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Discover it Miles Update
A couple of weeks ago Discover launched their new travel branded product called Discover it Miles. The card is similar to the normal Discover it card (my review), but it is unique in its own way as well.
Discover it Miles Features
As a recap, here are the main features of the Discover it Miles card:
- No annual fee & unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar you spend on purchases*.
- Exclusive Double Miles Offer: At the end of your first year – when other Miles cards charge an annual fee – Discover doubles all the Miles you’ve earned.
- 100 Miles = $1 value. Redeem Miles in any amount toward travel purchases on your statement. Or get cash as a direct deposit to your bank account.
- Discover pays you back for your in-flight Wi-Fi fees – up to $30 a year – with an automatic statement credit.
- Free FICO® Credit Score on your monthly statements, on mobile app and online*.
- 100% U.S. based service at your dedicated phone number – day and night.
- Free overnight shipping of replacement cards to any U.S. street address at your request. And you’re never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your Discover card.
*See rates, rewards, free FICO® Credit Score terms and other info by clicking “Apply Now.” See complete Discover it® Miles details.
Questions Answered
After the Discover it Miles card officially launched, a lot of readers wrote in with questions. Since I know a lot of you are considering this card, I thought I would do my best to answer them. (Thanks to Doctor of Credit for providing a great informational resource.)
Do you receive the 3X miles up front?
No. You earn 1.5X after your statement prints. At the end of your first year Discover doubles the miles you earned. This amounts to a 3% return on all of your purchases, however you have to wait until the end of the first year to get the bonus.
Can you get more than one Discover card?
Yes. You can get a second Discover card if your first card has been open for at least one year.
What type of credit is required?
According to Discover, this product requires excellent credit. Generally this means a 680 FICO or higher, however people have been approved with lower scores.
Update: Jason Steele informed me that he has confirmed miles earned through Discover Deals will be doubled at the end of the first year. Additionally, you can redeem miles for pure cashback, but not gift cards. You can find his article on the Discover it Miles card here.
Will cashback earned through Discover Deals be doubled?
It doesn’t seem so, although the terms aren’t entirely clear. Doctor of Credit seems to agree with me, however I know others think it will be doubled. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get clarification yet.
Do I need need to redeem my miles for travel purchases?
If you want to redeem for a statement credit, you will need to redeem your miles against travel purchases. However, it appears Discover will allow you to transfer miles to your bank account without any travel purchases. Each mile is worth $.01.
Is the $30 Wi-Fi credit based on the calendar year?
The $30 credit is per anniversary year. Your anniversary year starts when you get the card, so you won’t be able to get this credit twice in the first year.
Conclusion
The Discover it Miles card is very good considering the first year bonus and the other unique features the card has as well. If choosing between the normal Discover it and the Discover it Miles, my choice would be the Miles card. I will have a full review after I get and use the card, but the first year bonus makes this one of the best cards for everyday purchases.
If you are going to apply for the Discover it Miles, you can find our affiliate link here or you can apply directly on Discover’s website. Thank you in advance for the support.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
I have a joint Discover (regular) card with my husband that is 20+ years old with a $13,500 line of credit. Interestingly, when I applied for the miles card, I was told that I would need to reduce the old line of credit down to $500 in order to get the new card! That seems a bit wonky since both of our FICO scores are over 800!
I’ve had my Discover card for three months. Do you think I could cancel and apply, or apply and have them transfer the balance to the miles card?
Does this card have 5X bonus category like the regular Discover IT card? If so can I just call up and ask to have my Discover IT card converted to Discover Miles card? If not I guess it would be worth having both card to leverage the 5X quarterly bonus categories.
This card earns 1.5 miles on all purchases (which is doubled at the end of the first year), but it doesn’t have the 5% categories like the normal Discover it. Based on people’s experiences, it is not possible to convert a normal Discover it card to the Discover it Miles. As mentioned in the article, if you do already have a Discover card, you can get this card as well as long as you have had your other Discover card at least one year.