USING DISCOVER IT AS A EARNING TOOL FOR TRAVEL CASH
Today, I wanted to feature a rarely written about card called “Discover It“. It’s seldomly written about by mile and point bloggers because it has NO BONUS! Why would we care about a credit card without a bonus. That’s just simply crazy! Honestly, I haven’t really paid much attention to any Discover card for this very reason. I remember a joke I heard in a movie I was watching recently that said, “Man you’re credit’s so bad you can’t even get a Discover card.” Discover has been know to be the card for students or new credit seekers. Discover approvals much lower credit scores than American Express for example. American Express has this elite image with their Gold Premier Rewards cards and other card lines. I remember when I was a college student and would see those “grown ups” pull out those “Gold” cards. I thought, “Wow! They must be loaded”. Now I’m all grown up and have several but of course I’m not loaded. I just have excellent credit. Anyway, my point is you don’t need excellent credit to maximize this card. So if your credit isn’t so good right now and you want to earn, this is a great card to consider.
Discover just recently came out with the new, Discover It. They basically revamped this cash back card making it much more attractive to the average consumer. You might have even seen a commercial on TV. I know I have seen a ton. I’ve seen many articles recently written up on the Discover It card at financial and credit card review sites I read. So I decided to take a serious look at this card and I was surprised by the benefits I found. I can clearly see that this card is an easy cash earning tool for me to stash away some travel cash.
Many of you might have figured out how to get your miles and points balances growing but have you got your travel cash figured out. I don’t consider a trip free unless everything is completely paid for; flights, hotels, food, and fun money! I use tools to get travel cash to fund my trips; various cash back cards, checking account bonuses, cash back shopping portals, etc. If you are looking for some travel cash yourself, you should seriously consider getting a Discover It card.
| BENEFIT | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| 5% cash back in rotating bonus categories | Through March 2013, earn 5% back on restaurants and movies, up to $1,500 spent per quarter. All other purchases, and bonus purchases above the limit, earn 1%. |
| No Annual Fee | The standard no annual fee, plus no foreign transaction fee or penalty interest rate, and your first late payment fee is waived |
| 18 months of 0% interest on balance transfers | With 6 months of 0% on purchases; alternatively, 14 months of 0% APR on purchases and transfers |
| Purchase, warranty, price and return protection | Discover will refund or insure covered purchases, $500 per incident |
| Access to ShopDiscover | 5-20% cash back on top retailers |
The key to maximizing this great no fee card is the 5% cash back quarterly category bonuses and using the ShopDiscover shopping portal to earn 5% – 20% cash back. Unlike cards with a great sign up bonus, this card is a credit card to use for everyday earning and keep forever.
5% Cashback Bonus in rotational categories (example: gas, travel, restaurants, etc.) 1% for everything else
You get 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases for each quarter. Anything over the set amount will automatically earn 1%. However, you must sign up either online or through the phone. Here are the cash back quarterly categories for 2013.
Here are last years:
- January – March: Gas stations, movies and museums
- April – June: Movies and restaurants
- July – September: Gas, movies and theme parks
- October – December: Department, electronics and toy stores
ShopDiscover Shopping Portal – 5%-20% cashback shopping portal
Discover has an absolute hard to beat cash back shopping portal with every major vendor you could want to buy from online. As a Discover It card member you have access to ShopDiscover with over 200 online retailers and can earn 5% to 20% cash back. They have the highest cash back from major retailers such as Sears, Walmart, Target, Groupon, and many more;
CARD DETAILS:
- No annual fee: Enjoy all the benefits and cash back rewards with no annual fee.
- 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases: Much improved version from the previous version, you will receive an unlimited 1% rebate on all your purchases(your quarterly rotating categories still earn 5%).
- Cash back redemption: Redeem Cashback Bonus in the form of a direct deposit to your bank account or a credit to your Discover card account in $50 increments, starting at $50.
- Double cash back bonus: You can earn up to a double Cashback Bonus when redeeming your rebates for gift certificates from participating retailers. E.G. $40 rebate for a $80 Carnival Cruise or $80 Celebrity Cruises gift card; $40 rebate for a $100 certificate from Hyatt Hotels & Resorts; $20 rebate for a $40 Samsonite gift card.
- Link to Amazon.com: Use your Cashback Bonus to pay directly at Amazon.com with no minimum spending requirement.
- No foreign transaction fee: Carry this card with you overseas, and pay no foreign transaction fee! Other issuers can charge you up to 3%, but not with the Discover It Card!
- No penalty APR: This new exclusive benefit won’t raise your APR rate when you don’t pay on time. They will also won’t charge you any fee for your first late payment.
- U.S.-based call center service: You speak to a real person in seconds.
- Flight accident insurance: They will provide you $500,000 in flight accident insurance, as well as car rental insurance and many fraud and security protection services.
- $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee: Pay absolutely nothing if there are any unauthorized transactions on yourDiscover card.
- Flexibility: Choose your own due date plus you have until midnight EST to pay our Discover it by phone or online.
- Purchase Protection: All eligible purchases are protected for up to $500 during the first 90 days if they’re stolen or accidentally damaged.
- Extended Warranty: Extend the terms of the original U.S. manufacturer’s warranty and any purchased warranty for up to 1 extra year, on warranties of 3 years or less.
- Price Protection: They’ll refund up to a $500 difference if you find a lower price within 90 days when using your Discover It card.
- Return Protection: You can return any eligible purchase within 90 days for up to a $500 refund if the store refuses your return.
Even without a huge sign up bonus, I think this card is a must! I know it will be in my wallet soon. This is a card that you get to keep for the long term. With no annual fee and the easy cash earning abilities of this card, it’s a slam dunk. Not to mention that Discover card is the one of the easiest lenders to get approved for. If you are a student and just getting into this hobby, they also have a Discover It Student card that gives you the same awesome cash back benefits with no annual fee.
I would seriously encourage you to check out this card and add it to your bag of earning tools. You could max out each category and use the shopping portal to earn a nice stash of travel cash. I know I plan too!
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