Previously, most of the shopping portals we introduced were third-party cashback sites run by independent companies. One important feature of those portals is that you can earn cashback no matter which credit card you use. Today, we are going to introduce a bank-operated in-house shopping portal—Discover Deal. Its main characteristics are high cashback rates, lots of promotions, and strict monitoring. Although opinions on this portal have always been mixed, if you follow its rules carefully, you can still earn very generous rewards. It is fair to say that this portal was an excellent option for online shopping enthusiasts and U.S. buying agents.
【10/1/2018 Update】I logged into Discover deals today and saw some sad news: this shopping portal will shut down on October 31. Discover says it wants to focus on simpler and more meaningful ways for cardmembers to earn rewards. Personally, I do think bank portals are less convenient to use—you have to log into your account, enter the portal, and then search, which can easily take a minute each time. Most cashback sites let you search directly. Discover deals brought me a lot of rewards over the years, so let us take a moment to remember it:
- A $10 Kohl's Cash for each card every month, which lasted for nearly two years
- Cashback from Discover deals was also doubled under the first-year Cashback Match, making some merchants effectively 20% back during shopping season, such as Sephora and NM
- At one point, buying gift cards from sears and kmart also earned Discover deals rewards
Finally, if you just got this card, Discover deals still has one last month left. Combined with Cashback Match, the return can still be quite substantial. Do not miss your last chance~
【10/2/2017 Update】The free October $10 Kohl's Coupon has now been issued. However, Discover finally noticed this loophole that had lasted for almost two years, and replaced the old Kohl's cash (usable on any purchase amount and stackable) with the current coupon (you must spend $30 to save $10). So the era of free $10 is basically over~ I wonder how much everyone managed to claim?
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What Is Discover Deals?
Discover Deals (formerly ShopDiscover) is a shopping portal launched by Discover itself. Like other cashback portals, you click through a link inside Discover Deals to shop at a merchant, and then earn rewards after completing your purchase. The required condition for using this portal is that you have one of the following Discover credit cards:
- Discover it (standard version, student version, NFL version, Gas&Restaurant version)
- Discover it Miles
With the Discover it family, you earn extra cashback through Discover Deals. With Discover it Miles, you earn extra Miles instead (which can be redeemed toward travel purchases or converted to cashback at 1:1). Of course, rewards from Discover Deals do not conflict with the rewards built into the credit card itself (such as the base 1% or quarterly 5% categories), so they can be stacked fully.
How to Use Discover Deals
- First, log into your Discover online account and enter your credit card account. You can find Discover Deals under Rewards-Discover Deals.
- Once inside, simply search for the merchant where you want to shop (for example, Best Buy).
- Go to the specific merchant page (for example, Best Buy), click Shop Now, and complete your purchase.
- Discover Deals does not provide click tracking history, so you can only wait for an email confirming that your rewards were tracked (below is the email I received after shopping at Macy's; because review is now stricter, it can take about a month after purchase to receive the email). Before that confirmation email, you may also receive an email saying “We are reviewing your purchase”.
- In the billing cycle after receiving that email, your cashback should post.
- This cashback can be redeemed 1:1 as Statement Credit, or for discounted gift cards, so it is very flexible.
Advantages of Discover Deals
The minimum cashback rate is 5%
As we know, many cashback portals offer only 1%-2% back for electronics retailers (such as Best Buy and apple.com), Walmart, and fashion brands. But in Discover Deals, the minimum cashback rate for all merchants is 5%. So if you find a cashback portal offering less than 5%, it is worth checking Discover Deals—you might be pleasantly surprised. Here are a few examples with especially large differences:
- Apple.com 5% (others max out at 2%)
- Bestbuy.com 5% (others max out at 2%)
- Jcrew 5% (others max out at 3%)
- Coach.com (others max out at 2%)
Very high rewards at department stores, fashion, and beauty merchants
Whenever holiday shopping season arrives—such as Valentine's Day, Christmas, or Black Friday—Discover Deals often sharply boosts rewards for department stores, fashion, and beauty merchants. Some stores even reached 15% cashback. At the same time, during the Q4 shopping season, Discover credit cards themselves also offered 5% cashback at department stores (previously it had been 5% for online shopping), and stacking that with Discover's own shopping portal brought the total to 20% back, which was incredible. This made it especially popular for buying agents and shoppers who buy a lot of fashion and beauty products. Think about it: buying agents often charge a 10% service fee, but Discover Deals plus the credit card itself could generate 20% back, effectively doubling the profit margin. So during holiday shopping season, I would save my Discover card for online shopping, pay it off right away, and then get ready for the next round. Here are some comparisons:
- Macy's 10% (others max out at 6%)
- Bloomingdale's 10% (others max out at 5%)
- Saks-Fifth-Avenue 10%, previously 15% (others max out at 8%)
- Sephora.com previously 15% (others were around 8%)
So how do you find these especially high cashback offers? On the Discover Deals homepage, look for Current Theme and click in to check.
【For New Cardmembers Only】Cashback Match
New Discover cardmembers can enjoy one year of Cashback Match. During that first year, all cashback earned will be doubled, including all rewards earned through Discover Deals. Combined with the rates in sections 3.1 and 3.2, that means you could earn 10% back at apple.com and Best Buy, and 20% back at department stores. In Q4, shopping at department stores could even reach as high as 40% back. Unfortunately, aside from some lucky existing users who were added to Cashback Match last June, other existing users can no longer join. For more details on Cashback Match, see:
【New】Exclusive coupon offers
I did not notice this before, but Discover Deals sometimes quietly issues exclusive merchant Coupons. Usually each account only gets one, and it comes with a unique code instead of a public coupon code you can find elsewhere. These Coupons often provide a significant discount. For example, right now, if you log into Discover Deals and search for Kohl's, there is a good chance you will find a 10off30 coupon.
Things to Keep in Mind
- You must pay with a Discover credit card, and it must be the specific Discover card associated with that account (for example, if you have two cards, they must be matched correctly one by one).
- It is best not to use other Coupon Codes or split payment with gift cards, otherwise you may not receive the cashback.
- The cashback confirmation email can take quite a while to arrive, so just be patient. If it takes too long and you still receive nothing, contact customer service.
- Cashback Match is only available to newly approved Discover cardholders; existing cardholders can no longer join.
- It is best to decide what you want to buy first, log into the merchant account, empty your cart, close the page, then click through to the merchant from Discover Deals, and add the items back again. This gives you the best chance of successful tracking.
Conclusion
The biggest drawback of Discover Deals is that it must be used with a Discover credit card. Even so, the high cashback rates, Cashback Match for new cardmembers, exclusive coupon offers, and the strong rewards already built into Discover cards made it extremely attractive. It really was a must-have card for buying agents. If you are interested in this card, you can use the links below to apply or read more:
- Discover it application link ($50 signup bonus, plus 5% quarterly cashback + one year of Cashback Match)
- Discover it credit card review