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Our “must read” on credit cards: The Pros and Cons of Credit Cards
I don’t talk about Discover credit cards too often because they’re not particularly flashy. They don’t offer huge sign-up bonuses and the rewards are good, but not great. Still, they’re worth a mention occasionally, and here’s why we are mentioning the Discover it Cash Back card:
- They won’t fee you to death. Their cards have no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees.
- Most of the cards will double any points that you earn your first year. That includes any bonus points that you earn, which can be very valuable.
- And finally, the 5% categories…
Earn 5% Back With Discover It Quarterly Bonuses
The play on the Discover it Cash Back * credit card offer is the quarterly 5% categories. Every three months, Discover picks a popular category and offers you 5% back on all purchases up to $1,500.
What makes this promotion interesting is that they tend to choose products and merchants where you are likely to spend a lot of money anyway, such as supermarkets, home improvement stores or Amazon (which usually shows up in the fourth quarter, when you are looking for presents). For the first quarter of 2020, the category is grocery stores and drugstores.
Discover it Cash Back – Worth Your Time
Significant Cash
This promotion alone makes the Discover it Cash Back card worth your time. There’s no cost to having it, so even if you only use it for the $1,500 in promotional spending each, you’ll make some significant cash. The 5% bonuses will get you $300 in rewards per year, versus a 2% cash back card like the excellent Citibank Double Cash, which would get you $120 back on the $6,000 in spending.
*Even better: Remember, all cash rewards are doubled at the end of the first year, so instead of $300, you’ll get $600, or the equivalent of 10% in the bonus categories. I can’t think of any other cards that offer such a deal.
What Do You Prefer?
Credit Card $300 Bonus and Big Rebates, or $150 Bonus and 0%
