happychic

OP asked what the point of using Discover card is nowadays, and several of us points out it's great for 5% cash back categories, esp as purchase protection doesn't really apply to some of those categories. No one here is advocating using Discover as an everyday card otherwise. Hopefully it should be obvious to everyone that the Discover card is not a good everyday card. FWIW I think there are other AF free card that give even better rewards than Citi DC.

RedSun

I think Discover was a pioneer with the 5% cash back and categories. That is what it is known for. But new cards just bury it. Even the Discover Deals are just so-so.

It is the competition.

tmiw

Discover had (has?) the best cash back for Apple purchases, if you're into their products. Of course, now that there's no warranty protection, I'm not sure it's worth the extra cash back.

(Then again, AppleCare is pretty good. Maybe the CC warranty protection isn't actually necessary.)

Prince_

+1

good return and extra discount on gift cards , lots of deals . CLI better and easier then Cap One ............ YMMV

DONT LIKE CAP ONE

rasheed

I think Discover will need to do something to relaunch its brand.

They had the advantage on rotating categories, but have allowed Chase and others to do a better job in those areas.

They had some interesting Discover Deals, but AmEx and even BofA better highlight those programs.

They had good technology from freezing card to a very user friendly website, but all of those features have been copycat elsewhere.

They introduced discounted gift cards, but that seems to be a regular thing for many issuers as well.

I know they are thinking about relaunching their banking solutions, but I'd like to see them do the following:

-Rethink their rebate program. Is it more 5% categories or better ways to make a current reward balance go farther than just at face value.
-Every card should have contactless chip. I think Capital One is doing this right. While they tend to be very difficult for giving out cards, they are making their cards easier to use and sometimes, very interesting.
-Help make the card more useful internationally. They have some of the pieces, but still don't have it configured right.

It does seem they don't want people to buy durable goods with their Discover card. Okay, then what should people use their cards for?

tmiw

Considering the baggage contactless has in the US, this may be problematic without significant marketing (especially since as mentioned in this thread, even customer service agents at major banks seem to want to discourage people from it).

However, I wouldn't mind extra points/cash back for NFC based payments, regardless of how they're done.

isle-hawg

Yes I use it for the 5x categories and I consider their customer service on par or better then Chase SP/R cards. There are better cards for large purchases though outside of their 5x categories and $1500 quarterly limit and have been IMO for quite some time. If into pure simplicity and not wanting to fool with points and miles the CITI double-cash card provides twice the value as just one example.

rasheed

In doing some research on merchants bypassing Visa/MC for another thread, I saw that before Chase and Visa made their 10-year ChaseNet deal, Chase was looking at options including buying Discover.

I think again, the merchant business issues that led to the creation of Discover/Novus via Sears are fresh in mind again. This time though, I am unsure what value Discover can offer except a pre-built network that is not V/MC. Exactly what would that network offer to merchants to drive business there? I have never heard of Discover offering a lower discount rate except for some marketing/merchant ad support. I wouldn't be surprise if Discover actually shares more revenue with the card processor than V/MC to ensure they are auto-enrolling merchants for other networks.

Worse, the consumer proposition (what started this thread) is not clear. While I think AmEx still has some interesting cards (relaunced WF Propel and some of the co-branded Platinum cards), I haven't seen a co-branded Discover card that was a must-have.

Perhaps Discover is gearing up for that acquisition announcement. What I would guess though is the banking laws that Amazon and Walmart have found problematic will preclude a merchant from buying Discover (aside from the fact that they would likely face the same problems Discover had with the Sears image gaining acceptance. I remember what a big deal it was when JCP started taking Discover). I think another bank is likely, but they also have to weigh if they are really ready to step away from V/MC otherwise it will not be a great asset. I think a good fit might be Capital One especially if they can iron out some of the international aspects. I am unsure though of V/MC allowing a card to be ran on a different network internationally, probably not. There was also indication that Visa was making a play to get Capital One signed more exclusively. I know a few people had their MC switched to Visa which is not always an easy switch, but that seems to have mellowed in recent months and it wasn't everyone.

So, the worse thing is for Discover to act in limbo while these M&A negotiations are happening, but aside from cutting costs (removing coverages) to make their balance sheets look better, what else are they doing?

tmiw

For what it's worth: https://www.helcim.com/us/discover-china-unionpay/

tmiw

Looks like Discover Deals is going away too: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/disco...ber-31st-2018/

Hopefully this means that regular earn is going to get a massive improvement, or else there truly won't be any point in Discover.

sdsearch

No point in Discover just because they're losing a shopping portal???

Lots of people use Discover only for the 5% rotating categories, nothing more, and I don't see how any changes around the edges would affect those people.

freeflyin

Agreed. We use our Discover only for the 5% bonus and the occasional Discover Deal. They are our longest held cards,so unless they begin assessing an AF that would not be offset , we have no intention of cancelling.

One of ours was automatically converted to an IT card, so for the last year we have earned 10% on purchases on that card

tmiw

It's not just Discover Deals going away as much as everything else being nerfed too. But we'll see; maybe there'll be changes to offset these.

Redhead

If you get 2.05% back for travel but pay an annual $95 fee, your cash back is actually a lot less than 2%. I use the Citi Double Cash MC since it has no annual fee. I'm too lazy to try to remember different categories for different cards. I do have the Citi AA Exec but that is mostly for AC membership and I have the IHG MC but that annual fee is offset by the annual free night.

I'm curious, which do you think is better?

hurnik

I completely agree that the "better" deal is the Citi Double cash back. But trying to stay under 5/24 here.
Hopefully before next year's AF is due, I'll be well under 5/24 and get the Citi card and use that instead.