Discount mortgages offer a lower rate of mortgage interest for a set period of time; cashback mortgages, which are designed to help cover costs associated with the home-buying process, give you cash upfront once your mortgage application has been finalised.  Cashback can be a feature of a discount mortgage, just as it can be offered with a fixed-rate or tracker deal. However, while cashback deals can look impressive at first, they often come at the cost of a less impressive discount on the interest rate, so you need to weigh up what is more important to you: short-term or long-term benefits.