I know that Discover has a card with a 5% discount category that changes once a quarter. Everything not in the category gets 1%. It's not hard to get the card (or at least wasn't) and was frequently advertised to college students.

If you combine that with a card that gives 2% on everything than it wouldn't be hard to average over 2% cashback as long as you were mindful about using the discover card for qualifying purchases and the 2% card for everything else.

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greenavocado 15 hours ago | parent [-]

> as long as you were mindful about using the discover card for qualifying purchases and the 2% card for everything else.

And that's the rub. Credit card companies know most people won't be too mindful most of the time about their spending habits.

	▲	bluGill 15 hours ago \| parent [-]
		There is one other rub - because I use my bank's card I get better interest rates. How does a .25-.5 % on my various loans and checking account compare to 2% on groceries - this is a complex question that it not easy to answer.