Discover it Credit Card
Decreasing the Outgoing > Credit Cards > Discover it Credit Card
Background
Credit cards have the potential to dramatically increase the size of your money pond. However, not all credit cards are created equal! It is important to choose a credit card that offers you the maximum cashback amount.
The Discover it credit card is one of the two fundamental credit cards in my wallet (the other being the PayPal credit card). Founded in 1985, Discover is the cashback pioneer. They provide the best customer service I’ve ever observed in a company and their credit card offers 5% cashback on four seasonal categories per year, plus 1% cashback on all other purchases. The 5% cashback categories usually include things like restaurants, gas, Amazon, and Walmart.
Features
The Discover it credit card gives 5% cashback on a different category every season. These categories will vary from year to year, but they frequently include grocery stores, restaurants, and PayPal. The summertime 5% category usually includes gas stations, which is helpful for summer travel. Most years for Oct-Dec, the 5% cashback category is Amazon, Walmart, and Target. This is great news, first of all, since it allows you to make 5% at these popular stores during the Christmas spending season. Furthermore, many cashback services don’t provide much cashback for these popular stores, so it’s great to have a credit card that does. The 5% cashback is limited to $75 per season ($,1,500 in spending per season).
If you spend more than $1,500 in a 5% category during the season, the additional spend earns 1% cashback. 1% cashback is also the amount that Discover provides for all purchases outside of the 5% categories, and there is no limit to how much cashback you can receive at the 1% rate.
Cashback becomes available every billing cycle, and you can cash it out to your bank account, apply it to your statement, or do something even better – you can buy a reduced rate gift card with the cashback! The gift card reduction amounts vary per store, but you can get 15% off places like Staples and Land’s End, 10% off many restaurants, and 5% off Amazon and Walmart. Even CardCash doesn’t usually compete with these deals. Once you redeem cashback for a gift card, the gift card is presented instantaneously.
The Discover it credit card
I can’t think of a company I have ever worked with that provides better customer service than Discover does. Their call center representatives speak without a trace of accent. One rep even got the reference when they asked what my card’s security code was. When I told them “Double-O-Seven,” they commented on the cool number!
They also resolve your requests without hesitation. Once my login info for a retail website was, apparently, obtained by a bad actor. Several times over the course of the next few years, I noticed a credit charge that was not my own. When I notified them, they deactivated the card, refunded the purchase amount, and overnighted me a new card – no questions asked – every time. Another time, a company that I’d ordered hundreds of dollars’ worth of meat from went out of business after I paid but before I received my meat. I called Discover to see if they would refund me, and they did! Like I said, their customer service is unparalleled.
With a 99% acceptance rate at places that accept credit cards, Discover is on par with Visa and Mastercard. There are no monthly fees and Discover provides your FICO credit score for free.
The card includes many security features, such as online privacy protection, monitoring for your SSN on dark web sites, and alerts if a new credit account is reported on Experian. If your card is lost or stolen, you can click a button to freeze the card until further notice.
Discover also provides other helpful financial services that can grow your money pond, including a high yield savings account and various types of loans. If you have a high yield savings account – which you should – then it’s convenient to be able to use the same login info for both your credit card and your savings account.
Discover offers a two-way $100 refer-a-friend bonus: one for the referrer and one for the referred.
Conclusion
The Discover it credit card provides unmatched customer service and high cashback amounts. It has the potential to add hundreds of dollars to your money pond.
Click the button below to receive a $100 signup bonus.
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