Discover miles vs it

[DigitalArk]

I am sorry if this had been discussed in the past. Is miles better than it?

[kdm31091]

Better is subjective. You can also compare them on discovers website and see the benefits for yourself, as opposed to relying on what someone on a forum tells you. Not to be rude. Just saying.

Anyway, they're pretty different. You have an It so you know what it offers. The Miles gives 1.5 miles per dollar back which is equal to 1.5 percent cash back. For year one it's 3 percent. The miles is a great general spend card especially for year one, whereas the It is usually more of a category spend card. Two different cards, two different purposes. Neither is "better". They fill different needs.

[Anonymous]

It's very much a subjective question.

If you want a Discover and don't want the rotating categories, I would call It Miles a better option.  If you like the rotating categories, then It may be the better choice.

Year one on It Miles is 3% back, which is fantastic for a general spend card.  After year one it goes to 1.5% back (but knowning Discover I'm sure some people will end up with promotional rates far past year one.  Never guaranteed, of course, but Discover is funny like that once you're in).

Discover It offers the 5% rotating categories and if you hit the Discover Deals during Q4 (the online shopping quarter) you could end up with 20+% back on certain purchases. Throughout the year, if the rotating categories align with your spending habits you could end up with a very high return indeed.

Basically, it depends on you and your spending habits as to which one is the better choice.

[chalupaman]

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@DigitalArk wrote:
I am sorry if this had been discussed in the past. Is miles better than it?

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I think it's best if you looked through the benefits of both cards and see what's right in your situation. 

[Anonymous]

I have both the Disover IT ($4k) & the Discover IT Miles ($5.5K)

As others already mentioned, they are two great cards, with two different purposes. I utilize the Discover It for the 5% Categories (This Quarter Restaraunts), and I utilize the Discover It MILES for my Non-Categorized General Spend for 1.5% Cashback (3% First year).

It's worth mentioning that I've had the Discover IT Since mid 2012, and only recently applied for the IT Miles. At the time they required me to "Split" the Credit Limit of my IT card since I wanted the Miles. They let you allocate however you see fit, so I took the original 9.5K and allocated $5.5K to Miles, $4K to the IT.

I'm a big Discover Fan because of their US Customer Service, so in my humble opinion they are both great cards and have great customer service behind them. My .02

[Anonymous]

Yes, THANK YOU, for mentioning it!

I read via the site that you can convert..but I didn't want to lose all the perks/bonuses associated with the IT...

*phew* I can have my cake + eat it too! HOORAY!!!

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have both the Disover IT ($4k) & the Discover IT Miles ($5.5K)

As others already mentioned, they are two great cards, with two different purposes. I utilize the Discover It for the 5% Categories (This Quarter Restaraunts), and I utilize the Discover It MILES for my Non-Categorized General Spend for 1.5% Cashback (3% First year).

It's worth mentioning that I've had the Discover IT Since mid 2012, and only recently applied for the IT Miles. At the time they required me to "Split" the Credit Limit of my IT card since I wanted the Miles. They let you allocate however you see fit, so I took the original 9.5K and allocated $5.5K to Miles, $4K to the IT.

I'm a big Discover Fan because of their US Customer Service, so in my humble opinion they are both great cards and have great customer service behind them. My .02

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[Anonymous]

Glad I could help

It IS worth mentioning as well, that I was required to have seperate logins for each Card. Kind of a hassle, but i'm still enjoying my cake!

[Anonymous]

I think the question needs more exploring.  IMO there are two different scenarios:

1) I want a Discover card, which one should I get?

2) I want/need a new card, are either of the Discover cards worth getting?

1) is common when people want a card from each network, or have a special need specifically for Discover.   In this case, if you can only have one, as others have said, it depends on your spending patterns.  If you can maximize the 5% categories, and don't have a lot of uncategorized spend, the IT is going to be better in the longer term.   If you are just looking at the first year and have enough spend, Miles might win

On 2)  Miles is good for the first year if you can put a lot of spend on it (I'm doing about $12k per month).   With lower spend, it may not be a great choice, even for the first year.  You are only getting 1% more than a 2% card (and that at the end of the year) and you have to compare that with a sign up bonus on another card.   After year 1, in it's current state, Miles may have very limited value compared to the 2% and other 1.5%+ cards out there, which have greater acceptance and in some cases slightly better reward structures.

[IWOL]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have both the Disover IT ($4k) & the Discover IT Miles ($5.5K)

As others already mentioned, they are two great cards, with two different purposes. I utilize the Discover It for the 5% Categories (This Quarter Restaraunts), and I utilize the Discover It MILES for my Non-Categorized General Spend for 1.5% Cashback (3% First year).

It's worth mentioning that I've had the Discover IT Since mid 2012, and only recently applied for the IT Miles. At the time they required me to "Split" the Credit Limit of my IT card since I wanted the Miles. They let you allocate however you see fit, so I took the original 9.5K and allocated $5.5K to Miles, $4K to the IT.

I'm a big Discover Fan because of their US Customer Service, so in my humble opinion they are both great cards and have great customer service behind them. My .02

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Thats interesting, when I applied for the Miles IT card I asked Discover if I could move some of my limit from my It card to the Miles card and they told me they cant do that.

I have $7.5K limit on my IT and $4.5K on Miles card. I only use the IT for 5% cats so really only need like $2K on there but Im using my Miles card alot to take max advantage of the 3X for the first year and been running it up to the limit for the first 2 months. Im gonna try call them again and see if they can perhaps move the limits around.

[FinStar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I think the question needs more exploring.  IMO there are two different scenarios:

1) I want a Discover card, which one should I get?

2) I want/need a new card, are either of the Discover cards worth getting?

1) is common when people want a card from each network, or have a special need specifically for Discover.   In this case, if you can only have one, as others have said, it depends on your spending patterns.  If you can maximize the 5% categories, and don't have a lot of uncategorized spend, the IT is going to be better in the longer term.   If you are just looking at the first year and have enough spend, Miles might win

On 2)  Miles is good for the first year if you can put a lot of spend on it (I'm doing about $12k per month).   With lower spend, it may not be a great choice, even for the first year.  You are only getting 1% more than a 2% card (and that at the end of the year) and you have to compare that with a sign up bonus on another card.   After year 1, in it's current state, Miles may have very limited value compared to the 2% and other 1.5%+ cards out there, which have greater acceptance and in some cases slightly better reward structures.

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Great insight as always LTL