Discover is a
credit card brand issued primarily in the United States. It was introduced by Sears in 1985. When launched,
Discover did not charge an annual fee and offered a higher-than-normal credit limit, features that were disruptive to the existing credit card industry. A subsequent innovation was "Cashback Bonus" on purchases.
Discover is a different kind of credit card company. While everyone has their eyes on cards that are part of the Visa, Mastercard, and American Express payment networks, Discover’s hanging out in their own corner of the world, doing things their way. As it turns out, this is a very good thing for their cardholders.
For a limited time only,
Become a Discover Cardmember and get a $50 Statement Credit when you make your first purchase within three months. Then, earn rewards with every purchase after that.
Discover offers remarkable customer service and is able to offer some unique benefits that you don’t normally find with other credit cards (especially ones that do not charge annual fees). If you have a Discover card, or are thinking about applying for one, check out these six cool Discover it® cardmember benefits that you probably didn’t know about. But first, let’s take a look at what the Discover it® card is.
About Discover it® cards
Discover simplified its lineup of credit cards a few years ago by replacing all of its products with a single platform called
Discover it®. All of the Discover it® cards come with a suite of benefits, but each card offers slightly different reward programs and introductory offers.
Discover it® Cash Back
What you might consider Discover’s flagship card, the
Discover it® Cash Back is a cash rewards card that gives you 5 percent cash back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter at featured merchant categories that change throughout the year, quarterly activation required. You also get unlimited 1 percent cash back on all other purchases, automatically.
Discover it® Chrome
The
Discover it® Chrome card caters to consumers who want a simple rewards structure that pays more at restaurants and gas stations. The Discover it® Chrome card gives you 2 percent cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, and 1 percent cash back on all other credit card purchases.
Discover it® Miles
The
Discover it® Miles offers 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all purchases, and miles are worth one cent each as statement credits towards travel reservations. Or you can redeem your miles for cashback. The Discover it® Miles will also match all rewards earned in the first year, making it
one of the very best credit card signup bonuses available right now—especially when you consider it doesn’t charge an annual fee!
Discover it® cardmember benefits
1. Freeze it™
Everyone’s had the experience of misplacing their credit card. Sometimes you leave it at a restaurant, while other times it can slip out of your wallet. With most credit cards, you’re supposed to immediately call the bank, report it lost, and have it replaced. Then, you have to contact everyone who you have that card on file with and give them the new number. But here’s the thing, most of the time it turns up within a day or two. With the
Discover it® cards you can use the Freeze it features to temporarily prevent new purchases, cash advances, or balance transfers from being authorized on your account. And when you find your card, Discover allows you to unfreeze your account in seconds with a phone call, their mobile app, or on their website.
2. Cashback at checkout with Discover Cash Over
The last thing that you ever want to do with most credit cards makes a cash advance. Do this, and you’ll be hit with expensive fees, a higher interest rate, and no way to avoid interest by paying it off in full. But Discover’s Cash Over program allows you to get cashback from Walmart, dozens of national grocery store chains, and other participating retailers when you check out without visiting an ATM. Just as you may have done with your debit card at a supermarket, when you receive cash with Discover Cash Over, you’ll pay no transaction fees, no ATM fee, and no bank fees. And most importantly, your regular purchase APR will apply to the cash you receive, so you won’t get hit with interest charges when as long as you pay your statement balance in full.
3. Price protection
It’s such a let down to find a lower price soon after you’ve made a big purchase. Thankfully, price protection is among Discover it® cardmember benefits. If you find a lower price on an eligible item that you bought within 90 days of purchase, Discover’s price protection policy will refund the difference, up to $500. So you can keep searching for bargains even after you’ve made your purchase.
4. Free FICO® credit scores
More and more credit cards are offering some kind of credit score on your statement, but Discover it® cards go beyond just printing a number on your statement. It offers a genuine FICO® score based on your TransUnion credit report. As many as 90 percent of top lenders in the U.S. use FICO® Credit Scores to help decide on your application for a car loan, credit card, or a mortgage. In addition, Discover provides you with all of your recent scores so that you can track your history. It also tells you about the key factors behind your score. You can even find this using their mobile app.
5. Customer-friendly rates, fees, and service
While many card issuers seemed determined to push the limits of how many fees they can charge, Discover is taking the opposite approach. None of their cards have annual fees or foreign transaction fees. Also, Discover will automatically waive your first late payment fee, and it never imposes a penalty interest rate if you happen to pay late. The same holds true with Discover’s customer service. A frequent winner of awards customer service from a credit card company, Discover prides itself on its 100 percent U.S.-based customer service. You may have seen the ads featuring cardmembers calling Discover and feeling like they’re talking to their twin. Discover can run those ads because, as a cardmember, you will likely find their customer service to be more pleasant than you might expect from a credit card company.
Bottom line
All
Discover cards come with a suite of customer-friendly benefits, some of which you won’t find anywhere else. If you’re looking for an all-around rewards card with no annual fee, you’d be remiss not to consider a Discover it® card.