Explaining
the Discover Card CashBack Bonus
The Best Cash Back
Credit Cards
Discover Restaurant Promotion up to 10% back
I am sure most of you have Discover Cards and if you do not
you need to get one for their fun promotions where you can
earn lots of money in cashback. I would put your Discover
card in your wallet to use it for gas and dining out for the
months of September and October 2004. Apply
for a Discover Gasoline Credit Card then it will bring
in 4% back (up to $1500 a year in gas purchases). Discover
also adds on the extra percentage that you are earning for
your current level of spending as they refer to as their regular
"up to 1% cash back". Meaning if you make a gas
purchase on your discover card you earn your "up to 1%
back" which is normally around .25% if you have only
spent under $1500 on your card plus the 4% of the amount you
spent at the gas station. This can make your gas purchases
add up to 5% cash back.
Okay now to the Restaurant purchases. You also have to call
Discover or register online for this promotion as well and
it is totally free to do so. If you call in just press the
buttons for the restaurant promotion which gets you up to
5% back in the same way as gas purchases. It works at places
obviously that take the Discover Card and those may not be
as many as you are used to using with your AMEX or Visa/MC.
The restaurants include fast food, dine out, and any merchants
that use the coding for restaurant on their credit card transactions.
This promotion ends October 31 but the gas card is ongoing.
I don’t advise anyone use Discover Card for any other
purchases besides gas stations, restaurants, or Sam's Club.
It only pays .25% back to most customers on all other purchases
and is not as valuable as having a Chase Perfect Card to get
your 1% back on all purchases.
Spend more get more then Spend less get more with Discover
Gas Card. If you go over $1500 in gas purchases it goes to
a lower percentage of cash back. So if you spend over $1500
a year with the Gas Card then switch to another gas credit
card that pays rebates with no limits.
Up to 10% Marketing?
Discover claims you can earn up to 10% on the gas and restaurant
purchases but that pertains to redemption of the up to 5%
then you have a chance to double it with one of their partners.
I would just not pay attention to the marketing of the up
to 10% and focus on the up to 4% or 5% and you will be ok.
Let us help you with the marketing confusion and help you
choose the right credit card to use for the right purchase!
When considering a cash back card you must consider
a few things: 1. Define the limits to get what cash
back percentage 2. What stores or retailers do I get my rebate
at? 3. Do they mean rebates at only online retailers or a
walk-in business/shop. Some cards like the Motley Fool Visa
is for online retailers only to get your rebate, iCard from
Chase works the same way. These cards do you NO good i?f your
buying things elsewhere besides online. Another example is
if you have a gas station credit card and use it at BP and
its a Shell Card then that does nothing for you as a Shell
rebate of 5%. 4. What is the maximum amount you can get per
month or year on your cash back? An example would be the Citibank
Citgo Visa from Associates Bank where you have a $40 limit
of rebate per month and the Discover
Card which caps their new grocery "up to
10% promotion" at ONLY $1500 in groceries.
Heres how these Discover card bonuses work:
Spend Less? The Discover
Gas Credit Card works great for people who spend
LESS per year on their Discover Card purchases, where you
get an immediate 1% on all purchases and a 5% rebate on gas
purchases. Now keep in mind this is for people who do not
spend over $1,500 a year. This card actually rewards for purchasing
less because once you reach $1,500 in gas purchases you only
get 3% cash back on gas, and spend $1,500 on other purchases
you cash back goes down to .05 (in half). It then goes down
again at $3,000 to 1% on gas purchases and .25% on other purchases.
Keep in mind the gas and other purchases are divided differently.
Spend More? Then it will pay you more to
use the traditional Discover
Card where when you spend up to $1,500 you start
out each anniversary date at .25%, spend more to $1,500 arrive
at .50%, then get promoted to the goal of 1% at $3,000 in
purchases.
April 2004 Restaurant Cash Back Article
(Banklady.com exclusive)
You have seen the TV ads recently for up to 10% back on groceries,
and all the "ups to" a certain percent. Discover
Card and American Express are both cards you have to search
and search for the fine print of what the "up to"
really means. We have investigated this and found out some
interesting facts.
Up to 10% on Groceries? Yes you can if you
buy from their selected grocery stores. The real 10 percent
only comes into effect when your cash back gets doubled at
the end of the promotion (when you are sent your redemption
information). To enroll in this offer you must call Discover,
sign up online, or apply for one of their cards and the offer
is for six weeks from the day you start the promotion - it
then expires and you can redeem your bonus on grocery purchases
six weeks after it expires. An example of the up to 10% on
groceries works like the chart below. If you are a Tier I
Discover cardholder meaning you have spent up to $1,500 on
any purchases then your earning .25%, the grocery promotion
then adds on an extra 4% making it .25 + 4.0 = 4.25% plus
your double bonus offers at the end of the promotion making
it 8.50 percent.
Tier |
% Tier |
Grocery Promotion % |
Grocery Total % |
Tier I (up to 1500 purchases) |
.25% |
4% |
4.25% |
Tier II (over 1500 purchases) |
.50% |
4% |
4.50% |
Tier III (over 3000 purchases) |
1% |
4% |
5% |
What "Grocery Stores" Qualify?
You can only use this promotion at stores similar to Albertsons,
Publix, Ralph's, Food 4 Less, Whole Foods, etc. Not valid
for grocery/food purchases made at Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets,
specialty food stores, convenience stores, gas stations, warehouse
clubs (Sams Club / Costco), supercenters or discount stores.
Once a year or every month? You must decide
if you want a bonus or reward for use in a lump some on an
anniversary date each year of if you want it monthly. Cards
like Bank Ones Cash Card and Discover are annually compared
to Chase Perfect Card where you can get your rebate on "your
next" statement.
Other notes on Discover Cashback Bonus: Redemptions available
in $20 increments and be sure and check out other restrictions
by looking up Cashback Bonus Terms and Conditions for details.
Read more about how to cut
your grocery bills
Other Credit Card related Information: Read Discover
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for Credit Cards, Chase
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