I recently took advantage of a 0% balance transfer offer on the Discover® More® Card. Because I take advantage of just about every balance transfer opportunity I can find, I’ve gotten to know the websites of several card issuers (I always pay my bill online). And what impressed me is that the Discover website is really slick. It is by far the easiest to navigate, pay your card, transfer money, and redeem cash back and other rewards. And all of that got me focused on what is a very good credit card, the Discover More credit card. In fact, it was a Consumer Reports pick for one of the best cash back credit cards. So I thought I’d share a detailed review of this card and what it has to offer.
Versions of the Card
Discover offers several versions of the Discover More Card, each with different terms. Some offer cash back bonuses, while other versions offer longer 0% balance transfer deals. Here are the versions of the card currently available:
- Discover® More® Card: Get 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months.
- Discover® More® Card- Balance Transfer Fee*: Get 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months. The 0% APR on purchases is just 6 months.
- Discover® More® Card- No Balance Transfer Fee*: The 0% APR on balance transfers is 12 months.
Important: The above three links will take you to the online application page at Discover for each card. To make sure you are applying for the card you want, scroll down on the application page to review the terms and conditions of the card before applying.
Discover More Card Benefits
One aspect of the Discover® More® Card that I like is that it has a lot of benefits rolled into one card. You not only get 0% APR on balance transfers, for example, but you also get no interest on purchases. The card also comes with up to 5% cashback (20% cash back with select online retailers) and an unbeatable 20% rebate if you shop at certain Discover online retailers. And all of these features come with no annual fee. Here is a quick summary of the card’s benefits and features, followed by more details for each benefit.
Quick Summary:
- Earn more cash in more ways than anyone else*
- Unlimited cash rewards, automatically
- Up to 20% Cashback Bonus when you shop online*
- Double rewards with more than 100 Cashback Bonus Partners*
- Customer Service in less than a minute, anytime you want
- 0% Intro APR for up to 15 months on Balance Transfers and for 15 months on purchases
0% APR on Balance Transfers for 15 Months
The card offers a zero interest balance transfer feature for 15 months. Transferring a high interest credit balance to the Discover More Card is easy. On the Discover online application page, you’ll see a section on balance transfers that looks like this:
Simply check the box when you submit your application. Later in the process, you enter the credit card account numbers of the cards you want to pay off, and subject to your credit limit, Discover takes care of the rest.
You should be aware that Discover charges a 3% balance transfer fee on the amount transferred. This means, in effect, that you are getting a fixed rate of interest of 15-month period. From experience, I can report that Discover may cap the fee if you ask. Either way, this is still a good deal, but if this is the only feature you care about, you may want to consider other balance transfer credit cards.
0% APR on Purchases
Perfect for holiday shopping, the Discover® More® Card offers a 0% APR on purchases for 15 months. Unlike the balance transfer feature, there is no fee to take advantage of the 0% on purchases. Simply use the card, and for 15 months, pay no interest. You will have to pay at least the minimum payment amount each month, but the entire payment will go to principle, not interest.
5% Cashback
The cashback rewards are one of the best features of this card. The Discover More card offers up to 5% cashback on certain purchases throughout the year. Discover introduces new categories throughout the year, including travel, gas, groceries, restaurants, movies, home, and fashion. And you earn up to 1% cashback on all purchases anytime. Here’s the details from Discover:
Earn unlimited cash rewards on all purchases. Earn a full 5% Cashback Bonus on category purchases throughout the year by signing up for each program. In addition, earn a full 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on all other purchases after your total annual purchases exceed $3,000; other purchases that are part of your first $1,500 earn .25% and other purchases that are part of your second $1,500 earn .50%. Warehouse purchases (those made at select warehouse clubs, discount stores and their affiliates) earn .25%. We do not include warehouse purchases or 5% Cashback Bonus program purchases (up to the dollar limit specified in each applicable program) in calculating your total annual purchases to determine your tier level. Rewards are redeemable in $20 increments. Rewards have no expiration date; however, if your account is closed for any reason or inactive for 18 consecutive months or if you fail to make the Minimum Payment Due by the Payment Due Date for two consecutive billing periods, your Cashback Bonus will be forfeited. Full terms and conditions will be sent with your card.
And you can redeem your bonus for cash in increments as small as $20, and Discover will transfer the funds directly to your bank account. In addition, Discover let’s you redeem your rewards for gift cards and earn up to twice the amount you’d get in cash. Discover has over 100 business partners including retailers like Kohl’s, AMC Theater, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Lowe’s.
Discover More Card’s Customer Service
When your shopping for a credit card, customer service is probably not the first thing on your mind. But it will be when you need to reach the credit card issuer for something important. And this is where Discover really stands out. Having spoken to Discover’s customer service several times, I know first hand that the customer representatives are friendly and helpful. And Discover promises that you’ll reach a live person within sixty seconds of calling customer support.
The Discover More Card is arguably the best overall credit card available. If you’d like to get more information about the Discover® More® Card, visit their secure application page using any link contained within this post.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
After 18 months they cancelled my card and I lost my cash-back rewards.
I’ll never get a Discover card again, so I am better off in the long run.
P, sorry to hear that. It’s one thing to have a card canceled, but I don’t understand why you lost your cash back rewards. Have you tried contacting Discover to see if you can get your cash back rewards?
P, I went to discover.com and found this in the terms and conditions of the card: “if your account is closed for any reason or inactive for 18 consecutive months or if you fail to make the Minimum Payment Due by the Payment Due Date for two consecutive billing periods, your Cashback Bonus will be forfeited.” Still, I’d contact them to see why your card was canceled and whether they would make an exception. If you don’t mind sharing, I’d be curious to know how much cash back you lost.
Sorry to hear that P. Actually, I have 2 credit cards right now and I am planning on opening or getting another credit card. By the way, what was the problem with your credit card and why is it that they have to cancel it?
Remember, you only get 5% cash back on gas 3 months of each year (for 2009 that has already passed). Also, until you spend $3000, you only get 0.25% to 0.50% cashback (specifically, you get $3.75 cash back if you spend exactly $1500, or $11.25 cash back if you spend exactly $3000). Compare that to a true (tierless) 1% cash back card, where you would have earned $30.00 if you spent exactly $3000, almost 3 times more!
Pilm, thanks for the comment, which underscores the importance of understanding how you’ll use the card before choosing a cash back offer. If you are looking for a card that pays at least 1% on every purchase, the Chase Freedom(SM) Card is worth checking out. It pays 1% on all purchases, and up to 3% on some purchases. You also get a 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months and 0% intro APR on balance transfers for12 months.
I am considering transferring a balance of $10,000 and not charging anything else on the card. What would the minimum balance on my first statement be?
CK, your safest bet is to contact Discover for this information. Typically on balance transfers, the minimum payment is 2% to 4% of the balance. But it’s best to confirm the amount with the credit card company. I can tell you that Discover increases its minimum payment by $40 if you use the balance transfer feature.
Since 8:40 a.m. this morning, I began to receive a call every two hours from Discover Card. When I called the Company, the representative told me that I have missed a payment. This is the only time I’ve missed a payment! I paid the bill and requested that in the future they refrain from calling me non-stop.
The customer service representative replied that, “it is not harassment if you owe us money.”
She further informed me that Company’s policy is to keep calling, until you call them back and pay your bill.
My problem with the 5% cashback is, they do not have a list of companies that are in the program. I have to call a particular place to see if they participate in the 5% cashback option….according to the lady I talked with at Discover. Just because the 5% cashback is for gas at a certain time and you fill up, you may or may not get 5% back if the place does not participate.
A list from Discover would be helpful, until then, I have put that card away and not used it as much since I never know when I am getting the 5% back or not.
discover is cool