Ouch! This Card’s Profitable Perk Gets Restricted
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Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers. This page includes information about the Discover it® Cash Back that is not currently available on Million Mile Secrets and may be out of date.Via Frequent Miler, the Discover it Cash Back is losing a very lucrative element of its most valuable perk!
Starting January 1, 2018, Discover will no longer match the referral bonuses and resulting sign-up bonuses from the Discover it Cash Back at the end of your first cardmember year. Which means those bonuses will be much less profitable! I’ll explain.
Discover It Loses Part of Its Charm
Link: Discover it® Cash Back
For new Discover it Cash Back cardmembers, Discover will match the cashback bonuses you’ve earned at the end of your first 12 billing cycles. So, for example, enroll every quarter to earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases made in various categories throughout the year.
This generous policy also applies to the $50 sign-up bonus, as well as the $50 bonus you receive for referring a friend to the card. So you’re effectively receiving $100 from the sign-up bonus and $100 from each referral bonus!
However, beginning January 1, 2018, your referral bonus and your friend’s sign-up bonus will no longer qualify for Discover’s cashback bonus match. That’s because Discover will begin giving the bonuses as statement credits instead of depositing them into your cashback bonus account.
Referral bonuses will also be capped at $500 per calendar year.
This is a bummer. But it won’t be the end of the world for most folks!
Bottom Line
It’s a shame to see Discover disqualify the referral bonus and resulting sign-up bonus from the Discover it Cashback Match.
That said, it’s still an incredibly valuable perk! If you prefer to earn cash back over miles & points, I highly recommend the Discover it Cash Back. Because the cashback bonus match turns the card’s rotating categories into 10% cash back for the first year!
Emily and I don’t earn a commission from this card, but we’ll ALWAYS tell you about a good deal!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024.
Intro APR on purchases
N/A
Regular APR
20.49% – 27.49% Variable
Annual Fee
$95
Balance Transfer Fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Rates & Fees
Other
MORE INFO
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