In my first blog post: Personal Finance 101, I explained the benefits that typical credit cards offer. When it comes to choosing a particular credit card to apply for, it’s hard to make a decision sometimes because of the ocean of options available. I’ve put off writing about credit card offers in favor of helping you – my dear readers – build a knowledge base of credit profile and credit cards. However, today is special.
Dear readers, today is the best day to apply for the Discover More, the signature credit card by Discover, one of the largest card issuers in America. Among my credit card portfolio, the Discover More is my favorite, and I’ve had it for just 2 months! If you’re reading this and already have a decent credit history that is longer than 6 months even if you do not have a credit history at all, you should apply for the card. And here’s why:
- Any Discover card gives you access to ShopDiscover, an online shopping tool that offers you very generous cash back, ranging from 5% to 20%. Cash back is basically a discount; so you can buy an iPad from Best Buy or Apple Store at a 5% discount. And does Apple ever give you a discount otherwise? I’d be very interested in learning of any exception.
- Discover’s customer service is number 1 among credit card issuers, alongside with American Express. Whenever you call them, you speak with an American representative who knows what’s going on. They are also very flexible and eager to please you, unlike Amex who tends to be on the conservative side.
- Discover’s credit card benefits are also on the same rank as American Express, giving you hassle-free purchase protection, warranty extension, price protection, primary rental car insurance, and a host of other perks.
- Discover More gives you 5% cash back on rotating categories. This quarter the category was online shopping and department store shopping. Next quarter it will be restaurants and movie theaters.
- All Discover cards carry no annual fee. This means you can keep their cards forever without worrying about maintenance fees. I do plan to keep my Discover More card the rest of my life, by the way. 😉
- Discover does not charge foreign transaction fees. Most other card issuers charge a standard 3%.
- Discover has a really nifty card builder function that allows you to select the special offer. Normally credit card issuers offer you benefits for obtaining and using their card, in the form of either introductory interest rate, often 0% for a certain period, or cash back bonus after a certain level of spending, usually relatively low. My favorite sign-up bonus for the Discover More is $200 cash back after $1,500 spending in the first 3 months. That’s $200 free money, since you’ll be earning normal cash back on the purchases anyway. The link is: https://www.discovercard.com/cardmembersvcs/acqs/app/chooseMyOffer/cardMatch?fmoUpdatedValidationParam=true&icmpgn=1007_ccMORE_mrq_cb_btn
- Discover is terminating the Discover More soon, replacing it with the very similar Discover It, but they are still maintain the card builder function, though probably not for too long. The function may disappear in a few days, weeks, or months. Nobody knows. But while the $200 cash back offer is still there, you should definitely grab it. If I didn’t already have a Discover card or if Discover allowed 2 cards per individual applied less than 1 year apart, I would’ve applied for the Discover More right this moment or earlier. When Discover officially terminates the More and switches all More cards to It cards, you’ll end up with a similar, no annual fee card. There is nothing to lose in this deal.
- Discover tends to favor consumers that have just started building, or are looking to build, a credit history, since these tend to be loyal customers who want to hold on to their first card for a long time. If you are new to credit, you want to get in with Discover. Did I tell you that Discover More was my first non-secured card ever, after I got rejected by Chase and Citi? Discover matched the $2,000 limit on my secured card!
Long story short, the Discover More is one of the best credit cards on the market right now. For the 2 months I have used this card, I have earned $80 in cash back, on approximately $1,300 spend. Using the card builder function, you can get a Discover More with a $200 sign-up bonus. Act while it is still available!
It Pays to Discover.
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