It's my opinion that the blogosphere gets a little too caught up with Discover Deals tied into their 5% categories and for good reason. When you combine the 2, the 5% rotating categories adds an extra 10% onto any Discover Deals portal cashback if you are enrolled in the Discover Double promotion.
That is awesome, but it is limited to $1,500 of spending per quarter. That's just not enough. I know, you can get a second Discover, but what if you haven't had your first Discover for a year yet or what if you already spent $3,000 or what if you want to spend a lot of money at Amazon as well!
I, for one, plan on using my Discover Card more than that.
When you go to Discover Deals to buy a Gift Card at Sears with your Discover card and then go back to Discover Deals to buy merchandise with your gift cards, you still earn 20% + 1% in spending. That will turn into 42% in 13 months for many.
When you buy stuff from Sears or Kmart with 100% Shop Your Way points, you can add another 10% which will turn into 20% into that equation. That's 62% off everything.
Granted this isn't 50-70% everything, but who doesn't want 42-62% off everything. What's the limit on this? Technically there is no limit to the 42%-62% earnings potential. Go crazy!
So let's break the shackles of the 5% category bonuses and start spending.
Need a new fridge? Buy it at Sears. Need a new iPad? Buy it at Sears. Somebody else need a new iPad? Buy it at Sears and sell it to them.
I kid. There are some serious issues to discuss before you go crazy spending at Sears.
There have been reports of clawbacks of Discover Rewards money on this Frequent Miler post (see the comments) for buying items entirely with Gift Cards. Hasn't happened to me recently, but it is something to be aware of. You might be less likely to have a problem if you put a few dollars on the Discover card so that there is a Discover card being used at checkout.
I think the moral of the story is to not be dumb. You can push the limits a little bit as long as you are pushing the limits less than the guy next to you so that he gets the clawback instead of you.
How much is too much? I have no idea. A few thousand in spending, probably will be good. $10,000? Probably not. Use your own judgement on this one and make sure to put a little of the spending on the Discover.
That is awesome, but it is limited to $1,500 of spending per quarter. That's just not enough. I know, you can get a second Discover, but what if you haven't had your first Discover for a year yet or what if you already spent $3,000 or what if you want to spend a lot of money at Amazon as well!
I, for one, plan on using my Discover Card more than that.
Discover Deals at Sears is Still a Great Deal Even Without 5% Rotating Categories
When you go to Discover Deals to buy a Gift Card at Sears with your Discover card and then go back to Discover Deals to buy merchandise with your gift cards, you still earn 20% + 1% in spending. That will turn into 42% in 13 months for many.
When you buy stuff from Sears or Kmart with 100% Shop Your Way points, you can add another 10% which will turn into 20% into that equation. That's 62% off everything.
Granted this isn't 50-70% everything, but who doesn't want 42-62% off everything. What's the limit on this? Technically there is no limit to the 42%-62% earnings potential. Go crazy!
So let's break the shackles of the 5% category bonuses and start spending.
Need a new fridge? Buy it at Sears. Need a new iPad? Buy it at Sears. Somebody else need a new iPad? Buy it at Sears and sell it to them.
Caution - Danger Ahead
Clawbacks
There have been reports of clawbacks of Discover Rewards money on this Frequent Miler post (see the comments) for buying items entirely with Gift Cards. Hasn't happened to me recently, but it is something to be aware of. You might be less likely to have a problem if you put a few dollars on the Discover card so that there is a Discover card being used at checkout.
My Clawback story
I had Discover money clawedback a few years ago. To make a long story short, I deserved it and I wasn't surprised. It wasn't my finest moment. I have an old post outlining the details of what I did. The title is called "Unlimited Cashback - Best Buy and Discover Card". Pretty cool title right! I did it a lot. Yeah, I was asking for it. I actually had a significantly negative balance in my Discover rewards account. To be clear, this method no longer works so don't get too excited.
Bottom Line
I think the moral of the story is to not be dumb. You can push the limits a little bit as long as you are pushing the limits less than the guy next to you so that he gets the clawback instead of you.
How much is too much? I have no idea. A few thousand in spending, probably will be good. $10,000? Probably not. Use your own judgement on this one and make sure to put a little of the spending on the Discover.
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