Discover sent out an email this morning with a seemingly benign message that beginning January 1, 2018 the $50 refer-a-friend program will be in the form of a ‘statement credit’ instead of a ‘cashback bonus’.
What they are really doing here is saving themselves the cost of the Cashback Match on this $50 referral bonus. Since all first-year Discover cashback gets matched at year’s end, the signup bonus for the new member is essentially $100 when they use a referral link to sign up.
Starting January 1, the $50 will come as a statement credit which is not eligible for Cashback Match which lowers the signup bonus from $100 to $50.
Another difference is for the referrer. If someone refers a friend to Discover during their first year as a Discover cardholder, the referrer also gets a $50 Cashback Bonus which doubles to $100 at year’s end. After January 1, they’ll still get the $50 but as a statement credit which won’t be matched at year end.
Presumably, the same email was sent out to Discover IT Miles cardholder who also have the $50 referral program. If you’re on the fence for the Cashback or Miles card, it’s worth signup up now before January 1, 2018for the extra $50 bonus.
Here’s the full text of the letter:
This letter is to inform you that effective January 1, 2018 Discover® will be modifying the Refer-a-Friend program payout structure. You will now receive a $50 Statement Credit (previously $50 Cashback Bonus) for each friend who applies for the specific offer you send via the link provided and is approved for a new Discover account by December 31, 2018. You are eligible for a maximum of 10 referrals ($500) per calendar year.
Your account must be in good standing to receive your referral credit. Each eligible friend will receive a $50 Statement Credit after making a purchase within the first three months of opening a new Discover account. Existing Cardmembers and those who have opted out of receiving marketing communications from Discover are not eligible referrals. You will not be notified whether a specific referral was approved or declined. Please allow 1-2 billing cycles for the Statement Credit to post to your account after each approved referral. The Statement Credit you receive may be taxable to you. Please contact your tax advisor.
We’re glad you’re our Customer and we want to make sure you have the most rewarding relationship possible with Discover card. If you have any questions, please let us know. Knowledgeable Account Managers are available to assist you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 1-800-347-3085, or you can always visit us at Discover.com.
Sincerely,
Discover Card Customer Service
I assume the tax disclaimer is standard, not sure if something changed now that it’s a statement credit. Since the max yearly bonuses for referring a friend is 10 ($500), that should keep us under the $600 reporting threshold.
Please do not leave Discover referrals on this page. You can leave Discover Cashback referrals on this dedicated page and Discover Miles referrals on this page. If you want a referral signup, consider using another reader’s link from those posts and you’ll both benefit. Try using the link of a reader you’ve found helpful in the comments in the past.
I get “0% APR for 18 month” offers all the time. Would using a referral link to get a $50 x2 bonus negate any APR deal or can i get both?
I guess this makes the $75 statement credit offer (on Amazon, if nowhere else) better than referral offers.
Correct, I wonder if that offer will be changed though
how hard to get second Discover IT card? first IT card was approved more than 2 years ago.
Apply for it
Dang, I was going to wait for the New Years to apply for it… is this card like the 2% cash back cards for the 1st year without the rotating categories and the cashback matching?
Yes – you get 1% on everything which is doubled at the end of the first year so it’s effectively 2% on everything that year.
Each quarter there are categories that earn 5%, doubled to 10% at the end of the first year. Unfortunately there is a cap of $1500 per quarter on these 5% categories.
So, does this means no matching bonus on the 5% now? In 2018, it will be like a normal cashback card then?
The only thing that is changing is the signup bonus. Usually, you’d get $50 cashback, and then at the end of 1 year you get a matching bonus which doubles it.
Now, instead of cashback it’s a statement credit, so it doesn’t get matched.
The 5% is still cashback so it will still get matched after 1 year is over.
Oh okay, I would rather have the cash back that way I could do what I want with the money rather than have it as statement credit but it’s kinda the same thing if you really think about it lol. Dang, so $50 instead of $100, yeah that does sucks lol.
Right now it’s effectively $100 each for the referrer and referee, right? Assuming referrer is also on their 1st year w/ double cashback.
Correct
Any data on referring someone for a Discover card that already has one, and still getting the refer a friend bonus?
Curious if I can refer someone who already has the Discover cash back, for the Discover miles card and both still get the sign up bonus?
Should work
Thanks. Will give it a try.
It’s a big negative change. Other than the lost $50 from cash back matching, cashback itself is worth 1.25x through GC.
Also statement credit would mess up the $2 small balance each month, making the process more difficult
Yeah I liked the GC redemptions too. That’s the first thing I was sad about when I saw this post.