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Update: reader nabeelj in comment #5 shared a working link for Discover’s Card Builder that allows up to $200 bonus for spending $1500 in 3 months. Pre-approved offers may be available; I tried and it said that I could not be found either because of address change or credit report freeze. I have my Experian frozen and if that is any indicator, I am not going to unfreeze for just a Discover so will not be applying for a card. Thanks nabeelj!
The Discover it™ Card is replacing Discover’s existing consumer lineup of 5 cards. The Discover website already only has the new card.
The old 5 cards are still available through affiliate channels until January 2 at 10:30 am, meaning if you use any of the links below, I will receive a commission. Other outlets still offering the cards would similarly receive a commission.
Frankly, I have never had a Discover card and know little about them. I have some friends that use their online shopping portal for rewards that they say sometimes beat all others. A search for the Apple Store on Cashback Holics shows Discover the highest at 5%.
The cards being eliminated are:
- Discover® More Card
- Discover® Motiva Card
- Discover® Open Road Card
- Escape by Discover® Card
- Miles by Discover® Card
From what I can tell by the marketing bullets provided by Discover (included in full below), here’s my quick take on whether these cards offer anything of value over the new offering:
- More Card – seems to have the same 5% quarterly bonus categories as the it card, no distinguishing benefits.
- Motiva Card – seems to have the same 5% quarterly bonus categories as the it card, no distinguishing benefits.
- Open Road Card – 2% cashback at gas stations and restaurants (up to $250 purchases per statement period), no quarterly bonuses. There are better cards out there for gas or restaurants, like the Chase Freedom® Visa with 5x rewards on restaurants. And the no annual fee Barclays Priceline Rewards Visa® Card offers 2% cashback on everything.
- Escape Card – 2 miles/$1 spend but an annual fee of $60. I am not familiar with their mileage redemption program. Seems similar to the CapitalOne Venture card.
- Miles Card – 1 miles/$1 spend with no annual fee.
On the surface, none of these cards offer value over competing cards or benefits superior to the it Card. The it Card has quarterly bonuses like the More and Motiva, and eliminates some fees.
None offer any sign-up bonuses.
It seems the key benefit is access to the Discover online shopping portal, which any card will provide.
I don’t know the angles, for instance if you have multiple Discover cards do you get the quarterly bonus, capped at $1500 in purchases, multiple times?
Readers, if you are familiar with the ins and outs of Discover, is there any reason to jump on these cards before they are gone?
Product info from Discover:
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 14 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 10.99% – 20.99%*
- Earn 5% Cashback Bonus on up to $1,500 in purchases at Department Stores and everywhere you shop online through December, as well as in categories that change throughout the year like gas, restaurants, and department stores up to the quarterly maximum. It’s free and easy to sign up.*
- Up to 20% Cashback Bonus at popular retailers when you shop online through Discover.com
- Discover is ranked #1 in customer loyalty–16 years in a row! (2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
- 24/7 access to a U.S.-based Account Manager within 60 seconds
- $0 Fraud Liability. You’re never responsible for unauthorized charges on your Discover card account, plus mobile and email fraud alert options
- Great rewards with no annual fee, no rewards redemption fee, and no additional card fee
- *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information
- Earn Cashback Bonus for your good credit managment
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 14 months, then the variable purchase APR of 10.99% – 20.99%*
- Up to 20% Cashback Bonus at popular online retailers when you shop through Discover.com
- Discover is ranked #1 in customer loyalty–16 years in a row! (2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
- 24/7 access to a U.S.-based Account Manager within 60 seconds
- $0 Fraud Liability. You’re never responsible for unauthorized charges on your Discover card account, plus mobile and email fraud alert options
- Great rewards with no annual fee, no rewards redemption fee, and no additional card fee
- *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 14 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 10.99% – 20.99%*
- 2% automatically at gas stations and restaurants all year long*
- Plus, up to 20% Cashback Bonus at popular online retailers when you shop through Discover.com
- Discover is ranked #1 in customer loyalty–16 years in a row! (2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
- 24/7 access to a U.S.-based Account Manager within 60 seconds
- Great rewards with no annual fee, no rewards redemption fee, and no additional card fee
- *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information
- Double Miles on every $1 you spend
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months, then the variable purchase APR of 10.99% – 19.99%*
- No restrictions on travel–fly on any airline, book any hotel or car, with no blackout dates
- Flexible redemption options like travel credits, merchandise, gift cards or cash
- Travel Insurance benefits, including primary car rental, lost or damaged luggage, travel delay, and trip cancellation when you book with your Escape by Discover card
- Discover is ranked #1 in customer loyalty–16 years in a row! (2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
- *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information
- 1 Mile on every $1 you spend – Plus flexible redemption options like travel credits, merchandise, gift cards or cash
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 6 months, then the variable purchase APR of 10.99% – 19.99%*
- No restrictions on travel — fly on any airline, book any hotel or car, with no blackout dates
- Travel benefits include secondary collision damage insurance when you rent a car with your Miles by Discover card
- Discover is ranked #1 in customer loyalty–15 years in a row! (2011 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index report)
- Great rewards with no annual fee, no rewards redemption fee, and no additional card fee
- *Click apply to view rates, fees, rewards, limitations and other important information
And the new Discover it™ Card:
- The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards.
- Fair…No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And we won’t increase your APR for paying late.*
- Generous…5% cash back at restaurants and movies right now through March on up to $1,500 in purchases with free and easy sign-up. And 1% cash back on all other purchases.*
- Plus a Cashback ConcerigeSM who guides a free, personalized online tour to help you get the most rewards for how you use your card.
- Flexible…Choose your own due date and pay up to midnight ET online or by phone.
- Human…talk to a real person any time with 100% U.S.-based service.
- Safe…Because you’ll never pay for unauthorized purchases with our $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee.
- 0% Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 14 months. Then the variable purchase APR applies, currently 10.99% – 20.99%. *Click apply for Terms & Conditions.
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@Andrew R – you got my topic today ahead of me, this was also recently featured in Businessweek, unfortunately I did not have a Discover card to try on my trip to Shanghai earlier in the month. My supposition was that the issue would be convincing people to try swiping it. Thanks for providing this valuable report.
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@nabeelj – many thanks for that link, I have updated the top of the post, a $200 will be quite attractive for many.
@Rapid Travel Chai,
I know it works every 91 days (well at least it has for 2012), I haven’t tried it with greater frequency, being that it pulls from TransUnion, and I think you are in NJ, so that is the agency for you, maybe that should be tried out. I keep it “simple”, try to consolidate all of my hits every 3 months or so, mostly for Citi cards reasons, but it maybe worth a try.
Cheers,
PedroNY
Oh, you can still see the old offers, including the one I referenced with the $200 bonus:
https://www.discovercard.com/cardmembersvcs/acqs/app/chooseMyOffer/browseAll?tab=more-tab
BTW Before Discover pulled all the other cards from their site, they had a “create your own card” tool where you could remove the 0% purchase APR and reduce the 0% balance transfer APR to 6 months, and instead get $200 bonus on spending $1500.
“though I don’t know why you would”
Because Discover and PenFed are the only CC issuers pulling EQ in my area, and I’ll take the free $200 for spending $1500, and 5% on top since it was online spending in December.
@PedroNY – thanks for the update, this deserves a post of its own since is the top Barclays question. Too bad it didn’t work, it would be awesome if it could rain 4 or 5 at a time. Now the question becomes if 31 days is too soon to get another. That would be a great monthly treat.
off topic, but I figured I’d post a follow up to Barclays applications. I tried more than 1 U.S. Airways application, first one was accepted, second one was flagged as “you previously applied within 30 days for this card…” so did not even process it, I assume no credit pull, or they will combine it into the same one.
I figured you’d want to know, as you are experimenting with Barclays multi-applications.
Cheers,
PedroNY