Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Looking for a travel card with no annual fee? The Discover it® Miles card is a great way for travelers to earn 1.5 miles for every dollar spent without having to pay an annoying annual fee! Plus, Discover will match all of the miles you earn within the first year of card ownership. Your reward miles will never be capped and will never expire, so you can use them whenever you want. On top of all these features, the card has no annual fee! Sign up today and earn 3 miles for every dollar you spend within the first year.
Editor’s Note: Sign up through our Discover it® Miles Referral link and earn a $50 bonus after first purchase. You won’t see the $50 bonus at the application page, but rest assured you will get the $50 bonus after first purchase.
Discover It Miles Card Credentials
- People who want to earn unlimited Miles without confusing categories or conditions
- Those who want to redeem your Miles as statement credits towards travel purchases.
- People who don’t want to pay an annual fee
- Anyone who wants to transfer points to frequent flyer or hotel loyalty programs
- Big spenders who could benefit more from a top travel rewards card
- People who are loyal to specific airlines or hotel loyalty programs
Best Travel Credit Cards for 2018
 The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has a welcome offer of 250,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You'll earn: • 5X Membership Rewards Points on Flights, and Prepaid Hotels Booked through AmexTravel.com. • 1X points on other eligible purchases. • 1.5X points (that's an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus. • Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card. Enrollment required. See how you can unlock over $1,000 annually in credits on select purchases with the Business Platinum Card • Fly like a pro with a $200 Airline Fee Credit. Select one qualifying airline to receive up to $200 back per year on baggage fees and other incidentals. • $199 CLEAR Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card. • NEW! Make the Business Platinum Card work even harder for you. Hilton For Business members get up to $200 back per calendar year when you make an eligible purchase at Hilton properties across the globe. Benefit enrollment required. This card does come with a $695 annual fee. (See Rates & Fees) Terms Apply. |
Discover It Miles Pros & Cons
- 0% APR period. The Discover it® Miles gives you an introductory APR of 0% on Purchases for 14 months and 10.99% on Balance Transfers for 14 months, and then the ongoing APR of 13.49% – 24.49% Variable APR.
- Doesn’t have minimum redemption requirements. If you have 1 mile left over after you use the rewards to cover airline tickets, you could request a direct deposit of 1 cent, if you really wanted.
- In-flight Wi-Fi credit. No one likes in-flight Wi-Fi because of the price, but the annual $30 fee credit for in-flight Wi-Fi on the Discover it® Miles can come in handy.
- No foreign transaction fees. This benefit could save you money the next time you travel abroad, or make an international purchase online. But bring a backup method of payment, too.
- Greater International Acceptance. If you’re looking for a low-cost travel card that’s accepted by more international merchants, the BankAmericard Travel Rewards® credit card, a Visa, is an excellent choice. Like the Discover it® Miles, it also offers 1.5 points per dollar spent, which you can redeem for 1 cent each on travel purchases. Among major issuers, it also has the most inclusive definition of what counts as “travel purchases.”
- Big Spender. The Discover it® Miles is a great card for people who don’t plan to spend a whole lot, kind of like how above-ground swimming pools are great for people who don’t plan to swim a whole lot.
Discover It Miles Card Features
- We’ll match all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. For example, if you earn 30,000 Miles, you get 60,000 Miles.
- Unlimited 1.5x Miles per dollar on all purchases, every day, with no annual fee.
- No Blackout Dates – fly any airline, stay at any hotel.
- Redeem your Miles as a statement credit towards travel purchases.
- Freeze your account in seconds with an on/off switch either on the mobile app or website to prevent new purchases, cash advances, and balance transfers.
- Get your free Credit Scorecard with your FICO® Credit Score, number of recent inquiries and more.
- Receive FREE Social Security number alerts-Discover will monitor thousands of risky websites when you sign up.
- No Annual Fee.
How To Earn Miles
Generally, Discover It® Miles cardholders will earn 1.5 miles for each $1 spent. This remains constant whether buying groceries or airline tickets. At the end of the first year, Discover doubles the miles users earned that year and credits the account as if it had been earning 3 miles per $1 (only for new cardmembers). This increased rewards accumulation during the first year is a creative way for Discover It® Miles to make up for the fact that it doesn’t come with any welcome bonuses upfront. Despite this first year promotional rewards rate, the value will not surpass most decent introductory bonuses from competing credit cards unless cardholders spend at least $1,000 per month.
How To Redeem Miles
Users can redeem the miles earned in one of two ways. They can use the miles as statement credit on travel related expenses made within the last 180 days. Spending 100 miles will offset $1 in travel-related purchases. You can also exchange miles for cash back at the same rate. For example, 100 miles will translate to $1.00 of credit card spending on the Discover it® Miles card.
Discover It Miles Rewards Rate
Since cardholders generally earn 1.5 miles per $1, we can calculate the rewards rate by considering the following example: charging $1,000 of expenses to the Discover it® Miles credit card earns 1,500 miles. Those miles are worth: 1,500 x $0.01 = $15. Therefore, the rewards rate is $15/$1,000 = 1.5%. Remember that at the end of your first year, Discover it® Miles grants you a one-time miles increase, resulting in double the rewards rates for spending in that first year.
Other Discover It Miles Perks
As with all Discover credit cards, users also have access to their FICO score both online and on their monthly statements. While this used to be a fairly rare feature, more and more financial institutions are beginning to offer it. Staying on top of one’s credit score is an important and fiscally responsible practice. Monitoring one’s credit can, for instance, result in the early detection of identity theft, thus minimizing the damage it can do to us.
Lastly, Discover it® Miles cardholders will not be penalized for their first late payment. While being late usually means an increase in one’s APR, Discover is more forgiving to individuals – at least on their first slip up.
Discover it Miles Info
- Apply Now
- Sign Up Bonus: $50 after first purchase (will take a few weeks to be credited)
- 1st Year Match Bonus: New card members will receive a match of their combined miles earnings at the end of their 1st year
- Cashback Earnings:
- 1.5 miles for every dollar spent
- Annual Fee: None
- Miles Expiration: N/A as long as your account remains open
- Foreign Transaction Fees: None
- Cashback Redemption Minimum: None, can be redeemed as little or as much as you have earned
- Intro APR: 0% Intro APR for 14 months on purchases
Our Thoughts
The Discover it® Miles is a fairly simple card to understand. However, there might be better cards out there for you. But, you may need a backup card because some merchants don’t accept Discover, so if you’re looking for one credit card to use in all situations, this might not be the best bet for you.
If you’ve decided the Discover it® Miles is the perfect card for your needs, your best bet is to maximize its benefits and rewards as much as possible. In other words, you should use your card to pay for anything and everything, all while paying your bill in full every month to avoid interest.
Since you’ll earn 1.5 Miles for every dollar you spend during the first year and Discover will match that amount after 12 months, you should focus on using your card as much as possible for the first 12 months especially. By doing so, you will earn 3 Miles per dollar spent on everything – a sum equal to 3% back. In the competitive world of rewards credit cards, earning 3% on everything is a pretty sweet deal.
Credit Card Comparison
Here’s how the Discover it® Miles stacks up against the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, another highly recommended travel rewards credit card.
| Card | Discover it® Miles | Chase Sapphire Preferred® |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase APR | 13.49% to 24.49% Variable based on your creditworthiness and other factors | 17.49% to 24.49% Variable based on your creditworthiness and other factors |
| Balance Transfers APR | 13.49% to 24.49% Variable based on your creditworthiness and other factors | 17.49% to 24.49% Variable based on your creditworthiness and other factors |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | No foreign transaction fee | No foreign transaction fee |
| Annual Fee | $0 annual fee | $0 Intro Annual Fee for the First Year, then $95 |
| Introductory Bonus | None | Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $625 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® |
| Points | 1.5x Miles on every dollar you spend on purchases. Redeem Miles in any amount to credit travel purchases from your statement, or get cash at any time. | Earn 3x points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year & 1x point on all other purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn. |
| Hotel Transfer Partners | None | Hotel transfer partners include Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton. |
| Airline Transfer Partners | None | Airline transfer partners include United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, British Airways, Air France, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. |
If you spend a lot on travel and dining at restaurants and typically fly on one of Chase’s travel partners, this is a fantastic credit card to apply for. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is for those who are able to take advantage of its points redemption benefits and rack up hundreds of thousands of points and miles to use through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal every year. In addition, if you have excellent credit and would spend enough to earn the 50,000 bonus points plus the additional 5,000 bonus points with an added authorized user, the Sapphire Preferred® is an excellent value card, especially for travelers.
Bottom Line:
The Discover it® Miles card is offering a great cashback match that can turn 30,000 Miles into 60,000 Miles within your first year of membership! With no categories or caps limiting your earning potential, you can easily rack up 1.5 miles for every dollar you spend. This card is a great intro card to the world of travel credit cards. No annual fees on a travel card is quite amazing plus you get 3x miles on your first year!
I would highly recommend this card for those with new or limited credit as most credit card companies are not lenient for having no credit history. Apply for this card if you love to travel and enjoy earning points towards free flights!
For more credit card deals and offers, review our complete list of Credit Card Bonus Promotions for more details! Remember, as with all cards, terms and limitations apply.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.
 The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM • 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries • 2x on all other travel purchases • 1x on all other purchases • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027. Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase TravelSM This card carries a $95 annual fee. |