Discover - Apple Pay Deal
Discover recently announced that after iOS 9 is officially released on September 16, all of its credit cards will support Apple Pay (AP). From September 16 through the end of this year, the first $10,000 in Apple Pay transactions will earn an additional 10% cash back! At the same time, new applications for the Discover it card will receive a bonus that doubles all cash back during the first year, so when you add the normal 1% cash back on everyday spending, the total cash back you can earn through this deal is 22%! If you happen to spend in Discover's Q4 5% cash back categories, the cash back you can earn will be 30%!
If you already have a Discover it card and did not get matched with the cash-back-doubling offer, don't forget that you can hold two Discover it cards; just apply for the second one one year after receiving the first card. Note that to earn this 10% cash back, you must pay in-store by tapping your phone; paying with AP inside a mobile app is not valid (for example, Uber). Also note that the terms above explicitly say "Excludes gift cards." But I believe this does not mean Discover can automatically identify which transactions are gift cards and which are not. Rather, it is mainly there as a basis for Discover to later audit some heavily optimized accounts and revoke the cash back. If you do not trigger a Discover audit, it probably will not be enforced that strictly in practice. If you can maximize this offer, the total value can reach $2,320, so readers with an iPhone should definitely not miss it. It is recommended that you shift everyday spending such as groceries to merchants that accept AP, such as Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Walgreen's. Buying any Apple devices at the Apple Store can also earn 22% cash back, which makes buying an iPhone 6s very worthwhile. In addition, you can go to Macy's to buy gift cards and gas cards to use later, and earn 30% cash back! Newly added merchants also include Best Buy; all Best Buy locations will support Apple Pay by the end of September, so you can buy all kinds of electronics and they match Amazon, B&H, and Newegg prices! Advanced users can also go to drugstores (Walgreen’s) to buy Visa gift cards, or to Game Stop to buy Amazon gift cards; these are all very attractive deals. Of course, Discover has been especially sensitive this year and has shut down plenty of accounts, so I would still not recommend taking things that far.
What You Need
A phone that supports AP (iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus). To help with usage, you can install an app called Mobile Pay Finder, which can find all nearby merchants that accept AP. Here are the Q4 5% category merchants that accept AP:
Department Stores:
- Macy's
- Bloomingdale's
Clothing Stores:
- Aerostaple
- American Eagle Outfitters
- Express
- Foot Locker
- Footaction
- Nike
- Sports Authority
Using AP with Discover at the merchants above can earn 15% or 30% cash back! In addition, the following merchants accept AP and can earn 11% or 22% cash back:
- Apple
- BJ's
- Game Stop
- Staples
- Walgreen's
- Wegmans
- Whole Foods
Of course, don't forget the fast-food places you might run into from time to time; if you're already eating there, don't forget to use Apple Pay:
- Subway
- McDonald's
For more merchants, please refer to Apple's page: Where to use Apple Pay?
Apple Pay merchant list:
Coincidentally, Android Pay is also about to launch. I wonder whether credit card companies (or Discover?) will also put together a big Android Pay deal? We'll wait and see!
Summary
This deal is the best cash-back earning opportunity so far this year. 22% cash back is absolutely easy to get. If you want to buy an iPhone and don't mind getting it a few weeks later, why not use this offer?