To all of the wonderful people out there in this world, Recently, I have been giving much thought to applying for a Discover Platinum Card. I received an offer in the mail a few weeks ago and then I trashed it later in the day. Then I started thinking about the Cash back reward plan that they have, 1% if you spend over 3K/yr, .25%/1k/yr .50%/2k/yr, .75%/3k/yr. I have a Amex Blue and a Citibank Platinum, both prestigious cards, I love them. I was thinking about applying for the Discover Platinum and and putting all of my purchases towards the Discover so I can build up a bonus at the end of the purchase year. But lets say you spend $4000/yr and you get a cash back bonus of 1%, that equals: $40 which they would mail you a check for, free money. It sounds good, but I don't know if I should stop using my Amex and Citi and just switch over to Discover entirely. Is there anyone else out there who is in a situation such as the one I am faced with? If so, please reply back. I want my credit report to stay in good standing. Having many accounts listed as open and closed in effect makes your credit report seem sub-par, which is exactly what I don't want. I only have 2 open accounts, and I am wondering whether or not the Discover card would be a nice addition to my credit history. Mind you, I once had a Classic Discover card but I cancelled it, never used it because, I just don't know, I just used MC/VISA instead probably because of acceptability of these cards at more locations than Discover. I need help. Should I stay just as I am right now and build many years of credit history and good scores with Amex and Citi or should I invite another contender into my credit world which if I did, would utterly shut down my main 2 accounts primarly because, of the cash-back, free money program. The more you charge on that particular card, the more you get back, everyone likes that.
You already have BLUE, you might have a better chance at AMERICANEXPRESS CASH BACK CARD. I have BLUE and DISCOVERCARD, I'm thinking about dumping DISCOVERCARD because they refuse to increase the credit line without an application and credit report. I SPEND $30,000+ PER YEAR ON DISCOVERCARD...(ONE YEAR $80,000+) https://www25.americanexpress.com/servlet/Applyfservlet?34/22/b/10/0/070182325120/22/n&from=3 CALL FIRST to see if you would be "ALREADY APPROVED" for the card on their internal computer. YES, YOU CAN HAVE MORE THAN ONE AMEX CARD.
Paying interest on a "CASH BACK" card is counter-productive...ALWAYS PAY IN FULL. Two-cycle billing has no effect on a paid account. IF YOU ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO PAY IN FULL, YOU WOULD BE BETTER OFF WITH A 9.99% OR 9.90% OR 8.90% FIXED RATE CARD.
JAL, I have a Discover Platinum in addition to AMEX Blue and Citibank Platinum and I found that the cash back isn't that great. If it takes spending $3,000/yr to earn 1%, it really isn't worth much in the end. You can use this money to earn air miles or free merchandise like CD players and DVD movies. The main reason I got Discover Platinum was to get the cash back, but now I'm not using it much.
Thanks everyone, Wow, this board is great. This is the first time I've posted a message on here and the responses were nice. Mike, it seems as if you have a lot in common with me as regards credit card accounts. I've decided to leave Discover alone at this time. Im content with my 2 cards and Amex Blue has the Blue Loot program, similar to cash back, but you recieve products/gifts when you accumalate enought points. I want to keep my credit report as small as possible. The less closed and open accounts the beter and the easier it is to read the reports. What I will do is stick with Amex and Citibank for a long time and build up an extensive yet powerful and superior credit history with them.
