Last Updated: 12/26/2011
The Discover More card is a good example of just how complex humans can make things, and a good example of why the PlasticIQ Ranking Engine can be a valuable decision-assisting tool. To the casual consumer, one that just reads bolded marketing copy and doesn’t examine the fine print, the Discover More card might look like a 5% cashback credit card. But the fact is that Discover More has both spending caps and seasonally rotating categories, along with insanely complex rewards tiering (see below) which limit the value of the 5% cashback feature.
Note: we cover 3 distinct Discover More offers in this review. One of the offers comes with a nice $150 cash bonus, whereas an otherwise identical offer doesn’t (but this 2nd offer has lower promotional APRs). We also include a nice 18-month 0% APR balance transfer offer.
Not Into The Seasons?
If rotating seasonal categories aren’t your thing, but you’re otherwise on the hunt for a Discover card, check out the Discover Escape Card, our top-rated cash back card out of all Discover cards. If you aren’t wedded to Discover, then you may want to have a peek at the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card–it’s a mountain of plastic.
Overview of Key Features of the Discover More Card
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Discover More with $150 Cash Back |
Discover More–15 Month 0% Purchase APR |
Discover More–18 Month Promotional Balance Transfer |
| EARNINGS REWARDS |
| Base Rewards |
- Purchases from $0 to $3K per year: 0.25% cash back on all purchases.
- Purchases >$3K per year: all purchases earn 1% cash back, except warehouses, which earn 0.25% cash back.
- Note: Both warehouse and rotating bonus categories do not contribute to reaching the $3K per year spend threshold.
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| Rotating Bonus Categories |
Earn 5% cashback bonus on pre-defined categories that rotate each quarter (see below for details) |
| Spend Range Bonus |
$150 in cash when you spend $1,000 within the 1st 3 months of card approval. |
None |
None |
| Other Bonuses |
Earn 2% cashback bonus on purchases made at Amazon.com with a cap of $250 per billing period; any purchases over this amount earn rewards at the standard 1% cashback rate. |
None |
None |
| FEES |
| Annual Fee |
None |
| Balance Transfer Fees |
Introductory balance transfers at 3%; after that, either $10 or 5%, whichever is greater. |
| Foreign Transaction Fee |
0% |
Breaking Down Discover More’s Seasonal 5% Cashback Bonus Categories
The Discover More card pays a total of 5% cash back on certain pre-defined spend categories, which rotate quarterly. Here’s both the 2011 and 2012 categories (we provide the 2011 ones to give you an idea of how the categories might change each year.). As you can see, from 2011 to 2012, Discover has significantly increased the amount of quarterly spend eligible for bonus treatment–an important improvement.
Discover More: Rotating Bonus Categories
| Quarter/Time Period |
2012 Bonus Categories |
2012 Spend Limits on Bonus Categories |
2012 Bonus Categories |
2011 Spend Limits on Bonus Categories |
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) |
Gas, Movies, Museums |
$1,500 |
Travel (hotel, air, auto rental, cruises) and Restaurants |
$800 |
| March |
N/A |
N/A |
Grocery and drug stores |
$200 |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) |
Movies and restaurants |
$1,500 |
Home improvement, Fashion (department and clothing stores) |
$400 |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) |
Gas, movies, theme parks |
Not yet announced |
Gas, Hotels, Movies, Theme Parks. |
$300 |
| Q4 (Oct-Dec) |
Department stores, electronics stores and toy stores |
Not yet announced |
Restaurants and Fashion (department and clothing stores) |
$300 |
So, if we assume that Q3 and Q4 2012 will also have spend limits of $1,500 (after which you would only earn the standard cashback rate of either 1% or 0.25%), then the maximum you could earn from these bonus categories would be $6,000 of spend per year at a 5% rewards rate, which works out to $300. Not bad, if you can max out those categories each quarter.
A Closer Look at Earning Rewards with the Discover More Card
The Discover More Card, is, without a doubt, the most complex rewards program we have programmed into the PIQ Ranking Engine to date. The combination of rewards based on annual spend, along with certain spend categories (those rotating bad boys!) not counting as part of the annual spend, is a doozie. We’ll break it down here (after I down a martini):
- So on your first $3,000 of spend each year (with the exception of the bonus categories) with the Discover More card, you’ll earn a paltry 0.25% on all purchases. Once you cross the magical $3K spend line, you’ll still only earn a plain-vanilla 1% cash back (a reward level you can get by blindly reaching into a basket full of plastic). What this means is that you should really only use this card to make purchases that qualify for the bonus category treatment of 5% cashback. Period.
- The other factor to note: purchases made within your bonus categories do not count towards the $3K spend target. Since we’re strongly advocating that you only use this card to make bonus category purchases, if you follow our advice you will never hit the $3K spend target. Trust me, it’s for the better.
- Warehouse purchases, like Sam’s Club and CostCo, always earn only 0.25% and never count towards the $3K spend target.
So Which of the 3 Discover More Offers Should I Apply For?
This is fairly straight-forward. If you’re in the market for rewards, and don’t need to execute a balance transfer or obtain a low purchase APR, then the $150 sign-up bonus offer is the clear winner (it even comes with an additional 2% bonus on Amazon purchases, unique among the 3 offers).
If, on the other hand, you need to make a balance transfer, then of course go for the 18-month 0% APR balance transfer offer (but you didn’t need me to explain that, now did ya).
Finally, if you’re in the market for a low purchase APR, then the 15-month 0% promotional purchase APR More card is the one for you.
PlasticIQ’s Takeaway on the Discover More Credit Card
While we don’t yet know the rewards caps for Q3 and Q4 of 2012, if we assume they are the same as Q1 and Q2, you might be able to earn an additional $300 in cash back if you use the card perfectly and max out the rewards categories. Let’s also be clear that you should not be using the Discover More as your primary everyday credit card.
Ultimately, Discover More’s spending caps and overall complexity of the rewards program are its Achilles Heel. You’ll have to decide whether the extra monitoring effort justifies the incremental annual cashback you could earn with it.
| Discover More $150 CashBack Offer |
Discover More 15-month 0% APR Purchase Offer |
Discover More 18-month 0% APR Balance Transfer Offer |
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PlasticIQ has uncovered a couple of fantastic Discover Card balance transfer offers that we wanted to share with you. The first is a 24-month 0% APR balance transfer offer and the second is a 12-month 0% APR no-fee balance transfer offer. Note: these offers expire on February 28, 2011. While both offers are solid, our analysis indicates that the 12-month no balance transfer fee offer is economically superior. But before we explain why, let’s first see features of each offer compared side-by-side.
The Discover Miles card is the lightweight brethren of the invincible Discover Escape card. As with the Escape card, PlasticIQ classifies the Discover Miles card as a restricted cash-back card, because the miles earned on Discover Miles can be applied against nearly any form of travel (airline, hotel, auto rentals, cruises, travel packages) in the form of a statement credit post-purchase. 
The Discover Motiva credit card is aimed at the ultra-profitable segment of the credit-using population that pays their minimum balances each month, but nevertheless carries a balance. 
While there are some amazing airline and hotel loyalty credit cards out there, there’s something special about pure cash back credit cards that’s spiritually appealing to our inner capitalist selves. Out with black-out dates and annoying reservation systems; in with statement credits and instant gratification. 
The Discover Escape credit card (aka Escape by Discover) masquerades as a travel credit card, but is really falls into what I believe is a unique class of cards which I would dub “restricted cash-back credit cards”. Restrictions aside, this piece of plastic is a heavy hitter, and is frequently at the top of the PlasticIQ Ranking Engine. You can