topic Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation in Credit Cards

Question about Discover IT Graduation

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:08:00 GMT

What a rare topic for these forums! No one ever talks about their Discover IT graduation here, amirite? 🤪

6th statement closed on Monday, I received the email last night that my deposit is being returned and that my card has graduated. Yay! For the record, my TU Fico via the Discover app is 649. I don't think I'll see anywhere close to 700's until my last (pif) CO drops off next spring. Use the card regularly, but always pay off the balance before the statement cuts.

So my question is, does this card graduate to an actual Discover IT Cashback? I don't see anywhere to activate the 5% category, so I'm guessing it's like a hybrid, no longer a Secured IT, but not really the Cashback card either.

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:10:45 GMT

It graduates to the same card it was. If it was chrome, it'll be chrome. If it's 5%, it'll be 5%.

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:26:14 GMT

Oh, thanks! I didn't realize there was any option when applying for the secured version, I figured secured was secured. I can drop their help department a comment to find out, but out of curiosity do you know if that's something you can PC to after graduating (the 5%)?

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

delaney1 — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:26:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
What a rare topic for these forums! No one ever talks about their Discover IT graduation here, amirite? 🤪

6th statement closed on Monday, I received the email last night that my deposit is being returned and that my card has graduated. Yay! For the record, my TU Fico via the Discover app is 649. I don't think I'll see anywhere close to 700's until my last (pif) CO drops off next spring. Use the card regularly, but always pay off the balance before the statement cuts.

So my question is, does this card graduate to an actual Discover IT Cashback? I don't see anywhere to activate the 5% category, so I'm guessing it's like a hybrid, no longer a Secured IT, but not really the Cashback card either.

If you'd like to change it to the 5% categories card, they'll do it for you. I called and got a pc to the 5% on my husband's secured Discover in June or July. At that time he'd had the card for 2 or 3 months.

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:30:48 GMT

@delaney1 wrote:
If you'd like to change it to the 5% categories card, they'll do it for you. I called and got a pc to the 5% on my husband's secured Discover in June or July. At that time he'd had the card for 2 or 3 months.

Thanks! That answers my second question. I see the difference now that I'm looking closer at their site, the 5% isn't in addition to the 1-2% rewards, it's just 5% in the category for that quarter. For some reason I thought it was just an additional category on the unsecured card, like you got 1% on everything, 2% on restaurants and gas, and then 5% in different categories. That's a little too awesome now that I think about it. You get one or the other... so I think I'll stick with the 2% now that I know that.

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:30:51 GMT

You just needed to wait for 1 statement before you can request a pc

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

delaney1 — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:36:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@delaney1 wrote:
If you'd like to change it to the 5% categories card, they'll do it for you. I called and got a pc to the 5% on my husband's secured Discover in June or July. At that time he'd had the card for 2 or 3 months.

Thanks! That answers my second question. I see the difference now that I'm looking closer at their site, the 5% isn't in addition to the 1-2% rewards, it's just 5% in the category for that quarter. For some reason I thought it was just an additional category on the unsecured card, like you got 1% on everything, 2% on restaurants and gas, and then 5% in different categories. That's a little too awesome now that I think about it. You get one or the other... so I think I'll stick with the 2% now that I know that.

You get 5% on categories and 1% on everything else. Since you get the cashback match after the first year. It's technically 10% on categories and 2% everywhere else.

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 14:51:49 GMT

@delaney1 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@delaney1 wrote:
If you'd like to change it to the 5% categories card, they'll do it for you. I called and got a pc to the 5% on my husband's secured Discover in June or July. At that time he'd had the card for 2 or 3 months.

Thanks! That answers my second question. I see the difference now that I'm looking closer at their site, the 5% isn't in addition to the 1-2% rewards, it's just 5% in the category for that quarter. For some reason I thought it was just an additional category on the unsecured card, like you got 1% on everything, 2% on restaurants and gas, and then 5% in different categories. That's a little too awesome now that I think about it. You get one or the other... so I think I'll stick with the 2% now that I know that.
You get 5% on categories and 1% on everything else. Since you get the cashback match after the first year. It's technically 10% on categories and 2% everywhere else.

Ahhh, right. Good call. I wish I had realized earlier on I could've switched to that, I've been missing out big time. Thanks for all the helpful info!

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

delaney1 — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 15:22:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@delaney1 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@delaney1 wrote:
If you'd like to change it to the 5% categories card, they'll do it for you. I called and got a pc to the 5% on my husband's secured Discover in June or July. At that time he'd had the card for 2 or 3 months.

Thanks! That answers my second question. I see the difference now that I'm looking closer at their site, the 5% isn't in addition to the 1-2% rewards, it's just 5% in the category for that quarter. For some reason I thought it was just an additional category on the unsecured card, like you got 1% on everything, 2% on restaurants and gas, and then 5% in different categories. That's a little too awesome now that I think about it. You get one or the other... so I think I'll stick with the 2% now that I know that.
You get 5% on categories and 1% on everything else. Since you get the cashback match after the first year. It's technically 10% on categories and 2% everywhere else.
Ahhh, right. Good call. I wish I had realized earlier on I could've switched to that, I've been missing out big time. Thanks for all the helpful info!

I'm not 100% certain, but I'm thinking you may be able to change to something else if you'd like. Not sure if you have to wait til next statement cuts. In any case, Here's the link to the online card conversion where you can do it yourself. https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/help-center/faqs/change-rewards-program.html

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 13:16:07 GMT

Graduated after 6 months? That's great! I got mine in June, first statement cut in July. I'm hoping I'll graduate in February, as that'll be my 8th statement but I've paid off all of my personal charge offs and I've been using this card heavily. If you graduated at 6 months that gives me hope I can get my deposit back sooner.

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

quikj9 — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 15:03:50 GMT

I'm in a similar situation on a similar timeline. Hearing about @Anonymous graduating so quickly is encouraging. It would be great to have the card unsecure at the end of the year.

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 17:29:36 GMT

Yea so I definitely had no idea I could PC to the 5% version of the card after I graduated last October. Went almost an entire year until I start noticing people on here talking about 5% categories and I'm like "**bleep**, I didn't know the discover card had rewards like that". Only after going online and seeing the "change rewards structure" link or whatever it says did I realize I could do it. Lost out on a year

But yes, as someone else said, you don't even have to call or talk to someone, can do it all right online!

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 18:51:02 GMT

I didn't know that either. Learned this the hard way: don't ask for product change the day your statement cuts, because the product change won't go into effect until the next statement. So I gotta wait till October 18th now to start earning the 5%

Re: Question about Discover IT Graduation

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 19:09:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Graduated after 6 months? That's great! I got mine in June, first statement cut in July. I'm hoping I'll graduate in February, as that'll be my 8th statement but I've paid off all of my personal charge offs and I've been using this card heavily. If you graduated at 6 months that gives me hope I can get my deposit back sooner.

It'll probably happen. I'm sure each situation is different, but I've got a few negatives still on my report (fully paid chargeoff, fully paid collection, one open collection that's past SOL and falls off in a few more months). My scores are still suppressed, but thankfully it didn't stop them from graduating me. Used the card regularly, paid it off before the statement cut every month except for once when I let it report a small balance.

Only 12 more months to go on my Citi Secured. They don't even start the review process until 18 months after you open the card 😰