Update: I reached out to a Discover representative as some people had reported not being able to redeem for 1¢. Here is their response (emphasis mine):
You should be able to redeem your cashback bonus in any increment, as long as you are using the most updated mobile app.
All of the credit cards currently issued by Discover earn cash back. Since 1986 their card members have redeemed over $12 billion in cash back. In the past you needed a minimum of $50 to redeem your cash back, according to this press release from Discover this has now change and you can redeem for any amount, even a penny! You can redeem your cash back in the following ways:
- Statement Credit
- Direct deposit into a bank account
- Purchase items directly from major retailers (e.g Amazon)
- Make charitable donations
Discover’s range of cards is pretty limited at the moment, personally I think the only ones worth considering are the Discover it & Discover it secured which both offer 5% cash back in rotating categories. They also have the Discover it chrome card which earns 2% cash back on restaurant and gas station purchases, although this card is completely useless given that there are cards that earn more than 2% cash back on all purchases.
Discover will always hold a special place in my heart as they were the first major card issuer that offered free FICO scores to consumers, something which is now becoming a common card benefit. Less crappy 2% cash back cards in select categories and more stuff like 1¢ redemption, 5% rotating categories and free FICO scores – please!
Thank to FrequentFlyerBook for first making aware of this change.
View Comments (4)
This works for Discover Checking accounts too, not just Discover cards. With a Discover Checking account, you get $0.10 of cashback bonus per check/bill pay. I applied the $5.00 balance of my bonus directly into my checking account, and it cleared today.
Uhh oh, looks like the 1 cent threshhold is not true. According to Free-quent Flyer Book:
[update 11/25/14: Twitter follower @jlazarev pointed out this morning that he was unable to redeem the $15.22 in his Discover cash back balance. It seems I overstated the change that Discover had made: they didn't remove the redemption threshold, which remains at $50, but now allow cardholders to redeem cash back in any amount over $50. This is not as good as removing the redemption threshold entirely, but is still a big improvement in the war against "orphaned" cash back.]
This is a major bummer, I was hoping to cash in for under $50 :(
The press release indicates otherwise. I've sent an e-mail to Discover for comment, I think they just haven't rolled out the full changes yet.
I don't have time to look it up right now but I think on Flyertalk there were folks confirming that they redeemed cashback amounts of less than $50.