The Discover it™ Credit Card

Discover has made a bold but necessary move to position itself in the rewards credit card market.

Discover decided to stop offering all of the credit cards they offered in 2012 and have switched to a single new card that easily beats every old credit card they offered. So what is this new Discover credit card and what makes it so awesome?

Discover came out with a new credit card in 2013 called Discover it™. The Discover it™ credit card is vastly superior to any of Discover’s old credit card offers and I think it is about time they got into the rewards credit card game with a legitimate competitor.

What Makes the Discover it™ Credit Card Awesome?

The Discover it™ card has a lot of neat features. The most important feature of any rewards credit card is the rewards program. The Discover it™ credit card pays 5% in rotating quarterly categories. The categories for January through March 2013 are Restaurants and Movies.

The Discover it™ credit card pays 1% cash back on all other purchases. This is an improvement on Discover’s old credit cards that didn’t even offer 1% on all other purchase.

These first two rewards percentages alone put it on the same level as the Chase Freedom card but Discover has gone above and beyond to provide even more awesome features!

Other Interesting Discover it™ Credit Card Features

First, there is no annual fee for this credit card. Many cards that offer features similar to the Discover it™ credit card do have annual fees so this is a big win.

Discover is offering 100% U.S. based customer service available anytime. This is an amazing feature to me because I have called some customer service call centers and had people from overseas that can’t even begin to understand my problem let alone help solve it. I’m really glad they added this feature.

The Discover it™ card charges no foreign transaction fees. This is a sweet deal if you ever leave the country and want to use your credit card. Most other cards charge 3% for this service.

Discover automatically waives you first late fee and paying late won’t increase your APR. Don’t count on these features. Keep up with your credit card payments and never carry a balance.

Speaking of credit card late fees… The Discover it™ credit card allows you to make payments until midnight ET on the day your payment is due either on the phone or online. Most other banks cut you off much earlier in the day.

You can even choose your payment date! Of course, you can’t change it to avoid making payments but you can line it up to fall at a certain day in the month that works best for you.

The Discover it™ credit card does not have an over limit fee. Again, don’t ever go over your limit and don’t carry a balance.

Finally, if you decide to sign up for the Discover it™ credit card they’ll send your card fast with expedited delivery!

Oh yeah… they also have these fairly standard features that you can read more about on the Discover website…

Purchase Protection
Price Protection
Extended Product Warranties
Return Guarantee
Earn Extra Rewards Shopping Through Their Online Mall – ShopDiscover

Two Different Versions of the Discover it™ Credit Card

There are two different versions of the Discover it™ credit card but they only differ in their promotional introductory rates.

The plain Discover it™ credit card offers 0% interest for 14 months on purchases and balance transfers. If you are NOT planning to transfer a balance this is the better card to sign up for.

The other option, the Discover it™ – 18 Month Balance Transfer credit card, has an 18 month 0% promotional introductory rate on balance transfers and 6 month 0% promotional introductory rate for purchases.

If you’re going to use this card as a balance transfer card I suggest you use this option.

The only thing that would make this credit card significantly better would be a sign up bonus. However, I still think this card is really competitive with the other rewards cards out there due to the other features it offers instead of the sign up bonus.

I work very hard to provide value to my readers and I want to let you know that if you sign up for the Discover it™ or Discover it™ – 18 Month Balance Transfer on Money Manifesto I do receive an affiliate payment. If you came out of your way to apply through my blog I greatly appreciate it!

The Usual Disclaimer of Who Shouldn’t Apply For a Credit Card

Credit cards can be great tools and make you a ton of money, if, and only if you play the game correctly. I ALWAYS pay my credit card off in full every month and you should too. If you can’t do this I would suggest against getting credit cards.

If you have a problem with debt and/or credit cards I would suggest you not sign up for new cards. The cash back benefits do not outweigh the interest charges you will pay.

Credit card interest rates are normally higher than most other loans and the interest can add up fast. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

What do you think about the Discover it™ credit card? Is it a contender to be in your wallet?

Lance Cothern, CPA

Lance Cothern, CPA holds a CPA license in Indiana. He’s a personal finance, debt and credit expert that writes professionally for top-tier publications including U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, Investopedia, Credit Karma, Business Insider and more.

Additionally, his expertise has been featured on Yahoo, MSN, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, The Huffington Post, Fast Company, Kiplinger, Reuters, CNBC and more.

Lance is the founder of Money Manifesto. He started writing about money and helping people solve their financial problems in 2012. You can read more about him and find links to his other work and media mentions here.

Julie

Monday 21st of January 2013

Although not in the market to change credit card providers, Discover IT has put a very attractive offer together with the % cash back levels! Time do to some serious thinking on if my travel rewards on CIBC Aerogold can be topped with this cash back program.

Brian

Wednesday 9th of January 2013

Their marketing is a little tricky. “No foreign transaction fees” doesn’t really help much since Discover’s acceptance overseas (minus China where they have an agreement with a bank there) is pretty low compared to a visa. Also they say the Chase Freedom card earns "points" at 1 per transaction on all purchases and not cash. This is simply semantics. I use my Freedom card and only take cash back and in fact I earn over 1% on all purchases with Chase Exclusives (I hear tell they discontinued this for new card holders).

That being said, this card is definitely a step in the right direction and I wonder if they are going to try to convert my existing card to this one (especially since I don't really ever use it).

Lance Mlandm

Hmmm I wasn't aware of the acceptance issues with Discover overseas. At least they don't charge a fee where it is accepted.

In regards to the Chase Freedom blurb I do agree there. I too have a Chase Freedom card and redeem it for cash. I wasn't able to get the Exclusives program though as I was too late for that.

I'm not sure if they'll auto convert your card but I've heard if you call and ask they will convert it for you.

Leslie

Just wanted to point out that all Discover card members can pick their payment date.

Very cool. With this being the only consumer card Discover offers now it is even more true!

Grayson @ Debt Roundup

It is good that they finally got into the game. Discover has slowly become irrelevant in the credit card industry and try are working on pushing themselves back up. I think it is a good card, but I wouldn't get it. I just got the AMEX card that gets me 6% on groceries and 3% on gas, the two things I purchase the most of.

I would get the AMEX card but it doesn't work at Wal-Mart where I grocery shop. I think the Discover card is a very strong contender and it doesn't have the annual fee like the Preferred AMEX card that gets the 6%. I did a comparison of the Preferred and Everyday Blue Cash Amex cards in this link.

John S @ Frugal Rules

I saw a commercial for it the other night and they were only pitching the payment forgiveness feature. I did not know of the other perks as well. I'll be interested to see if they're going to stick with it or not.

With a push this big, and getting rid of all their old cards, I'd think they're very likely to stick with it. It is a good card!