Update #2 (8/22/18): Discover sent out an email (subject: Your checking account just got better) with more details on the changes:
- Freeze debit card: Temporarily freeze your debit card if misplaced
- Auto Redemption to Savings: Enroll and automatically deposit your Debit Card Cashback Bonus into your Discover savings account
Update: Discover is informing account holders that Discover Cashback Checking is getting a new name and will be called ‘Cashback debit’ they also say some great new features will be added but don’t provide any details or a timeline unfortunately. Hat tip to reader Sina.
Original Post:
Discover made an update to their Discover checking account on December 13th, 2017. This account now earns 1% cash back on all debit card purchases with a monthly cap of $3,000 in spend ($30 cash back). There are some restrictions to what will earn the 1%, the following exclusions apply:
- ATM Transactions, cash over portions of point-of-sale transactions, and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments are not eligible for cashback rewards. Purchases made using third-party payment accounts (services such as Venmo® and PayPal™) may not be eligible for cashback rewards.
Previously this account earned $0.10 for each debit card purchase, bill payment & check cleared (up to $10 per month). It’s possible to get 2-3% cash back on all purchases by using a credit card but this is still significant for a couple of reasons:
- Not everybody has access to a credit card
- Some purchases charge different fees based on whether you’re using a credit or debit card. For example when paying your taxes using a debit card is a flat fee of $~2.5 and using a credit card has a fee of ~2%.
Rewards earning debit cards used to be relatively common until the Durbin amendment came into affect, this limited the fees retailers could be charge for debit card processing. The old program is better for all purchases under $10 and the new program is better for all purchases over $10. Discover has offered a sign up bonus on their checking accounts before, but this hasn’t been offered for some time. They currently offer a bonus of up to $200 on their savings account.
