Overview

Discover has been consistently stable and has long focused on no-annual-fee credit cards. The benefits are practical, the quarterly 5% cash back categories are easy to use, and approvals are especially beginner-friendly. Overall, Discover is indeed one of the simplest issuers to deal with.

Application

1. Discover has a limit on the total number of cards you can hold: at most 2 cards, including no more than 1 student card. In addition, your first card must have been open for at least one year before you can apply for a second card. You can hold two of the same card, but after submitting the second application you must call in. See details here: Second Discover Credit Card

2. You can apply for a Discover card even with no credit history. Discover is a bit unusual: if you have no credit history at all but do have income, it can be especially easy to get approved, although the credit limit may only be 500-1000. But if you already have some credit history, it is short, and you have applied for several cards, approval can actually become harder. So Discover is a good choice for your first card.

3. After applying for a Discover card, you can call the reconsideration line to speed up the review process or ask a representative to re-review a denied application. After you call, they will need to verify your identity and address. The representative may review your application on the spot and ask about items on your credit report. They may also ask you to move credit line in order to approve the new card. For a detailed discussion, see: Introduction to Reconsideration for Credit Card Applications

4. Discover's welcome bonus is fairly tricky: usually only referral links or third-party links have a bonus, while the official website often does not. It is also very hard to get a welcome bonus matched, though asking for a supervisor may give you a small chance.

5. You can earn Discover credit card welcome bonuses multiple times. Also, the first-year cashback match on Discover it or Miles can be earned more than once.

Usage

6. If you want to increase a card's credit limit, you can request it directly through Discover online. Discover will first do a soft pull of your credit report and then give you an amount you can increase to. If you accept it, there is no new hard pull. But if you want an even higher limit, it may tell you that a credit check is required, which would then be a hard pull. Of course, Discover may also quietly raise your limit when you use the card heavily and get close to your current limit.

7. You can move credit limits between cards. If you do it when opening a new card, it is a soft pull; if you do it at another time, it may be an HP or a soft pull. Note that each card must keep at least 500 in credit limit.

8. Discover credit cards let you refer friends and earn rewards, and those rewards are taxable. Discover cards can all be used to refer, and the referred offer is usually similar to the public offer. If your referral is successful, you can receive $50 or $100. See details here: Introduction to Credit Card Referrals

9. Discover allows product changes quite freely, and you can even do them directly online. For example, if you applied for Discover Miles and got the first-year 3% cashback equivalent, then in the second year switching to Discover it for 5% quarterly cash back can be a good strategy.

Closing the Card

10. Discover credit cards have no annual fee. So it generally makes sense to keep them long term. If you really want to close one, make sure to redeem or move out all your cashback first.

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