The Offer
The Discover IT Miles card earns 1.5% back on all purchases. This is doubled the first year for a total earn of 3% back.
The card has no signup bonus. However, Discover now added the referral option to the Discover Miles card:
- Get 5,000 miles ($50) for referring someone to the Discover Miles card
- New member also gets 5,000 miles ($50) for signing up with a referral link after they make a purchase within three months
We’ve confirmed previously that the Cashback Match is earned on referral bonuses as well. As such, the new member will end up with $100 bonus at year’s end by using a referral. The referrer will either end up with $50 or $100, depending on whether it’s their first year or past their first year.
The Fine Print
- Referrer can earn max of 10 referrals per calendar year
- Existing Discover members are not eligible for referrals (no idea if this enforced)
- Allow 5 weeks for bonus to post
- Discover business cards are not eligible for referrals, not the Escape card, Essential card, or Miles by Discover card (this is a legacy card, not the new Discover IT Miles card)
Card Details
- Earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases, doubled for the first year
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fee
- $30 annual in-flight wifi credit
Our Verdict
3% cash back is excellent, albeit for just the first year. Adding $100 bonus for signing up is an a nice additional incentive. You can always product-change the card afterward to a Discover IT Cash Back card for it’s 5% categories.
Be aware that Discover limits us to having a total of two Discover cards, also only one new card each 12 months. If you have zero or one Discover card and haven’t gotten a Discover card within 12 months, you are eligible to apply for the Discover IT Miles card (you can have two Miles cards). You can even churn Discover bonuses. Check out these 17 Things to Know about Discover before applying.
Double check before applying that you have the correct card (see screenshot above). There is an issue of crossing between the Miles and Cash cards, so check to be sure it’s showing Miles correctly. It’ll show clearly on the page whether the referral is for Cash or Miles, and you can double check by clicking ‘Card Info’.
Please do not leave Discover Miles referrals here. We’ve created a dedicated page for that.
Hat tip to reader Alex
View Comments (8)
DP: Applied through one of the referral links since I was applying for Hyatt and a couple other cards today. Denied with 785 FICO for too many inquires in last 12 months and too short time since last account opened. Did last round of applications in January so I figured six months was long enough. Have one Discover card with $21k credit limit, but it appears I can't reconsider or relocate. Anyone with any different experiences?
If I have a discover it cash back card, would I be able to get this refer bonus?
I guess it'll work. Terms are a bit gray, though
The real question is how. I haven't figured out a way to refer someone to Discover IT Miles with only having the Discover IT card. The referral link sent from a Discover IT account goes straight to the application page for Discover IT. Is this even possible?
I inquired about this today and was told by rep that the person being referred will be able to apply for the same card the referring person has. I was hoping to refer myself for a Miles card using my IT account but it's a no go.
From T&C: "Existing Discover cardmembers and those who have opted out of receiving marketing communications from Discover are not eligible referrals."
I'd guess that means that if someone opted out Discover can't legally send them the email referral.
If the person uses a link referral from Twitter or whatnot, it should track for the bonus, I'd think.
The important part is not "those who have opted out of receiving marketing communications from Discover". It is "Existing Discover cardmembers". It means existing Discover cardmembers are not eligible referrals. Pay attention that it doesn't say "Exisiting Discover It Miles" cardmembers, but "Existing Discover cardmembers" meaning even somebody who has a regular Discover It card is not an eligible referral. Careful reading of T&C confirms that they indeed meant to exclude all existing Discover cardmembers as eligible referrals. Though I don't know whether and how they enforce it.