may change before or after the account is opened. No minimum deposit to open."

Bonus offer details from Discover: "To get your $150 or $200 Bonus: What to do: Apply for your first Discover Online Savings Account, online, in the Discover App or by phone. Enter Offer Code NW323 when applying. Deposit into your account a total of at least $15,000 to earn a $150 Bonus or deposit a total of at least $25,000 to earn a $200 Bonus. Deposit must be posted to account within 30 days of account open date. Maximum bonus eligibility is $200."

"What to know: Offer not valid for existing or prior Discover savings customers or existing or prior customers with savings accounts that are co-branded, or affinity accounts provided by Discover. Eligibility is based on primary account owner. Account must be open when bonus is credited. Bonus will be credited to the account within 60 days of the account qualifying for the bonus. Bonus is interest and subject to reporting on Form 1099-INT. Offer ends 03/15/2023, 11:59 PM ET. Offer may be modified or withdrawn without notice."

How does Discover Bank compare?

Current Product

NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5
NerdWallet rating 

4.5

/5

APY 

3.50%

With $0 min. balance for APY

APY 

4.00%

With $0 min. balance for APY

Bonus 

$200

Requirements to qualify

Bonus 

N/A

Methodology

NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.