Why Discover?

[tornadoguy]

So not being from round here I wanted to ask, why Discover?

The seem to be reasonably generous in CLs, but I just wanted to ask people what attracted them to their card - what are the advantages/disadvantages relative to another issues Visa or Mastercard options? It seems to be a rather often used staple here, hence my interest.

[sr383]

Fairly easy to get
Customer service is excellent
Floating 5% categories are useful (though kind of a pain to manage)

[SwiftTone]

ShopDiscover

[/thread]

[m3rge]

Discover was my first prime card I applied. The 5% cash back on different categories is a nice perk plus you get 1% on every purchase. When I applied, they also gave me the highest CL of all my cards. And one of the best things is the customer service, very very good.

[manwoot]

And they just sent me a $5 giftcard, just for fun.

When's the last time a Visa or MasterCard company sent me a for fun giftcard?  Never.

[lithium78]

I initially got a Discover for the 5% categories, but when I signed up the CSR told me about ShopDiscover and now that's where the card gets most of my usage.  I am buying all new appliances for my new house using ShopDiscover and getting 5% cashback (with free shipping) and an extra 12 months on the warranty for free for using Discover.

[takeshi74]

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@tornadoguy wrote:

It seems to be a rather often used staple here, hence my interest.

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Take a look at it and see if it sounds like it fits your needs/wants.  No one card fits everyone.  I don't use Discover, for example.

[kevinjjc]

Here are some reasons why you should have a Discover card:

• 100% U.S. based customer service available 24/7
• No foreign transaction fee (widely accepted in Asia): https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/help-center/account/international-use.html
• ShopDiscover (cashback for online shopping): https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/cashback-bonus/shopdiscover.html
• Cash Over (get cash at checkout): https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/member-benefits/cash-over-purchases.html
• Money Messenger (send money to family/friends/etc.): https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/send-money/
• SP CLI'S and APR reductions are possible
• Excellent website
• etc...

Did you know Discover invented the very first cash rewards program? 

[migliogiorni]

Shop Discover is my primary usage as well. They do have amazing CS. Occasionally, they'll have a 2% promo period as well.

[Open123]

All very good reasons listed here on the merits of having a Discover card.

While I agree with all of them, I'd like to point out that in my estimation, customer service while important is a distant 3rd on my list of priorities behind rewards and performance.  

For rewards, there's no reason to use a 1% cashback card, unless one didn't have better options, of which there are many.  By performance, I mean that during a merchant dispute, take my side and give me the benefit of the doubt, not them.  The last thing I want is for an exemplary based US CSR with a perfect "Brokaw" Midwest American English telling me nicely the litany of reasons why they've chosen not to side with me.

To me, customer service isn't about "nice US based CSRs" who will merrily answer frivolous nonsensical queries all day long, but rather solve or resolve time sensitive issues when they invariably arise.  In this regard, I can think of several issuers's customer service I prefer over Discover's.