【Update 2024.1】The $100 welcome bonus has been extended through the end of this year. If you're interested, you can apply before the deadline. This is an amazing card for the first year.
【Update 2023.11】This $100 welcome bonus has been around for many years. The deadline is the end of this year, 12/31/2023, and it is currently unknown whether it will be extended again. If you're interested, you can apply before the deadline. Great card.
【Update 2020.7】If you apply for this card through a referral link now, you can get a $100 Statement Credit welcome bonus after making one purchase within the first three months. The cash back earned in the first year can still be doubled to 3%, and it becomes 1.5% starting in the second year. In my opinion, this card is much less useful after the first year at only 1.5% cash back. The Discover it credit card, with its quarterly 5% categories, generally earns more cash back.
Terms for Cashback Match (also stated in the application link terms)
Contents [Hide]
Discover it Miles Overview:
No annual fee! Low spending requirement
- Welcome bonus: $100 cash back (one purchase)
- Rewards: 3% cash back on all purchases in the first year; 1.5% on all purchases thereafter
- Redemption: Redeem directly; cash back can be used to buy a variety of gift cards at a discount, up to 5% off
- Annual fee: $0
- Apply now>>
Highlights
- Double cash back: All the cash back you earn in the first year is automatically doubled, so all spending effectively earns 3% cash back in year one. The $50 welcome bonus is issued as a statement credit and does not qualify for doubling. For a detailed analysis, see: Introduction to Discover Double Cash Back
- Redeeming rewards: Although Discover markets this as a travel card and says it earns miles, these “Miles” are really not true miles. Redeeming toward travel purchases is only 1:1, and redeeming for cash is also 1:1. So you might as well just redeem for cash.
- Free credit score: You get your real TransUnion FICO score once a month, so you can track changes in your credit score. This is one of the best free credit scores offered by banks. For a detailed comparison, see “Which Free Credit Score Is the Best?”
- 0% APR on purchases: Balances generated by purchases within the first 12 months do not incur interest as long as you pay at least the minimum each month. Please read carefully: “How 0% APR Credit Card Payments Work”
- Price protection: If an item you purchased drops in price within a certain period, you can ask the credit card company to refund the difference.
- No FTF: Among cards with no foreign transaction fee, Discover is especially convenient to use in China because it runs on the UnionPay network there, while Visa and Master cards are not accepted in many smaller places. See: Introduction to FTF
- Extended warranty: Items purchased with the card automatically receive an extra year of manufacturer warranty coverage.
Drawbacks
- After the first year, it earns only 1.5%, which is not especially attractive. These “Miles” are not real miles, so unlike airline miles, they cannot be redeemed for outsized value above 1:1.
My Review:
With the Double Cash Back promotion, this card earns 1.5% + 1.5% cash back on all spending in the first year, then reverts to its normal 1.5% after that. It is best suited for people who spend heavily in non-bonus categories, meaning purchases that do not fall into categories like groceries, gas, department stores, or online shopping, such as tuition, insurance, medical bills, and daycare bills. The first-year 3% return is among the best available for non-bonus spending. Also, the recently added $30 in flight wifi reimbursement is pretty nice.
Personally, I have not applied for this card because most of my spending is already covered by various bonus categories. For example, for groceries I use AMEX EDP, for gas I use gas cards obtained through category swaps, for Amazon I use gift cards bought through MPX, and for online shopping I use Citi AT&T. Most of my remaining spending is used to meet minimum spending requirements on newly opened credit cards, so I would not have much other spending left to put on this card for the first-year 3% return.
My recommendation is: if you are new to credit cards, do not have many cards yet, or do not want to keep switching from one card to another, then this card is a solid choice with 3% in the first year and 1.5% after that. If you already have some credit history, you could instead consider Citi Double Cash (2% cash back on everything) or Chase Unlimited (1.5x on everything).
Application
- Application difficulty: Fairly easy; with even a little credit history, approval is usually not hard.
Discover Credit Card Application Guide
- Application status check link, or call: (800) 347-3085
- Two-card limit: Each person can hold up to 2 Discover credit cards, with at most one student card. You must hold your first card for at least one year before applying for a second card. It is possible to hold two of the same card, but after submitting the second application, you will need to call to have it processed.
- If you are not instantly approved, you can call the reconsideration line (1-800-347-2683) to speed up the review or ask a specialist to reconsider a denied application.
- More about applying for Discover credit cards