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Discover offers two types of credit card rewards: Cash back and miles. Whichever you have, it's quick and easy to redeem rewards on Discover credit cards. Once you're ready to make use of the rewards you've collected, here's how.
How to redeem rewards on Discover credit cards
The process to redeem rewards on Discover credit cards is the same with every Discover card:
- Log in to your online Discover account.
- Click on "Ways to redeem," next to your rewards balance.
- Choose the rewards redemption you want.
Rewards redemptions depend on the Discover card you have. Here are the options based on which rewards type your Discover credit card earns.
Redeeming cash back with Discover
Most of Discover's cards are cash back credit cards. Discover cash back cards include:
- discover-it-cash-back-end-sc
- Discover it® chrome
- Discover it® Student Cash Back
- Discover it® Student chrome
With these cards, you have four redemption options available for cash back, each offering the same value:
- Cash back: Enter the amount of cash back that you want to redeem. Select whether you want a statement credit or a direct deposit to your bank account, then submit your redemption.
- Amazon: Log in to your Amazon account and link your Discover card to it. During checkout, select your Discover card as the payment method, and you can apply your cash back towards the purchase. This is the only less-than-ideal way to redeem rewards on Discover credit cards. It makes more sense to pay on Amazon with your Discover card so you earn rewards on the purchase. You can then apply your cash back as a statement credit towards the purchase.
- Gift cards: Choose the gift card you want and submit your redemption. You can filter gift cards by the type of business offering them and the minimum gift card amount. Every gift card includes a bonus of $5 or more. The minimum redemption amount is $20 for a $25 gift card. Certain gift cards have higher minimum purchase amounts.
- Charity: Pick a charity from the list, enter the amount you want to donate, and submit your redemption.
Redeeming miles with Discover
Discover's only travel credit card is the Discover it® Miles. Interestingly enough, it also offers cash back. You have three redemption options with this card, all offering a value of $0.01 per mile:
- Travel credit: Apply miles as a statement credit to travel purchases made within the last 180 days. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Discover expanded eligible purchases. You can now apply miles towards spending at restaurants and gas stations.
- Cash back: Select the number of miles you want to redeem for a direct deposit to your bank account.
- Pay with rewards: Link your Discover card to your Amazon.com account and pay for purchases using your miles. Just like with cash back, it's not recommended to redeem your miles this way. Instead, pay for the Amazon purchase with your Discover card so that your purchase earns rewards. You can get cash back later to cover the purchase amount.
You can go through the process to redeem rewards on Discover credit cards in minutes. Log in to your account, pick the redemption option you want, and you can tap into that rewards balance you've been building.
About the Author
Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
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