Discover it® Miles Credit Card Review
Discover it® Miles from Discover Bank — all information about the credit card.
Good Choose for Low Interest, Daily use
- Rewards Rate:
- 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase.
- Intro Offer:
- 2x Discover will automatically match all the miles you've earned — essentially doubling your rewards for that period. For example, if you earn 35,000 miles throughout the year, Discover will match it and increase your rewards balance to 70,000 miles.
- Annual Fee:$0
- Purchase Intro APR:0% Intro APR for 14 months from date of account opening
- Regular APR:17.24% - 28.24% Variable
- Balance Transfer APR:17.24% - 28.24% Variable
We recommend more cards
Discover Bank Discover it® Miles Rewards Calculator
All benefits
- Miles
- 1.5x On every dollar of every purchase.
Rate and fee information
- Purchase Intro APR
- 0% Intro APR for 14 months from date of account opening
- Purchase APR
- 17.24% - 28.24% Variable
- Intro Balance Transfer APR
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months from date of first transfer
- Balance Transfers APR
- 17.24% - 28.24% Variable
- APR for Cash Advances
- 29.99% Variable
- How to Avoid Paying Interest
- Your due date is at least 25 days after the close of each billing period (at least 23 days for billing periods that begin in February). You will not be charged any interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance by the due date each month.
Fees
- Annual Fee
- $0
- Fees for Balance Transfer
- 3% Intro fee on balances transferred by June 10, 2024 and up to 5% fee for future balance transfers will apply
- Fees for Cash Advances
- Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater
- Penalty Fees
- None
- Return Payment
- Up to $41
- Late Payment
- None the first time you pay late. After that, up to $41
Pros & Cons
- No annual fee
- Rewards Rate
- Unlimited Match for Miles in the First Year
- Intro APR
- Flexible Redemption Options
- No Foreign Transaction Fee
- Limited International Acceptance
- Relatively High Credit Score Required
Features
- 0% Intro APR
- No Annual Fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- Payment Flexibility
- Fraud Protection
- Rewards
- Purchase Protection
- Travel
- Airline
- Good Credit
- Excellent Credit
About the issuer
Compare with other cards
- $395Annual Fee
- 19.99% - 29.99%Regular APR
- 10,000x10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary.
- NonePurchase Intro APR
- NoneAnnual Fee
- 29.99%Regular APR
- This card doesn't offer cash back, miles or points.
- NonePurchase Intro APR
- NoneAnnual Fee
- 19.99% - 29.99%Regular APR
- 5%Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
- 0% Introductory APR for the first 15 months that your account is openPurchase Intro APR
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Discover it® Miles Credit Card Review
Let’s discuss the Discover it® Miles Credit Card, which offers reward miles on all purchases without charging an annual fee. Miles can easily be redeemed as cash or statement credit against travel expenses.
Discover offers 1.5x reward miles per dollar spent. In the first year, this rate is doubled through Discover Match. Moreover, the 0% intro purchase APR and 17.24% - 28.24% regular APR are rather appealing. Although we don’t recommend making late payments, Discover it® Miles Credit Card has the benefit of no fee for the first time you pay late. However, the card has limited international acceptance when compared to Visa® and MasterCard® cards.
Discover it® Miles: pros and cons
Pros: | Cons: |
---|---|
No Annual Fee: There is no annual fee for Discover it® Miles. | Limited International Acceptance: Discover cards are not widely accepted internationally. This makes the usage of the card limited when compared to Visa® and MasterCard®. |
Rewards Rate: Cardholders get 1.5x miles per dollar spent on all purchases. | Relatively High Credit Score Required: You need at least a good credit score to be approved. |
Unlimited Match for Miles in the First Year: Discover will match the miles earned at the end of the first year, effectively taking the reward rate to 3x. | |
Intro APR: Intro purchase APR of 0% applies for the first 14 months. Balance Transfer APR for the first 14 months is 10.99%. Regular APR for purchases and balance transfers ranges from 17.24% - 28.24%, depending on your creditworthiness. There is no penalty APR. | |
Flexible Redemption Options: Each reward mile can be redeemed in cash or as statement credits for various travel-related expenses. Moreover, miles can also be redeemed at Amazon.com or through Paypal. | |
No Foreign Transaction Fee: Discover it® Miles Credit Card has no foreign transaction fees. |
Rewards system in a nutshell
Discover it® Miles offers earnings of 1.5 miles per dollar spent. Miles to dollars conversion rate is 100 miles per one dollar. Moreover, Discover offers bonus miles by automatically matching all the miles you earn at the end of your first year. Below is simple math explaining rewards in the first year and the following years.
Let's say you spend $1000 monthly using Discover it® Miles. This makes $12000 annual spending. With the 1.5x rate, you will earn 18,000 miles a year, or $180. Now comes the bonus part. Discover will match your miles at the end of the first year, which will take the count to 36,000 miles equalling a substantial $360 reward. This offer is valid only for new cardholders.
The miles redemption can be in cash or as a statement credit towards travel purchases like airline tickets, hotel rooms, travel agents, car rentals, or even gas stations and restaurants. Moreover, reward miles can be used at Amazon.com checkouts and Paypal.
Who can benefit from getting the Discover it® Miles Credit Card?
Discover it® Miles Credit Card is generally positioned as a travel card. However, you earn miles for both travel and non-travel-related purchases at the same rate. The card is more beneficial for people with smaller travel-related spending because other cards offer 2x or 3x reward miles but with an annual fee.
Are there any other benefits?
- Free Critical Security Alerts.
Cardholders receive free alerts if their SSN is found on the dark web or if someone is trying to pull their credit history.
- Access to FICO score.
Check your FICO score for free via mobile app, online or in a statement.
- $0 Fraud Liability.
You are not responsible for unauthorized purchases.
- Freeze it®.
The Account can be frozen using Discover App or website, in case of loss or theft of the card.
Conclusion
Although Discover it® Miles Credit Card is positioned as a travel credit card, you can consider it a flat-rate cash back card that can be used for all types of purchases. While technically you earn reward ‘miles’, they can be easily redeemed as cash at the same rate as a statement credit towards travel expenses. Reward miles are not transferable to partner airlines, and you can’t use them to buy air tickets. However, you can apply reward miles to cover travel purchases made with the card.
If you’re an occasional traveler who prefers a straightforward reward system for all types of purchases with the convenience of no annual fee, you should consider Discover it® Miles Credit Card. Unique sign-up bonus and highly flexible redemption options make this card very appealing. However, if you travel frequently, you should look for other travel cards that offer higher reward rates, even if they come with an annual fee.