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The Discover it® Miles is a solid credit card if you're looking to earn travel rewards without an annual fee. However, the unique feature of the card lies in its welcome offer, where you get to determine how much you can earn. If you have a significant amount of spending planned, the first year of card membership can be quite fruitful.
And with no annual fee, you can earn without fear of your overall value being dinged.
Below, CNBC Select reviews the Discover it Miles, looking at the welcome bonus, rewards program and APR, so you can decide if it's the best card for you.
Information about Discover cards has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer prior to publication.
Discover it Miles credit card review
Welcome bonus
The welcome bonus of the Discover it® Miles is unique as you determine how much you can earn by your spending.
With this card, you'll earn 1.5X miles on every dollar for all purchases — so if you spend $1,000 per month, or $12,000 per year, you will earn 18,000 Discover miles. However, the real value of this card is that Discover automatically matches all of the miles earned at the end of the first year of card membership.
For example, if you earn 18,000 miles during the first year, Discover will automatically match that, giving you an additional 18,000 miles, for 36,000 miles total. Those 36,000 miles are worth $360.
This makes the card extremely valuable for someone who plans on spending a significant amount during the first year of card membership. You're effectively earning 3% back on all spending in the first year.
Benefits and perks
The Discover it Miles can be a good choice for you if you want to earn travel rewards without a complicated card strategy. On top of the simple but effective earnings, the card comes with several features:
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- Rewards never expire as long as your account is open
- Get a free credit scorecard with your most recent FICO credit score
- Complimentary choice of card design
How to earn and redeem rewards
How to earn rewards
The Discover it Miles card has a simple earning structure: cardholders will earn 1.5X miles on all purchases.
Cardholders can begin earning points as soon as they receive the card.
How to redeem rewards
You can redeem Discover miles for several types of rewards, including travel purchases, cash back, Amazon purchases or PayPal purchases.
Discover miles are worth 1 cent per point, regardless of which redemption you choose, giving you flexibility, without sacrificing value.
If travel is the preferred way to use your miles, it's simple to redeem them for said purchases. Simply log into your Discover account, and you'll be able to "erase" your travel purchases within the last 180 days.
If cash back is the easiest way, you can have the funds sent directly to your bank account or credited to the balance on your Discover it Miles card.
As for Amazon or PayPal purchases, by linking your Discover it Miles to your Amazon account, you'll be able to use the miles to offset the costs of your purchases during checkout.
The largest difference between Discover miles and other reward currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards is that Discover miles are not transferrable to travel partners. Instead of that framework, Discover miles can directly erase travel expenses off of your Discover statement.
Rates and fees
The Discover it Miles charges no foreign transaction fees when swiping abroad and has no annual fee. But note, Discover cards aren't widely accepted outside of the U.S. since they run on the Discover network. Mastercard and Visa cards will likely be more useful when traveling abroad.
Additionally, cardholders can take advantage of a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases from date of account opening. After the intro APR expires, it will increase to a variable rate of 17.49% - 26.49%.
There are late payment fees up to $41. However, Discover will waive the first time you pay late as a courtesy.
Card comparison
The Discover it® Miles is not the only no-annual-fee travel credit card. If you enjoy earning credit card rewards without tracking spending categories, the Discover it Miles is just one of several to consider.
Here are a few similar cards to the Discover it Miles to see how they compare.
Discover it Miles vs. Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
Information about Bank of America cards has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer prior to publication.
The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is a very similar product to the Discover it Miles. It earns 1.5X miles on all purchases and has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee.
It differs from the Discover it Miles as it has a more rigid welcome offer: 25,000 points if you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.
However, if you become a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, you can raise your points earnings up to 2.62 points for every $1 you spend.
Discover it Miles vs. Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card also shares some similarities with the Discover it Miles.
You will earn 1.25X miles on every purchase, with no annual fee or foreign transaction fees. Additionally, you'll get 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
While it earns slightly less than the Discover it Miles, the VentureOne can bring cardholders much more value if they transfer their miles to Capital One's various airline and hotel loyalty program partners. Currently, that includes:
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air Canada - Aeroplan
- Cathay Pacific - Asia Miles
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Choice Privileges
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Finnair Plus
- Flying Blue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- TAP Miles&Go
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Red
- Wyndham Rewards
- EVA Air (Infinity MileageLands)
- ALL (Accor Live Limitless)
Additionally, the card comes with a welcome offer: Earn 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Is the Discover it Miles right for you?
If you're looking for a travel card but don't want to deal with annual fees or a complicated rewards system, the Discover it Miles is worth considering. Besides an elevated rate on all purchases, you also have flexibility when redeeming your rewards. Unlike with many other travel credit cards, you won't have to worry about losing any of your miles' value if you choose cash back or use your rewards on Amazon or PayPal.
On the other hand, if you travel a lot, you might want to have extra perks like airport lounge access and expedited airport security. In this case, you'll want to look into more premium cards that charge annual fees. While you'll sacrifice the simplicity cards like the Discover it Miles offer, you'll be able to take advantage of bonus rewards in certain categories, as well as travel benefits.
FAQs
Does the Discover it Miles have airport lounge access?
The Discover it Miles doesn't come with airport lounge access perks.
Can Discover miles be used for flights?
While you can't purchase flights with Discover miles directly, you can use your rewards to pay for recent travel purchases — including flights.
Bottom line
The Discover it® Miles is an excellent option for consumers looking for a simple-to-use travel card. However, it's even more valuable for people who plan on spending a significant amount of money in the first year of card membership because of the uncapped welcome bonus.
And because Discover miles don't fluctuate in value, it makes earning and spending them that much easier.
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Information about the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuers prior to publication.
