Discover It is definitely not a card you hear a lot about in the points and miles game, but I have had one for a long time, and lately it has been making me a lot of money. This card is definitely easier to get than some of the other cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred or other premium cards so if you are still building (or rebuilding) your credit it isn’t a bad way to go. It doesn’t have any annual fee so it isn’t going to cost you anything to keep it year after year which helps both your credit utilization and your credit file age (which are both important factors for your credit score.)
But the reason that I use mine is their CashBack program. The normal cashback is 1% but I don’t use it for that. I use it for promotions they have for certain periods (such as their 5% Cashback Calendar) on things such as Restaurants, Gas, and Groceries. They also have random promotions they give out like in my birthday month they gave $1 cash back for each transaction up to $10. So I put 10 small transactions on the card when I was out shopping like $1 of gas or a pack of gum for an easy extra $10.
The best use for me has been their ShopDiscover online mall. The way this works is that when you are shopping online, you first log onto your Discover account, then click on the ShopDiscover link. Then you find the merchant you want to buy something from and use the link provided. It sends you onto the store and you get a % of your purchase back in Cashback! During the holidays ShopDiscover cranks up their cashback on many other of their merchants so keep an eye out. If you are looking for a great site to compare all the online shopping sites for a particular vendor, check out evreward.
And when you are ready to use your Cashback, you can either request a statement credit or check when you get at least $25 or you can use it towards any purchases on Amazon.com regardless of amount. They also have gift cards you can get at a discount (like a $50 gift card for $45 for Applebees for example) that can give you an additional boost on redemption.
And the last (and best) reason might be if you have a high rate balance you are currently paying on on another card. With their 18 month 0% interest rate balance transfer and purchase offer, it is a good way to get any balances you have paid down without any interest. There is a 3% balance transfer fee, but if you have a balance on any other card that is at a high interest rate then the fee will usually pay for itself in 2 months or so.
So while there are definitely better travel cards out there since it doesn’t have a sign on bonus, this card deserves a place in your wallet. Especially if your credit is just getting started, you have a high interest rate balance or if you are a groupon junkie like me. 🙂 If this sounds like a good match, Apply Today!
