Insanity! Discover Card and Apple Pay - 22% Cashback on Up to $10,000 of Purchases Until the End of the Year

HT - Danny Deal Guru and Doctor of Credit


This may be the greatest promotion ever announced in the manufactured spend world for this level of spending.

Discover is being added to Apple Pay and starting on September 16th, you can earn 10% cashback on up to $10,000 of purchases  If you are enrolled in the Discover Double Promotion you can earn up to 20% cashback.  That's $2,000 cashback per Discover Card.

As confirmed by Chuck of Doctor of Credit, you will stay get your base of 1% cashback which will turn into 2% cashback at the end of the 13 statements.  That's 22% cashback or $2,200 per Discover Card.

Discover Doubled - 10% Cashback in Rotating Categories and Double Discover Deals for a Year? Major Announcement Today!

Update: Promotion is now live and is open to new and existing card holders.  Discover deals are not included but rotating 5% categories now become 10%!  Activate your 5% categories.

Doctor of Credit reports that Discover is going to announce a major promotion today.  Discover will be doubling their regular rewards for a year.

1% on all transactions becomes 2%
5% on rotating categories becomes 10%
Discover Deals might be doubled as well, TBD.

The sign up is supposed to be at 8am today but you can call up now to enroll.

All the bonus rewards are given at the end of the year (13th statement from now) so don't do anything that will cause Discover to shut down your account or you may not get your rewards.


This is a tremendous promotion for the rotating categories and Discover Deals (if they are included) and immediately puts Discover towards the top of my list for shopping online and rotating categories. Chasing the Points also reports that it's also possible to have more than 1 Discover card in order to take advantage of increased limits on rotating categories.

The past two years, the last category of the year included online shopping.  It might be possible to get 10% cashback on any online shopping during that category and double Discover Deals which is usually another 5% (sometimes more) which is doubled to 10%.  That's 20% cashback together.  Incredible! 

More details to come as they are known.

KitchenAid 4.5 Quart Mixer $130.99 with Kohl's Credit Card

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

KitchenAid 4.5 Quart mixer normally $300, on sale now for $229.

Use coupon code FLOWERS30 for 30% off with a Kohl's credit card.

$30 Mail in Rebate

You get $10 in Kohl's cash for every $50 you spend at Kohl's

Start your purchase at from Ebates and you should get 6% cashback as well.  You will still get your normal cashback from your credit card as well. 

Don't have ebates?  Sign up here for free.  You also get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase 

If you don't have a Kohl's card and you don't want one, you can start your purchase from your DISCOVER IT™ (I get a referral fee for this card) or from your Chase Credit Card Account (No referral fee) and you will get 10% back, in addition to regular cashback from those cards.

You can even try to start at those portals and use your Kohl's card to see if you can get another 10% back even though you didn't use their card.

You can use this site to figure out which cashback portal is the best for any given purchase.

Sylvania 7" Dual Screen Portable DVD Player $40 from Amazon

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Update - Price went up to $49


If you go on a lot of long car trips like my family does, having a portable DVD player can be invaluable.  When you have two kids, a portable DVD player with two screens is twice as invaluable, but thankfully not twice the price!


We borrowed one of these once and it was great for our son!

Just go to Walmart.com and search "Sylvania 7" Dual Screen Portable DVD Player" and it is the second item that comes up.

It comes with straps so that you can strap it around the headrests of the front seats of a car as you can see under product details on Amazon's site, where it sells for over $80 -  SYLVANIA Portable DVD Player DUAL SCREEN SDVD8716-COM and will look something like this when it is strapped in the car

• Start your purchase through the Discover Card shopping portal and you will get 5% cashback from Walmart.  I rarely use my Discover Card, but I think it is a valuable card to have just for their lucrative shopping portal.  You can apply for a Discover it™ card here if you don't already have one.

• If you don't have a Discover card, you can save 1% at either Top Cashback or Ebates and you will still get your regular cashback from whatever credit card you choose

My Favorite Credit Cards

I love credit cards, probably too much.  My wife thinks I'm crazy, but luckily she lets me do what I want as long as I don't tell her what's going on.  I personally have close to twenty credit cards and I am actively switching which cards I use every month or quarter.  

As my blog has grown (thanks everyone!) more people have been asking which cards to get.  When I start explaining the different cards, they usually get dizzy from the options so I am going to try to keep it simple.  Yeah, this is simple.  If you want to use multiple cards effectively, follow my quarterly "credit cards for your wallet" posts.

Disclaimer: I receive a referral commission for the following link(s) and I greatly appreciate supporting the site: Discover it®

Which credit card should I get?

The most important question to answer for yourself, and this is where it gets a little bit confusing, is to figure out what you spend your money on.  Most credit cards have a tiered system that value different categories of expenditures with higher or lower cashback.

Best Credit Card for Families

1. American Express Blue Cash Preferred - For most families, especially with large families, this is by far the most important card to have.
1. Rewards Breakdown - 6% back for groceries for your first $6,000 in this category, 3% back for gas and department stores and 1% back everywhere else
2. Annual Fee - $75 - 
1. The only card I recommend with an annual fee.  If you spend $50 a week on groceries, the annual fee pays for itself plus the possible benefits of other cards.
3. Sign up Bonus - $150 for spending $1,000 in first three months.
1. Update - The link above is for $100.  You can email me and I will refer you to the $150 sign up.

Best Credit Cards for Singles or Small Families - Categorized by Most Significant Expense

1. Groceries - 
1. PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature - Beware.  They can be a pain to deal with if you have a low income
1. Rewards Breakdown - 2% back for groceries, 3% back for gas, 1% everywhere else.  The numbers are 3% for groceries and 5% for gas until April.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - None
2. American Express Blue Cash Everyday  
1. Rewards Breakdown - 3% back for groceries, 2% back for gas and department starts, 1% back everywhere else.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $1,000 in first three months
1. Update - The link above is for no sign up bonus  You can email me and I will refer you to the $100 sign up.
2. Gas Credit Card
1. PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards - Beware.  They can be a pain to deal with if you have a low income.  
1. Rewards Breakdown - 5% back for gas with a qualifying account, see the link for details
2. Annual Fee - None, if you have a qualifying account, see the link for details
3. Sign up Bonus - None
2. Bank of America Cash Rewards
1. Rewards Breakdown - 3% back for gas, 2% back for groceries and 1% everywhere else.
1. 10% bonus if you redeem into Bank of America checking account so it becomes 3.3%, 2.2% and 1.1%
2. You can also get the Bank of America Privileges card which gives you the same cash back but a 50% bonus instead of 10%.  $75 annual fee unless you have $50,000 in assets with Bank of America or its affiliates.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $500 in the first 90 days.
3. General Spending
1. Chase Freedom 
1. Rewards Breakdown - 1% everywhere and 5% rotating quarterly categories (you need to sign up every quarter or you will only get 1%).  Rotating categories are appropriate, like home improvement in the spring, gas, airlines, car rentals, and hotels in the summer, etc.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - $100 for spending $500 in the first 3 months.
2. Discover it® - If you only want one card, don't get the Discover, get the Chase Freedom.  However, if you are willing to use multiple cards, this is a must have card because of the significant rewards you won't find with any other card.
1. Rewards Breakdown - Same as Freedom with 5% rotating quarterly categories, 
1. Discover has partner gift card that can make your bonuses worth 25% more.  5% becomes 6.25%!
2. In addition, Discover almost always gives the most cashback when you shop through Shop Discover.  Significantly better than Chase's Ultimate Rewards shopping portal.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - None 
3. Fidelity American Express - If I had to choose only card to keep one credit card (an agonizing thought!), I would keep this card.  That being said, most people won't put in the necessary effort to get it going.  It is a large initial investment of time (a few hours more than all the rest) and money (you get your money back), but once it is set up, it is just as simple as the rest of the cards.  Don't bother if you want to keep things simple, but if you are willing to put in a little bit more effort, this cards is well worth it.
1. Rewards Breakdown - 2% back on everything.  No categories, no exceptions.  
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - None
4. Getting the card - Sign up for a fidelity investment account (no associated fees), which no longer requires any minimum.
4. Airfare
1. PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express - Beware.  They can be a pain to deal with, especially if you have a low income.  Apply at your own risk.
1. Cashback Breakdown - 5% back on airfare, 1% everywhere.  
1. Unlikely to be biggest expense, but a good supplement for those who do spend on airfare.
2. Annual Fee - None
3. Sign up Bonus - $200 towards your next roundtrip flight
5. Free Money 
1. Bank of America Better Balance Rewards Credit Card
1. $ 25 bonus every quarter that you pay your full bill or more than the minimum balance in every month.  Another $5 if you have a Bank of America Checking Account. 

If I missed any details or if you want to suggest a different card, leave a comment or email me

Keep in mind that American Express is constantly running promotions that will get more free money and they have the best customer service by far.  If you have any trouble with a recent purchase, they will take it back even when the merchant won't, no questions asked.  It is worth it to have an American Express card (really, multiple cards) just for the promotions (without an annual fee, of course).

Discover It Credit Card - 5% Cashback on all Your Online Purchases

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Discover it™ is offering 5% cashback on all online purchases and department stores from October until the end of December, right in time for the holiday season.

You can already sign up for the categories.

If you don't have a Discover card, apply now to make sure you get your card to take advantage of this promotion

Remember to start your purchases from Ebates and you will get extra cashback as well.  

There is a limit of $1,500 for the three months for cashback total of $75.


Related Article
Review of Discover It Credit Card

Chase Freedom and Discover - Remember to Activate 5% Categories

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Remember to activate your Chase Freedom 5% categories and your Discover Credit Card 5% categories.  Deadline is September 15th.


Both give you 5% cashback at gas stations, Discover adds movies and theme parks and Freedom adds restaurants.

Even if you haven't signed up yet and have spent money at gas stations on the Chase Freedom, you will get the 5% bonus retroactively!



Discover it™

Chase Freedom Signup

After my main credit card, these are my two favorite card.

Related links
Main Credit Card
Gas Credit Cards
Discover 5% Cashback is really 6.25%!

Carters 50% off + 25% off $40

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.


Carters 50% off + 25% off 440

Use coupon code CARBTS12

Sale ends September 4th

Shop through ShopDiscover and use your Discover it™ and you will get another 5% cashback. Remember that Discover cashback can be used to get gift cards at even better rates!


If you don't have a Discover card (If you don't, you should get one) or if you have a credit card that gets better than 2.5% back on everything (or carters), (if that's true, we should talk) otherwise you should ebates for now.

Start your purchase at from Ebates and get up to 2.5% cashback as well.  You will still get your normal cashback from your credit card as well. 

Don't have ebates?  Sign up here for free.  You also get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase 

5% Cashback on Gas All Year Round!

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Last month, I stopped in at my local Sunoco station and bought a $25 Sunoco gift card from inside the station with my Chase Freedom card.  I called Chase to see if my purchase qualified for the 5% gas card.  I mentioned that it was right near my house and I often go there so I just wanted to make sure that I will get the bonus.  To my surprise, she said "yes, you will be getting 5% cashback for that."


Chase Freedom allows you to spend up $1,500 on gas and get 5% back ($75 back).  I don't normally spend more than $200 a month on gas.  I can now stock up until September with gift cards and use those during the rest of the year and still get my 5%.

If you spend a lot on gas, you can use your Discover it™ as well and do the same thing.  Your buying power will be doubled.

Normally, you get 5% cashback for purchases at the pump, but not for any purchases inside the convenience store.  Before you buy a lot of gift cards, try it yourself and make sure it will work at any of your local gas stations.  Chances are, it won't work, but you can always come to Buffalo to come buy from my station ;)

If anyone finds any other gas stations where this works, please list them in the comments



You can also sign up for the Penfed Platinum Rewards Credit Card (no annual fee) which gives you 5 points for every dollar you spend at a grocery store and the points can be redeemed for visa gift cards.  They gave me a hard time trying to approved.  They kept wanting more documents.  If you already have the Chase Freedom, just stick with it and give this a shot.

Credit Cards for Your Wallet Q3 2012

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

Credit Cards for Groceries 

Credit Cards For Gas 

Extra Credit Cards 

Sign up for Discover and Chase Freedom 5% Categories

These are the Credit and Debit cards that should be in your wallet from July until September.  

American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries, 3% at gas and 1% everywhere else.  There is a $75 annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.

   -$150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months

Discover it™ - 5% cash-back on gas, theme parks and movie theaters.
   - 5% cashback is actually more than 5%

Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back on gas and movie theaters and 1% cash-back backup everywhere else when American Express is not accepted. You get extra cash-back on up to $1,500 of spending in that category ($75 maximum per quarter) so keep that in mind.

    -$100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days
    - Save even more with Chase Exclusives (You need a Chase Checking Account)
         - 10% bonus on all cashback and get 10 cents for every purchase, even if the              purchase is one penny

Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.

   - This card is always in my wallet - although it has now been replaced by AMEX prepaid cards until I use them up.

Charles Schwab Check Card – Free ATMs at every ATM in the world

   - This card is always in my wallet

Discover It Credit Card Review

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.


The Discover it™ is an essential part of any credit card lineup.  It is one of my favorite cards (I have too many favorites to count ;) and I'll try to explain why.  You shouldn't try to use it as your only card, but it is a great secondary card.

Advantages

1. 5% cashback rotating categories in categories that you actually spend money in.  (Starting in July it is gas and in October through December it will be Holiday shopping)
1. 5% cashback is really 6.25! Once you accumulate $20 of rewards, you can redeem that for a $25 gift card in many stores.  
1. Examples are Bed Bath and Beyond, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap, The Children's Place, Brooks Brothers, DSW, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, LL Bean, Motherhood Maternity and many more.
2. Extra cashback when you shop through Discover's shopping portal.  
1. Before you buy anything online you should always check ebates or your credit card's shopping portal to see if you will get extra cashback.  I have found that Discover is consistently better than every other credit card for cashback online.  
3. No foreign transaction fees
1. If you use the Discover Card in a foreign country you will not be charged an extra fee.  Most cards do charge you.
1. Credit cards without foreign transaction fees

Disadvantages

1. Not as widely accepted as Visa and Mastercard, but it is accepted in most places
2. Does not give you 1% everywhere else.  Until you spend $3,000, you will only get 0.25% cashback outside of the 5% categories.

For these reasons, I think the Discover it™ is a great addition, but shouldn't be your only card

Shoes.com and Discover Card- 20% Cashback

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Shoes.com. has a special back to school promotion if you shop with your Discover it™ and shop through Shop Discover on their website.

They have free shipping and free shipping on returns within the first 60 days so you can buy shoes in a few colors and sizes and only keep the ones you like.

Chase Freedom and Discover Card 5% Categories

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.


It's time to sign up for Chase Freedom and Discover Credit Card 5% categories for the third quarter of the year.

You will get 5% cashback on Gas and Restaurants for the Chase Freedom and Gas, Theme Parks and Movies for the Discover Card

The 5% categories are good from July 1st until the end of September

- Chase Freedom Signup
- Discover it™


You can get up to $75 cashback from each card (up to $1,500 spent on each card)


Chase Exclusives
Get a 10% bonus on your cashback. With Chase Exclusives, if you have a Chase Checking Account, they will add 10% to your cashback and another 10 cents to every purchase, no matter how large. You can have a Checking account for free if you have direct deposit of $500, $1,500 in the checking account (average daily balance for the month) or $5,000 in any Chase account.  

Here is an example.  If you spend $1, you will get one cent for your regular 1% back and you will get an additional 10 cents (11% back).  If you spend $10, you will get your regular one cent, your regular 10 cents and then an additional cent for your 10% bonus, for a total of 12 cents back (1.2%).  If you spend 8 cents, you will still get your 10 cents back for a net gain!  Buy a few Jellybeans from the grocery store for under ten cents and you just made a few cents and you have yourself some jellybeans.  I know, what can be better!


Don't Have a Chase Freedom?
Don't have a Chase Freedom, sign up here and get $100 cashback when you spend $500 or more in the first 3 months.  The Freedom is a great card to have anyways.

Don't Have a Discover Card?
Sign Up Now

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

Credit Cards for Groceries 

Credit Cards For Gas 

Extra Credit Cards 

Sign up for 5% Categories Discover and Chase Freedom Credit Cards

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.


Related Links
Benefits to a Discover Card
Best Credit Cards
Credit Cards to Carry in Your Wallet Quarter 2 of 2012

It's time to sign up for the new 5% categories for both the Discover and Chase Freedom Cards.  Once again, the next three months can save you a lot of money (unless, of course, you have the American Express Blue Preferred)

Chase Freedom Signup
April-Jun - 5% on groceries and movies

Discover it™
April-Jun - 5% on restaurants and movies

Staples - $20 Visa Card with Purchase of 2 HP Toners

I don't know prices so well for toner but I have an HP C5280 and their price is very good with the rebate.  I can buy two packages of black toner for $30 and get a $20 rebate so $5 each is a pretty good price to me.

You can find the offer right at staples.com

Here is a list of the toners that qualify.

That same toner also works with

HP All-in-One Printers	Officejet J5740, Officejet J5750, Officejet J5780, Officejet J6480, Photosmart C4210, Photosmart C4280, Photosmart C4285, Photosmart C4385, Photosmart C4480, Photosmart C4580, Photosmart C4599, Photosmar, Photosmart C5280, Photosmart C5500 Series
HP Inkjet Printers	Deskjet D4200 Series, Deskjet D4260, Deskjet D4360
HP Photo Printers	Deskjet D4260, Photosmart C4285, Photosmart C4385, Photosmart C4480, Photosmart C4580, Photosmart C5250, Photosmart C5280, Photosmart C5500 Series, Photosmart D5360

You can get two rebates per mailing address so buy it once and then come back and buy it again (usually you have to submit your receipt to get rebates).  Add on to that 5% savings for starting shopping from discover.com (if you are a discover credit card holder) or ultimaterewards.com (if you have a Chase credit card) and it comes out to $4.25 each.

Discover cash back can be worth even more

If you don't have either of those, you can use fatwallet and get back 2.5% or ebates and get back 2% (add on what you normally get for credit card purchases and you could end up getting 4-4.5% back with the Fidelity American Express).

Don't have Ebates?  You can sign up for free and you get a $10 gift card to Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot or Magazines.com after your first $25 purchase.

Keep in mind that it doesn't matter how many toners are in the package, you need two items in your shopping cart to qualify for the rebate.

Once you are ready for the rebate, you can go to stapleseasyrebates.com to fill out the forms.  It doesn't take very long

BIC Mechanical Pencils $3 for 24 Pack from Staples - Free Shipping

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Update - If you are having trouble with the link, just search staples.com for BIC Mechanical Pencils and it should come up as the 4th or 5th item.

BIC Mechanical Pencils $3 for 24 Pack and Free Shipping! 0.5mm, 0.7mm or 0.9mm

This is 8 cents a pencil!

Update - I wrote 8 cents a pencil because that's what it says on the staples website but when I did the math myself, it actually came out to 12.5 cents a pencil.  Sorry for the mistake.

Start you shopping from ebates and get another 2% off (besides the cashback you'll get from your credit card) or start shipping with the Discover Credit Card website and $150 sign up bonus after spending $1,000 in 3 months) and get 5% off.

If you don't have ebates, you can sign up for free and you get a $10 gift card after your first $25 purchase.

Credit and Debit Cards in my Wallet for Quarter 1 2012

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

Credit Cards for Groceries 

Credit Cards For Gas 

Extra Credit Cards 

These are the Credit and Debit cards in my wallet until the end of March

American Express Blue Preferred – 6% cash-back at groceries.  There is an annual fee so it is only for those who spend a lot of money on groceries.

   -$150 sign up bonus for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months

Discover Card- 6.225% cash-back on gas for the whole quarter and Amazon for the month of January.  You only get the extra cash-back on up $1,500 in that category ($75 maximum per quarter) so keep that in mind.

    -Discover it™

Chase Freedom – 5% cash-back on gas when Discover is not accepted and Amazon and 1% cash-back backup everywhere else when American Express is not accepted.You only get the extra cash-back on up $1,500 in that category ($75 maximum per quarter) so keep that in mind.

     -$100 sign up bonus for spending $500 in 90 days

Fidelity American Express Investment Rewards – 2% cash-back everywhere else.

   - This card is always in my wallet

Charles Schwab Check Card – Free ATMs eat every ATM in the world

   - This card is always in my wallet

 

Chase Freedom and Discover Credit Cards – 5% cash-back at Amazon, Gas and Movies

Disclaimer - The Discover offers are no longer valid.

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Discover Gift Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Offers

From now until the end of March, you will get 5% cash-back on purchases from Amazon, Gas and Movies with your Chase Freedom Credit Card.

You will get the same 5% cash-back from Gas on your Discover Credit Card, but not from Amazon unless you signed up via your email  

You only get 5% on up to $1,500 for each card so you can only get up to $75 cash-back on each card.

I like to use the Discover for the 5% categories before the Chase Freedom because you can get an extra 22.5% bonus for redeeming your cash-back via gift cards, which will effectively turn your 5% into 6.225% – link needed

Remember to activate your 5% categories every quarter.

Chase Freedom Activation

Discover Activation

Get $100 for signing up for Chase Freedom

    - You need to spend $500 in the first 3 months

Discover it™

Discover Credit Card Cash-Back– Redeem Your Money for Gift Cards

Related Links

Best Credit Cards

Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses

If you redeem your rewards from a Discover Credit Card for gift cards instead of cash, you can get an extra 25% on your rewards.

You can “buy” many gift cards that are worth $25 for $20 of rewards.  If you use your Discover Card for 5% cash-back categories, this means that you are effectively getting 6.25% cash-back instead of 5% for those categories.

Examples of gift cards are Bed Bath and Beyond, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap, The Children's Place, Brooks Brothers, DSW, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, LL Bean, Motherhood Maternity and many more.

If you are renting a car, you can get gift cards from Enterprise and National Rent a Car or buying from Brookstone they will give you an extra $10 instead of $5, which makes your purchases worth 7.5% instead of 5%!