Genuine question: Why use a discover card? I've had it once and it's acceptance is spotty, just like an amex. With awesome perks from chase visa cards, why even bother with this?
Are the categories better than Chase Freedom Visa for example?
A few things to point out regarding Discover—I have one among some other cards and it has some quirks and benefits worth noting. Depending on some credit profiles, it can be an easier "first" card, but also can provide longer-term value, as opposed to being some dud that you'd eventually want to close or set aside. Customer service is US-based and quite good if you need them. Like many other no-annual-fee cards, they have gotten rid of some benefits such as extended warranty, return protection, etc. Additionally, at some retailers (typically grocery stores), the card offers a "cashier" feature—cash back like a debit card (no rewards on that), but also no cash advance fees or interest until the next statement. As for rewards, the 5% categories tend to be broader than the Freedom/Freedom Flex—sometimes they overlap, sometimes they are the same, but offset by a quarter. Here's what they had this year:
- Q1: Grocery stores, drug stores, streaming services
- Q2: Restaurants and wholesale clubs
- Q3: Gas stations and digital wallets—basically became my default Apple Pay card
- Q4: Amazon and Target
While it doesn't play into an "ecosystem" like Chase's cards do, redeeming rewards as cash back is easy enough, but you can also redeem for gift cards and generally get better value (i.e. a $50 gift card for $40 cash back).
Discover's acceptance in the US has actually gotten really good in the last ten years or so, much more than Amex. Internationally, it should work on the Union Pay, JCB, and Diners Club International networks, giving it a slight edge over Amex there, too. Generally, the thing people run into is that a merchant doesn't recognize the card and won't try it.
In general, it's a decent card for folks who don't want to geek out too much on cash back, miles, and points, but can also find a place in your wallet long-term. The online-only banking side of Discover has grown a bit, too - checking/debit account offers 1% cash back up to $3000 spent on the debit card and their high yield savings account is competitive.
Nice that Discover got it, but I still think it might be slightly better from a UX perspective if Apple waited until they got a deal with Mint or some other similar service (or better yet, for the US to adopt open banking).
Part of me wonders if Apple is basically pushing something like the actual Open Banking API that could later be used by others. While I could see them doing things in a proprietary manner, it may make more sense to say "look what we're doing in the UK with what they have to offer, here's how you could use it" instead of reinventing the wheel. I know a lot of people like Mint (and not here to complain), but the data collection—even anonymized—aspect sort of goes against their whole privacy/direct relationship with the user ethos. Heck, the feature could eventually be a requirement for loading cards in Wallet, although that change may draw the ire of regulators.
