Discover Rolls Out Apple Pay Support for iOS 9, Offers 10% Cashback Bonus for Apple Pay Purchases

[BruiserB]

I made a mistake in the above quoted post.
I said, "Based on that, I expect my December statement will show the extra 10% on all purchases though the end of November."
What I meant to say was, "Based on that, I expect my December statement will show the extra 10% on all purchases though the end of October."

Well, my December statement came…and there was a much larger extra bonus cash back on it. Not only did it cover all of October, it also covered all of November and even some of December (although, I was not able to figure-out exactly which December purchases were already paid).

So, now I have lost my precise cut-off date, but in any case, it appears that they accelerated the extra (ApplePay) cash back bonuses as of this month's statement. It will still be easy enough for me to calculate since I have ONLY used my Discover Card for Apple Pay purchases since this promo started, so all I have to do is add-up ALL of my purchases made between September and December and see if they indeed paid-out the 10% over and above, as promised.

Unfortunately, I have found in prior audits of Discover Card…you HAVE to watch them like a hawk on their "bonus" awards as they seem to have many, MANY ways to try to evade actually paying-up. AMEX has earned my trust and I know they pay what they say they will pay, so I am not inclined to continue auditing every statement from AMEX. Same thing with my Chase Freedom Visa…they have never tried to short me, so I trust them now.

So far, it seems they have paid…even in advance of expected…on this promo.

I'm seeing the same thing. Just curious, what are some of the ways they have tried to evade paying bonuses in the past? This particular promotion seems hard to evade....either you used ApplePay or you didn't.

I am a bit concerned about whether they will actually double my cash back from this promotion next year...though their press release did state they will double both cash back and any cash back bonus. I got a new Discover card just for this promotion, so would be pretty disappointed if they don't keep their word. I will actually continue to use it for their quarterly promotions....using for Amazon now and next week the physical card will go in my car to pay at the pump in gas stations.

 

[Tom2D2]

I'm seeing the same thing. Just curious, what are some of the ways they have tried to evade paying bonuses in the past? This particular promotion seems hard to evade....either you used ApplePay or you didn't.

I am a bit concerned about whether they will actually double my cash back from this promotion next year...though their press release did state they will double both cash back and any cash back bonus. I got a new Discover card just for this promotion, so would be pretty disappointed if they don't keep their word. I will actually continue to use it for their quarterly promotions....using for Amazon now and next week the physical card will go in my car to pay at the pump in gas stations.

They have partner programs where you click though the Discover site to the partner website, then place an order and you are supposed to get a percentage rebated in the form of a bonus cash back. On numerous occasions, I have found that they do NOT actually pay. I called and sometimes they just go ahead and award the promised cash back…and other times, they argue that there is no record of the purchase and make me submit proof, then look for any way to deny (such as when the partner automatically offers free shipping, that is a way out since you "cannot combine promotional offers"). Given the CHOICE, I would have gladly paid the shipping in order to get the (higher value) cash back…but it was NOT an option!

There have been times when they offer special short-term opportunities for extra cash back (such as a weekend deal). So, you go ahead and make the purchases only to find out that they don't pay because the transaction wasn't actually processed until after the weekend. As I told them, I made the purchases in the time period specified (and had proof), but I cannot control when the merchant actually processes the charge!

In most cases, if you call, they will correct it right then and there. However, once you begin to build a "history" of calling to complain about them evading their promised cash-back, they then begin making it more inconvenient to get resolved.

I'm sure they "bank" on most people not noticing or figuring-out that they have been shorted. That is why, when I use my Discover Card, I ONLY use it for a specific promotion (such as the current ApplePay promotion) so that I can easily figure-out if all promised awards have been paid when it is all said and done. Just like in this case, regardless of how they determine the cut-off for purchases from one monthly statement to the next, all I have to do is total all statements since the promotion started and verify that the total bonus cash back paid is indeed 10%. If not, they'll be getting yet another call from me!

 

[BruiserB]

They have partner programs where you click though the Discover site to the partner website, then place an order and you are supposed to get a percentage rebated in the form of a bonus cash back. On numerous occasions, I have found that they do NOT actually pay. I called and sometimes they just go ahead and award the promised cash back…and other times, they argue that there is no record of the purchase and make me submit proof, then look for any way to deny (such as when the partner automatically offers free shipping, that is a way out since you "cannot combine promotional offers"). Given the CHOICE, I would have gladly paid the shipping in order to get the (higher value) cash back…but it was NOT an option!

There have been times when they offer special short-term opportunities for extra cash back (such as a weekend deal). So, you go ahead and make the purchases only to find out that they don't pay because the transaction wasn't actually processed until after the weekend. As I told them, I made the purchases in the time period specified (and had proof), but I cannot control when the merchant actually processes the charge!

In most cases, if you call, they will correct it right then and there. However, once you begin to build a "history" of calling to complain about them evading their promised cash-back, they then begin making it more inconvenient to get resolved.

I'm sure they "bank" on most people not noticing or figuring-out that they have been shorted. That is why, when I use my Discover Card, I ONLY use it for a specific promotion (such as the current ApplePay promotion) so that I can easily figure-out if all promised awards have been paid when it is all said and done. Just like in this case, regardless of how they determine the cut-off for purchases from one monthly statement to the next, all I have to do is total all statements since the promotion started and verify that the total bonus cash back paid is indeed 10%. If not, they'll be getting yet another call from me!

Got it. I was thinking of using one of those click through promotions at Groupon for some car washes. I think the promo expires at the end of the year....will have to do it now to make sure there's not a processing delay. Similarly, my Amazon Prime renews Monday...hopefully that charge goes through before the New Year.

 

[myrtledog]

So now that the Discover card 10% promo has ended is anyone aware of any other like promotion from anyone else?

 

[Tom2D2]

So now that the Discover card 10% promo has ended is anyone aware of any other like promotion from anyone else?

I'm not…hoping maybe Discover will run another ApplePay Bonus Cash Back though…

As I said, I ONLY used my Discover Card for this promo. December 31st was my last purchase. This made it easy to verify that they paid what they said they'd pay (as I stated previously, I've had issues with Discover NOT paying what they say they are going to pay in the past).

This time around, NO issues!

I just got my last statement for this promotional period. Added up all of my charges since it started, multiplied by 10% and sure enough, they payed all 10% plus some! I was able to figure-out that they did NOT deduct the 10% for a return I made (purchased via ApplePay and returned a couple of days later during the promo period). That was the difference between the 10% I calculated and the higher amount they actually paid. Of course, the standard "everywhere else" percentage was added on top of the 10%.

As I said, my Discover Card use cut-off abruptly as of December 31st. I ended-up with enough cash back to pay for my AppleWatch, so it effectively paid for itself as a result of this promo (I don't pay a penny in interest for any of my charges since I pay my statements in full each month).

Hopefully, Discover Card will think about running this promo again (even if only 5%…but 10% would be great) once they see the spike-up and falloff of cardmember usage. They HAVE to get more competitive with other cash reward cards out there since their normal cashback percentage is NOT competitive with other cards (Chase Freedom, AMEX Simply Cash, GM Card, etc). Heck, they should offer 5% ALWAYS (2% MINIMUM anyway) when using ApplePay…that would swing me to using them exclusively for any ApplePay purchases wherever I could…!

Anyway, thanks DiscoverCard for my nice AppleWatch!

 

[tmiw]

It'd be nice if their next promo counted in-app use too. 10% off for Panera, Uber, etc. would be good.

 

[BruiserB]

I'm not…hoping maybe Discover will run another ApplePay Bonus Cash Back though…

As I said, I ONLY used my Discover Card for this promo. December 31st was my last purchase. This made it easy to verify that they paid what they said they'd pay (as I stated previously, I've had issues with Discover NOT paying what they say they are going to pay in the past).

This time around, NO issues!

I just got my last statement for this promotional period. Added up all of my charges since it started, multiplied by 10% and sure enough, they payed all 10% plus some! I was able to figure-out that they did NOT deduct the 10% for a return I made (purchased via ApplePay and returned a couple of days later during the promo period). That was the difference between the 10% I calculated and the higher amount they actually paid. Of course, the standard "everywhere else" percentage was added on top of the 10%.

As I said, my Discover Card use cut-off abruptly as of December 31st. I ended-up with enough cash back to pay for my AppleWatch, so it effectively paid for itself as a result of this promo (I don't pay a penny in interest for any of my charges since I pay my statements in full each month).

Hopefully, Discover Card will think about running this promo again (even if only 5%…but 10% would be great) once they see the spike-up and falloff of cardmember usage. They HAVE to get more competitive with other cash reward cards out there since their normal cashback percentage is NOT competitive with other cards (Chase Freedom, AMEX Simply Cash, GM Card, etc). Heck, they should offer 5% ALWAYS (2% MINIMUM anyway) when using ApplePay…that would swing me to using them exclusively for any ApplePay purchases wherever I could…!

Anyway, thanks DiscoverCard for my nice AppleWatch!

Still waiting for my final statement but have liked the credit I've received so far. I got the Discover Card just for this promo so should get all of this doubled at the end of a year as well. I also used mostly just for ApplePay, though I did do some Amazon spending for 5% back last quarter and am continuing to use it this quarter for gas and Uber.

The quarterly special cash back categories are nice, but I agree that they usually aren't the best card choice for non promo category purchases.