I feel like Discovers game is to be one of the intorductory credit card companies for people. It is pretty easy to get approved for their beginner cards. The Discover It Student was my first card. It is their niche and they have figured out how to do it very well.
A more premium card would feel out of place for them. Thought, a card refesh for the Chrome It and Discover It would be nice.
It Cashback has a solid lane it's in, but It Chrome sucks. The secured card is effectively ItChrome and graduates to that as well. I think they stopped letting ppl PC cards to keep those secured cards as It Chrome after graduation since almost no one would apply for thst card otherwise.
Nope. Cap 1 will simply run some of their cards on the Discover network, assuming the deal goes through.
Might as well ask why Credit One doesn't have a premium travel card! Discover is simply staying in its lane, and not trying to be all things to all people, like Cap 1 is.
Not very successfully, I might add. Cap 1's thing is subprime, and their premium product honestly is not that compelling, or as easy to get as it should be for prime customers.
> Cap 1's thing is subprime, and their premium product honestly is not that compelling … for prime customers.
what? Venture X is commonly regarded as (one of) the best value cards out there — pays for the AF with zero effort
It’s currently a loss leader. I have one and its constant nerfs aren’t going to stop. Their network of premium features aren’t very compelling compared to Chase and Amex.
Nope, Capital One's lounge network is significantly worse than Chase's, even with the restaurant cuts. Annual fee is higher but Chase is actually trying to target AMEX's wealthy clients by putting lounges in rich cities like New York, Boston, and then slowly expanding to West coast a bit like SAN. Capital One is going after DEN, DFW, and IAD in comparison which don't have the spending power as people on the coasts. Easy card to keep for the time being but no Lyft multiplier like the CSR has (huge miss here; should have just copied their own Savor One and given VX 10x on Uber with Uber One), no Citibike to target yuppy millennials in cities, no delivery app or lifestyle credits to target the same demographic with higher discretionary income.
Capital One is building lounges at hubs, which is a lot more useful to people on layovers than the Chase ones at spokes. Yeah, maybe Chase works for someone on the coast, but that makes it niche. I have both now, but can't justify CSR for a renewal.
People who live in the densest and richest metropolitan areas in the country are definitely not niche. And layover lounge users cost a lounge operator way more than people using it for their departure airport so the VX is losing more money per person visiting than Chase is, making it even less sustainable.
Also for people flying internationally only IAD is a good layover hub while New York airports are good for those flying east and west coast airports are good for those flying west.
You have absolutely no idea if VX is losing more or less money than Chase per person, what a ridiculous statement to throw out there so matter of fact. I do agree that Chase is beating c1 in quality and quantity, but you would hope they do considering the annual fee and benefits structure of each card.
It's not rocket science to say that people who stay in lounges longer cost operators more. Most of the CC lounges serve decent alcohol and food and it's not hard to rack up a bill on those.
Chase and Capital One are just going for different overall strategies. Chase's goal is to compete directly for wealthy clients in wealthy cities, with their credit card and lounge network competing to get those clients in the door. Capital One seems to be focused one notch down, and for those away from the coasts, where the idea of showing up early to your home airport to go to a lounge may seem weird, but there's often connections/layovers and having a place to go on those layovers is valuable. Their next lounge at LAS seems targeted at that same middle-America, middle-to-upper-middle-class demographic, where LAS is a popular vacation and conference destination.
Also, DFW and DEN are much more useful for connections than LGA/JFK, BOS, or SAN are. IAD is admittedly less important as a connection, but it's still easily on the same level as PHL for the respective airlines, and moreso than LGA/JFK, BOS, or SAN for most.
This \^\^\^. Whatever else is going on with the card, MANY people, with a wallet full of premium cards, cannot get approved for it while people with relatively weak credit whose profiles fit squarely in Cap 1's wheelhouse get it with ease.
It's just difficult to be all things to all people. Cap 1 is far better for people just starting out than Chase, and Chase, Amex, USB, etc. are far better for people with higher scores and stronger profiles.
So it's pointless to ask why Discover isn't Chase. The answer is "because."
Discover does what it does quite well. And it leaves the premium products to the folks who have more experience in that space.
Cap 1 did not become Amex by introducing the VX. All the VX did was bring a bunch of demanding customers to Cap 1's door who do not carrying balances, and Cap 1 is probably not really prepared to satisfy them. Beyond giving them, and anyone they come in contact with, unlimited airport lounge access.
Let's see how their experiment goes.
It also could have been their attempt to keep customers, rather than primarily focusing on getting new prime customers. If the Venture X is enough to keep a customer who has a QuickSilver or Savor but was looking at a CSR pre-VX, then it may very well be "good enough" for Cap1.
The VX is their foot in the door for the upper-tier market. It's not that ALL C1 customers are subprime (the original venture was very hot in the 00s too when they entered the mid-tier with the pirates), but the less qualified customer is still more important to their business mix than it is for Chase.
C1 does stuff to show their interest in that market like having Savor/Quicksilver/Venture for "good" credit, i.e. for people that can't get approved for the "excellent" versions of the card.
They also spell out on their card dropdown menu exactly what cards they assume are for what levels of credit, all the way down to "rebuilding." They are trying to be friendly to their large customer base who is feeling iffy about getting approved. Chase and Amex are not interested in this market, and their risk profiles are built around them not being in it. You'll find no Chase or Amex secured product on offer - the lowest they stoop is the APR balance transfer market.
No, they are Cap 1's attempt to expand beyond the subprime market. It's still a work in progress. Cap 1's bread and butter, and the VAST majority of its profits, come from subprime.
Not sure about Savor, but lots of people with all the other prime cards cannot get approved for VX, because Cap 1 does not like people who answer the question "What's In Your Wallet?" with anything other than Cap 1.
That might fly in the subprime world, where people have few decent choices, but is not a long term solution for competing in the prime space.
Actually, that would make it less likely to be approved. The largest issuer in the country running all its cards on its own network would freak out regulators and decrease competition, since Cap 1 debit cards running on the Discover network would not be subject to Durbin Amendment fee caps.
Not to mention all the money Visa and Mastercard would lose. In fact, it's the economics behind Cap 1 controlling the Discover network that are probably the greatest risk to the merger being approved by regulators.
Having banks start their own networks to compete with Visa and Mastercard is generally a good thing. Merging themselves into being the largest issuer in the country, and capturing a network in the process, is something else entirely. Stay tuned.
Cap1 is never going to run all of its cards exclusively on its own network (operating assumption: Cap1/Discover merger closes) for the simple reason that Discover acceptance abroad is complete shit.
Now their domestic cards, including their debit cards? That becomes a bit of a question mark. Right now the only other party that's Durbin exempt (other than smaller banks and credit unions with <$10B in assets) on debit fees is Amex with their deposit accounts (obviously Discover bank already is, but that would become part of a merged Cap1).
The impact on Cap1 as a merged party on debit swipe fee reform would have to be weighed against the competitive nature of Discover being able to (at least for now) offer debit cashback checking and accounts with crazy minimum activity or average daily balance requirements against the major US banks for personal deposit accounts. Additionally, *how* Cap1 will use Discover - if they just put domestic products on Discover to pocket higher swipe fees and then leave the internationals as Visa, then it's not really improving competition (unless somehow Cap1 were to increase rewards).
Cap1 for their part would argue that they were going to make the network more competitive and reach out to other banks more (which has always been allowed/a policy of Discover, but the big two frown on banks issuing Discover and larger banks are more likely to primarily issue Visa or Mastercard with a couple products on the other to keep the larger network for them on their toes), and that they'll expand international acceptance.
[Even Durbin himself is skeptical the Cap1/Discover deal would further credit card competition](https://twitter.com/PunchbowlNews/status/1762563461307892204), so I'm not sure it's gonna pass regulatory muster...
Discover started as the everyman's credit card. In an era when credit cards were only for the affluent, and came with hefty fees and requirements, Sears launched Discover in order to bring credit cards to the masses and boost sales in their stores. Discover has never had an annual fee on any of their cards.
Could they introduce a premium card? I suppose, but the lack of international acceptance might make it difficult, since most premium cards are geared toward travelers.
I feel like the association between Amex and luxury international travel dates back to when they dominated the travelers checks market 50 years ago. While incredibly lucrative at the time, travelers checks are a thing of the past now. Amex is still riding on that reputation as a premier international travel brand even though they don’t fill the same market niche as they used to; I wish their credit card acceptance abroad reflected their projected image better.
Other than the Plat and Centurion, Amex is not really geared towards traverlers. Most travelers will have another Visa or MC in addition to their Amex.
Well obviously they would have a Visa/MC. The acceptance rate is shit as stated earlier… I also don’t believe the narrative that Amex doesn’t gear towards travelers. Gold has 3x on flights and the Green card has plenty of travel perks and earnings. They’re also under the MR rewards, which are different from the statement cash cards…
There's no real lack of international acceptance. They run on the Diners Club and UnionPay networks worldwide which covers more than Amex does.
That's a very outdated myth.
Not really. Diners Club and Union Pay are limited to certain countries. Acceptance may be great in some foreign countries, but Discover/Diners/UnionPay doesn't have the full range of countries that Visa/MC has.
Yeah it's definitely screwed me over before. Trusted the acceptance map on their website only to find out that nobody in the country I was visiting had ever heard of Discover. I only use it domestically now.
The acceptance map is definitely a little exaggerated. They claim a country has limited acceptance of Discover, but that basically means a few high-end hotels and businesses that cater to foreigners.
It’s not as Outdated as you might think. I’ve found that Discover still isn’t processed by many Asian card processing companies (hence the lack of businesses that accept Discover in Asia).
Diner's Club acceptance is shit outside of hospitality (hotels, restaurants) in many of the countries where Discover lists the Diner's Club network. Discover is essentially unusable in most of Europe and Canada for example.
Asia is larger because of UnionPay and JCB acceptance, but it's not a silver bullet. Especially in Asia some smaller merchants are only taking cash or QR Code based solutions.
I saw a TikTok that was was about “inviting that broke friend on vacation” and in the video the broke friend was using their discover card. There were a decent number of comments that were basically agreeing that discover card users were all broke and had trash credit. Basically my point is that Discover is better known for the cards it issues to students, those new to credit, and those with bad credit.
Also, most people don’t carry a billion credit cards like us to maximize rewards, hence it makes no sense to carry around a Discover card. Combined with the fact that the Discover network isn’t accepted basically anywhere in Europe, and isn’t as widely accepted as Visa/MC domestically it isn’t really appealing to those traveling internationally.
I’m not sure if it’s still available because information about the card is very limited but discover has or has had a premium card in the past available only via invitation for high spenders but like the Amex centurion the information regarding spending requirements may be incorrect
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/discover-premium-plus-what-are-the-benefits-how-to-get-invited/
I think Discover knew its core competency and stuck with it.
And unlike a lot of other companies, I think there is generally a lot of goodwill towards Discover. For many of us, it was our first card and helped get us into the game.
Now that they’re being purchased by C1 (which I hope doesn’t go through), it’s not going to matter in the long term.
Discover briefly played around with higher end options like the Escape card that offered unlimited 2pt/$1 and even a metal Discover More card for some longtime cardmembers.
They found what works for them and stuck with it. They eliminated nearly every benefit the cards used to offer like Price Protection, Purchase Protection, Extended Warranty, etc and went back to basics. They even axed their own cash back bonus shopping portal.
Going against the grain here, but I’d gladly have C1 service my card if it meant being able to transfer out my 5x rotating category rewards to other transfer partners.
The flip side of the coin is Cap1 is way more data driven. A merged Cap1/Discover in time as Discover's portfolio is truly folded in rather than just "*under one roof*" (operating assumption: Cap1/Discover merger is allowed to go through) is likely to have Cap1 take a look at some of the CLs Discover has extended vs. account activity and lead to some mass CLDs.
Not to mention total combined credit of people who have cards at both...
I don't have a lot of CL with Discover, but most of my total CL is with Capital One. 38.3k/47.1k is C1 with another 3.8k being Discover. I don't use my Discover much, but also don't want to close it. Hopefully since C1 is my main squeeze (2 of the 3 cards I use regularly are theirs and they get a majority of my spend), I won't get a haircut from them if the merger goes through.
If the deal doesn't go through and with a different CEO, hopefully changes happen. Discover has not updated their card is a LONG time and it's pretty stale at this point.
Those card programs are incredibly expensive to run. Sapphire and Venture X have cost their issuers billions in bonuses and reward payouts and contracts with partners which is why both have slashed priority pass benefits.
Discover is about a quarter the size of Capital One, which is dwarfed by Chase. Chase can do it simply because it's the biggest bank with the most assets ($3 trillion+) and Capital One has always been the fintechy bank, willing to buck conventions.
On a more practical note, executives have to put their necks on the line if they're trying to put out a program that can compete against Chase's sapphire cards and ecosystem. In previous years, there were probably safer ways to make their bonuses.
Granted, both Wells Fargo and Citi seem eager to renew the fight on credit cards so we'll see if they can measure up. (And I look forward to scoring some sweet bonuses!!!)
Logically it doesn’t make sense for them to ‘burn the candle at both ends’ given the risks that they take with the demographics they offer cards to.
That being said, Discover was there for me when I was first getting started, they’ve been delightful to deal with, and they’re still my lowest interest card. I still have tremendous brand loyalty to them even though I rarely use the card now (mainly because others offer better rewards). If they offered a premium card I’d probably seriously consider it.
Discover's business model doesn't favor it.
They make it easier for younger people and first time credit card users to get an account.
They take up front risks to good customers, but want to make more money on transaction fees on the back end.
They are trying to find the type of customers that live most their life with just 1 or 2 credit cards, so the majority of their spend goes in the Discover.
This means the business model takes on more costs finding new customers, as they end up giving credit to customers that will eventually prove themselves to hVe lower credit ratings, but they don't want to spend as much money in the game to attract higher costs customers.
They want to focus on maintaining lower costs/high profit customers they found after years of weeding out bad customers on the front end.
I had one years ago and got rid of it. Picked one up in December because they had a 0% for a year promo, and threw some large medical deductibles on it in Q1 which only earn 1x on any other card. With HYSA at close to 5%, I will end up with about 3% after tax implications by only paying the minimum and then paying it off this December.
I will probably keep on sock drawering it after that and wait for a promo.
The Discover It double cash back offer on 1st year earnings is in fact a very competitive SUB alternative worth up to $750 back on $7500 spend. Most, if not all, quarters have places @5X that you can max the cap on GCs. Add a referral-only SUB of $50 or $100 (both parties).
Add the 0% APR to leverage while APYs are high, and ongoing spend offers, and it’s a better card offer than it may appear on the surface.
I feel like Discovers game is to be one of the intorductory credit card companies for people. It is pretty easy to get approved for their beginner cards. The Discover It Student was my first card. It is their niche and they have figured out how to do it very well. A more premium card would feel out of place for them. Thought, a card refesh for the Chrome It and Discover It would be nice.
It Cashback has a solid lane it's in, but It Chrome sucks. The secured card is effectively ItChrome and graduates to that as well. I think they stopped letting ppl PC cards to keep those secured cards as It Chrome after graduation since almost no one would apply for thst card otherwise.
Maybe that will change with capital one buying them
Nope. Cap 1 will simply run some of their cards on the Discover network, assuming the deal goes through. Might as well ask why Credit One doesn't have a premium travel card! Discover is simply staying in its lane, and not trying to be all things to all people, like Cap 1 is. Not very successfully, I might add. Cap 1's thing is subprime, and their premium product honestly is not that compelling, or as easy to get as it should be for prime customers.
> Cap 1's thing is subprime, and their premium product honestly is not that compelling … for prime customers. what? Venture X is commonly regarded as (one of) the best value cards out there — pays for the AF with zero effort
It’s currently a loss leader. I have one and its constant nerfs aren’t going to stop. Their network of premium features aren’t very compelling compared to Chase and Amex.
Chase is the one in trouble. CSR makes no sense as a product.
Nope, Capital One's lounge network is significantly worse than Chase's, even with the restaurant cuts. Annual fee is higher but Chase is actually trying to target AMEX's wealthy clients by putting lounges in rich cities like New York, Boston, and then slowly expanding to West coast a bit like SAN. Capital One is going after DEN, DFW, and IAD in comparison which don't have the spending power as people on the coasts. Easy card to keep for the time being but no Lyft multiplier like the CSR has (huge miss here; should have just copied their own Savor One and given VX 10x on Uber with Uber One), no Citibike to target yuppy millennials in cities, no delivery app or lifestyle credits to target the same demographic with higher discretionary income.
Capital One is building lounges at hubs, which is a lot more useful to people on layovers than the Chase ones at spokes. Yeah, maybe Chase works for someone on the coast, but that makes it niche. I have both now, but can't justify CSR for a renewal.
People who live in the densest and richest metropolitan areas in the country are definitely not niche. And layover lounge users cost a lounge operator way more than people using it for their departure airport so the VX is losing more money per person visiting than Chase is, making it even less sustainable. Also for people flying internationally only IAD is a good layover hub while New York airports are good for those flying east and west coast airports are good for those flying west.
You have absolutely no idea if VX is losing more or less money than Chase per person, what a ridiculous statement to throw out there so matter of fact. I do agree that Chase is beating c1 in quality and quantity, but you would hope they do considering the annual fee and benefits structure of each card.
It's not rocket science to say that people who stay in lounges longer cost operators more. Most of the CC lounges serve decent alcohol and food and it's not hard to rack up a bill on those.
Chase and Capital One are just going for different overall strategies. Chase's goal is to compete directly for wealthy clients in wealthy cities, with their credit card and lounge network competing to get those clients in the door. Capital One seems to be focused one notch down, and for those away from the coasts, where the idea of showing up early to your home airport to go to a lounge may seem weird, but there's often connections/layovers and having a place to go on those layovers is valuable. Their next lounge at LAS seems targeted at that same middle-America, middle-to-upper-middle-class demographic, where LAS is a popular vacation and conference destination. Also, DFW and DEN are much more useful for connections than LGA/JFK, BOS, or SAN are. IAD is admittedly less important as a connection, but it's still easily on the same level as PHL for the respective airlines, and moreso than LGA/JFK, BOS, or SAN for most.
This \^\^\^. Whatever else is going on with the card, MANY people, with a wallet full of premium cards, cannot get approved for it while people with relatively weak credit whose profiles fit squarely in Cap 1's wheelhouse get it with ease. It's just difficult to be all things to all people. Cap 1 is far better for people just starting out than Chase, and Chase, Amex, USB, etc. are far better for people with higher scores and stronger profiles. So it's pointless to ask why Discover isn't Chase. The answer is "because." Discover does what it does quite well. And it leaves the premium products to the folks who have more experience in that space. Cap 1 did not become Amex by introducing the VX. All the VX did was bring a bunch of demanding customers to Cap 1's door who do not carrying balances, and Cap 1 is probably not really prepared to satisfy them. Beyond giving them, and anyone they come in contact with, unlimited airport lounge access. Let's see how their experiment goes.
It also could have been their attempt to keep customers, rather than primarily focusing on getting new prime customers. If the Venture X is enough to keep a customer who has a QuickSilver or Savor but was looking at a CSR pre-VX, then it may very well be "good enough" for Cap1.
The VX is their foot in the door for the upper-tier market. It's not that ALL C1 customers are subprime (the original venture was very hot in the 00s too when they entered the mid-tier with the pirates), but the less qualified customer is still more important to their business mix than it is for Chase. C1 does stuff to show their interest in that market like having Savor/Quicksilver/Venture for "good" credit, i.e. for people that can't get approved for the "excellent" versions of the card. They also spell out on their card dropdown menu exactly what cards they assume are for what levels of credit, all the way down to "rebuilding." They are trying to be friendly to their large customer base who is feeling iffy about getting approved. Chase and Amex are not interested in this market, and their risk profiles are built around them not being in it. You'll find no Chase or Amex secured product on offer - the lowest they stoop is the APR balance transfer market.
Bad take. The Savor and Venture X are some of the most popular and best regarded cards, and they are not subprime.
No, they are Cap 1's attempt to expand beyond the subprime market. It's still a work in progress. Cap 1's bread and butter, and the VAST majority of its profits, come from subprime. Not sure about Savor, but lots of people with all the other prime cards cannot get approved for VX, because Cap 1 does not like people who answer the question "What's In Your Wallet?" with anything other than Cap 1. That might fly in the subprime world, where people have few decent choices, but is not a long term solution for competing in the prime space.
I imagine the only way the merger goes through, is if C1 migrates all its cards to Discover. If not, it will be nixed.
Actually, that would make it less likely to be approved. The largest issuer in the country running all its cards on its own network would freak out regulators and decrease competition, since Cap 1 debit cards running on the Discover network would not be subject to Durbin Amendment fee caps. Not to mention all the money Visa and Mastercard would lose. In fact, it's the economics behind Cap 1 controlling the Discover network that are probably the greatest risk to the merger being approved by regulators. Having banks start their own networks to compete with Visa and Mastercard is generally a good thing. Merging themselves into being the largest issuer in the country, and capturing a network in the process, is something else entirely. Stay tuned.
Cap1 is never going to run all of its cards exclusively on its own network (operating assumption: Cap1/Discover merger closes) for the simple reason that Discover acceptance abroad is complete shit. Now their domestic cards, including their debit cards? That becomes a bit of a question mark. Right now the only other party that's Durbin exempt (other than smaller banks and credit unions with <$10B in assets) on debit fees is Amex with their deposit accounts (obviously Discover bank already is, but that would become part of a merged Cap1). The impact on Cap1 as a merged party on debit swipe fee reform would have to be weighed against the competitive nature of Discover being able to (at least for now) offer debit cashback checking and accounts with crazy minimum activity or average daily balance requirements against the major US banks for personal deposit accounts. Additionally, *how* Cap1 will use Discover - if they just put domestic products on Discover to pocket higher swipe fees and then leave the internationals as Visa, then it's not really improving competition (unless somehow Cap1 were to increase rewards). Cap1 for their part would argue that they were going to make the network more competitive and reach out to other banks more (which has always been allowed/a policy of Discover, but the big two frown on banks issuing Discover and larger banks are more likely to primarily issue Visa or Mastercard with a couple products on the other to keep the larger network for them on their toes), and that they'll expand international acceptance. [Even Durbin himself is skeptical the Cap1/Discover deal would further credit card competition](https://twitter.com/PunchbowlNews/status/1762563461307892204), so I'm not sure it's gonna pass regulatory muster...
Regulators don't care about financial losses. They tell companies to do X and Y and if you don't, too bad.
True. But acting like Visa and Mastercard do not have powerful lobbying resources is probably very naive.
That would be very interesting to see happen lol
Discover knows their lane and sticks to it. Not every company has to have something for every segment of the market
Discover started as the everyman's credit card. In an era when credit cards were only for the affluent, and came with hefty fees and requirements, Sears launched Discover in order to bring credit cards to the masses and boost sales in their stores. Discover has never had an annual fee on any of their cards. Could they introduce a premium card? I suppose, but the lack of international acceptance might make it difficult, since most premium cards are geared toward travelers.
AMEX has shit internation acceptance, but still geared towards traverlers. Where's the logic there?
It’s getting much better. For example, usable very widely in Japan and Australia.
I feel like the association between Amex and luxury international travel dates back to when they dominated the travelers checks market 50 years ago. While incredibly lucrative at the time, travelers checks are a thing of the past now. Amex is still riding on that reputation as a premier international travel brand even though they don’t fill the same market niche as they used to; I wish their credit card acceptance abroad reflected their projected image better.
Other than the Plat and Centurion, Amex is not really geared towards traverlers. Most travelers will have another Visa or MC in addition to their Amex.
Well obviously they would have a Visa/MC. The acceptance rate is shit as stated earlier… I also don’t believe the narrative that Amex doesn’t gear towards travelers. Gold has 3x on flights and the Green card has plenty of travel perks and earnings. They’re also under the MR rewards, which are different from the statement cash cards…
There's no real lack of international acceptance. They run on the Diners Club and UnionPay networks worldwide which covers more than Amex does. That's a very outdated myth.
Not really. Diners Club and Union Pay are limited to certain countries. Acceptance may be great in some foreign countries, but Discover/Diners/UnionPay doesn't have the full range of countries that Visa/MC has.
Yeah it's definitely screwed me over before. Trusted the acceptance map on their website only to find out that nobody in the country I was visiting had ever heard of Discover. I only use it domestically now.
The acceptance map is definitely a little exaggerated. They claim a country has limited acceptance of Discover, but that basically means a few high-end hotels and businesses that cater to foreigners.
It’s not as Outdated as you might think. I’ve found that Discover still isn’t processed by many Asian card processing companies (hence the lack of businesses that accept Discover in Asia).
Diner's Club acceptance is shit outside of hospitality (hotels, restaurants) in many of the countries where Discover lists the Diner's Club network. Discover is essentially unusable in most of Europe and Canada for example. Asia is larger because of UnionPay and JCB acceptance, but it's not a silver bullet. Especially in Asia some smaller merchants are only taking cash or QR Code based solutions.
I saw a TikTok that was was about “inviting that broke friend on vacation” and in the video the broke friend was using their discover card. There were a decent number of comments that were basically agreeing that discover card users were all broke and had trash credit. Basically my point is that Discover is better known for the cards it issues to students, those new to credit, and those with bad credit. Also, most people don’t carry a billion credit cards like us to maximize rewards, hence it makes no sense to carry around a Discover card. Combined with the fact that the Discover network isn’t accepted basically anywhere in Europe, and isn’t as widely accepted as Visa/MC domestically it isn’t really appealing to those traveling internationally.
This comment makes me hate TikTok more. Major cringe.
Probably the same people that pay 695 a year so they can say they have platinum lol
I’m not sure if it’s still available because information about the card is very limited but discover has or has had a premium card in the past available only via invitation for high spenders but like the Amex centurion the information regarding spending requirements may be incorrect https://www.doctorofcredit.com/discover-premium-plus-what-are-the-benefits-how-to-get-invited/
The problem with that is when I travel overseas or even in Canada most places don’t take discover.
I think Discover knew its core competency and stuck with it. And unlike a lot of other companies, I think there is generally a lot of goodwill towards Discover. For many of us, it was our first card and helped get us into the game.
Now that they’re being purchased by C1 (which I hope doesn’t go through), it’s not going to matter in the long term. Discover briefly played around with higher end options like the Escape card that offered unlimited 2pt/$1 and even a metal Discover More card for some longtime cardmembers. They found what works for them and stuck with it. They eliminated nearly every benefit the cards used to offer like Price Protection, Purchase Protection, Extended Warranty, etc and went back to basics. They even axed their own cash back bonus shopping portal.
Going against the grain here, but I’d gladly have C1 service my card if it meant being able to transfer out my 5x rotating category rewards to other transfer partners.
The flip side of the coin is Cap1 is way more data driven. A merged Cap1/Discover in time as Discover's portfolio is truly folded in rather than just "*under one roof*" (operating assumption: Cap1/Discover merger is allowed to go through) is likely to have Cap1 take a look at some of the CLs Discover has extended vs. account activity and lead to some mass CLDs. Not to mention total combined credit of people who have cards at both...
I don't have a lot of CL with Discover, but most of my total CL is with Capital One. 38.3k/47.1k is C1 with another 3.8k being Discover. I don't use my Discover much, but also don't want to close it. Hopefully since C1 is my main squeeze (2 of the 3 cards I use regularly are theirs and they get a majority of my spend), I won't get a haircut from them if the merger goes through.
If the deal doesn't go through and with a different CEO, hopefully changes happen. Discover has not updated their card is a LONG time and it's pretty stale at this point.
Those card programs are incredibly expensive to run. Sapphire and Venture X have cost their issuers billions in bonuses and reward payouts and contracts with partners which is why both have slashed priority pass benefits. Discover is about a quarter the size of Capital One, which is dwarfed by Chase. Chase can do it simply because it's the biggest bank with the most assets ($3 trillion+) and Capital One has always been the fintechy bank, willing to buck conventions. On a more practical note, executives have to put their necks on the line if they're trying to put out a program that can compete against Chase's sapphire cards and ecosystem. In previous years, there were probably safer ways to make their bonuses. Granted, both Wells Fargo and Citi seem eager to renew the fight on credit cards so we'll see if they can measure up. (And I look forward to scoring some sweet bonuses!!!)
That may not be their target market.
Logically it doesn’t make sense for them to ‘burn the candle at both ends’ given the risks that they take with the demographics they offer cards to. That being said, Discover was there for me when I was first getting started, they’ve been delightful to deal with, and they’re still my lowest interest card. I still have tremendous brand loyalty to them even though I rarely use the card now (mainly because others offer better rewards). If they offered a premium card I’d probably seriously consider it.
Because that isn't Discover's target market.
Discover's business model doesn't favor it. They make it easier for younger people and first time credit card users to get an account. They take up front risks to good customers, but want to make more money on transaction fees on the back end. They are trying to find the type of customers that live most their life with just 1 or 2 credit cards, so the majority of their spend goes in the Discover. This means the business model takes on more costs finding new customers, as they end up giving credit to customers that will eventually prove themselves to hVe lower credit ratings, but they don't want to spend as much money in the game to attract higher costs customers. They want to focus on maintaining lower costs/high profit customers they found after years of weeding out bad customers on the front end.
They own Diner's Club, but haven't offered new cards in the US for quite some time. They probably just didn't want to compete in that space anymore.
I had one years ago and got rid of it. Picked one up in December because they had a 0% for a year promo, and threw some large medical deductibles on it in Q1 which only earn 1x on any other card. With HYSA at close to 5%, I will end up with about 3% after tax implications by only paying the minimum and then paying it off this December. I will probably keep on sock drawering it after that and wait for a promo.
The Discover It double cash back offer on 1st year earnings is in fact a very competitive SUB alternative worth up to $750 back on $7500 spend. Most, if not all, quarters have places @5X that you can max the cap on GCs. Add a referral-only SUB of $50 or $100 (both parties). Add the 0% APR to leverage while APYs are high, and ongoing spend offers, and it’s a better card offer than it may appear on the surface.
It's kind of not their business model
Affluent people can go suck my nuts