Hot! New Discover It Miles Card With Effectively 3% Back on Everything (No Limit!) for the 1st Year

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Discover just launched a new card called Discover It Miles that earns 1.5 miles (or 1.5% back) on everything!  And there is no limit to the number of miles you can earn.

But the great thing about this card is that they’ll match the miles you’ve earned at the end of the first year.

You can redeem miles for statement credits toward travel expenses, or for cash deposited to your bank account.

What’s the Deal?

Link:   Discover It Miles

There’s no sign-up bonus for the Discover It Miles card, but Discover will match miles after the 1st 12 months you have the card.

With this card, you’ll get:

• Unlimited 1.5 miles per $1 you spend on all purchases
• Match the miles you’ve earned at the end of the 1st year
• NO limit to the number of miles you can earn
• Up to $30 credit per card anniversary year for in-flight Wi-Fi purchases made with your card
• Access to free FICO credit score online
• No foreign transaction fees
• No annual fee

While other cards, like the Chase Freedom, offer 5% back in rotating categories, those bonuses are capped at $1,500 in spending per quarter.

And other cards like the SimplyCash let you pick ONE category to earn 3% back (like gas stations or restaurants), but there’s a limit too.

I can’t think of another card that earns 3% on everything – with NO limit!

This is a very good deal!

Do You Have to Redeem Your Miles for Travel?

No!

You can redeem miles (worth 1 cent per mile) for statement credits toward travel expenses made within the past 180 days.  These include:

• Airline tickets
• Hotel rooms
• Car rentals
• Travel agents
• Online travel sites
• Commuter transportation

But if you prefer to get cash, you can redeem miles at the same rate for a direct deposit into your bank account.  The terms and conditions say:

Starting at 1 Mile, you can redeem for cash as an electronic deposit to your bank account or for a credit for travel purchases on your statement made within in last 180 days

So while they’re calling this a travel rewards card, it’s really a 1.5% back card (or 3% in the 1st year).

Because there’s no annual fee, you don’t have to cancel the card after the 1st 12 months.  You’ll just earn 1.5% back with no bonus.

And keeping cards with no annual fee for a long time builds your relationship with the bank and could help improve your credit score!

Most folks don’t have a lot of Discover cards, so this could be a good card to get if you’ve already applied for lots of cards from other banks.

I still prefer earning miles and points for travel instead of cash, but this card will be very interesting to some!

Will Discover It Miles or Capital One Quicksilver Earn You More?

Link:   Quicksilver from Capital One

An alternative to Discover It Miles is Quicksilver from Capital One.  Quicksilver also gives you an unlimited 1.5% back on every purchase with no annual fee.

And like Discover It Miles, there is no foreign transaction fee.  So when abroad, it might be easier to find places that accept the Quicksilver card because it’s a Visa, rather than a Discover card.

I also like that the Quicksilver has a $100 sign-up bonus when you spend $500 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account.  But I don’t like that Capital One usually pulls your credit from 3 bureaus. 

But for the 1st year of card membership, Discover It Miles is the clear winner, if you spend at least $6,750 on the card.  That’s because 3% of $6,750 is ~$203.

With the Quicksilver, 1.5% of $6,750 is ~$102, but you also get a $100 sign-up bonus so your net gain is ~$202 (~$102 from spending + $100 sign-up bonus).

Thanks to Million Mile Secrets reader Jesse for catching my previous math error!  🙂

Bottom Line

You’ll earn 1.5 miles per $1 you spend (1.5% back) on all purchases with the new Discover It Miles card.  There’s no limit to the number of miles you can earn.

But after the 1st 12 months, they’ll double the miles you’ve earned – so it’s effectively a 3% back card – on everything – for the 1st year.

You’ll also get up to $30 per year in statement credits for in-flight Wi-Fi purchases.

Folks who prefer cash to miles & points will love this card (for the 1st year!).  And there’s no annual fee.

What do you think of the new Discover It Miles card?