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Discover it Miles review: Simple earnings for beginners

Editor's Note

Discover it miles card overview.

The Discover it® Miles provides 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all purchases. Your miles are worth one cent each, regardless of how you decide to redeem them. Plus, Discover will match the miles you earned during your first year, so you'll earn an effective 3% return on purchases you make in your first year. The Discover it Miles card doesn't charge an annual fee or foreign transaction fees and even waives the late fee on your first late payment. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

* Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG's editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

I tend to look at the cards my friends and family use, and I recently noticed a relative use the Discover it Miles card at a cafe. The Discover it Miles card isn't on our list of best cards for dining purchases , but I understand why he has and uses the Discover it Miles card.

The Discover it Miles is for anyone who is looking to earn rewards on their spending but doesn't want to worry about maximizing redemptions or remembering which purchases earn bonus miles. This is because the Discover it Miles card earns 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and offers 1 cent per mile regardless of how you decide to redeem your miles.

This card is a great starter card, and the recommended credit score is 670. However, users with lower credit scores may have a better chance of being accepted for this card than for similar cards offered by other issuers.

The Discover it Miles card is a good fit for many people, so in this Discover it Miles review, let's consider whether you should add it to your wallet.

The information for the Discover it Miles has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Discover it Miles pros and cons

Discover it miles welcome offer.

The Discover it Miles doesn't offer a standard sign-up bonus , but it does offer a few introductory offers to new cardholders.

New cardholders will get all of the miles they earn during their first year matched in what is known as a mile-for-mile matching. Specifically, Discover will match all of the miles you earn during the first 12 consecutive billing periods that your new account is open. The match occurs at the end of the 12th consecutive billing period, as opposed to throughout your first year.

Related: The best balance transfer credit cards

Discover it Miles benefits

The Discover it Miles has benefits and perks that are well suited for first-time or less-experienced cardholders. The card's most appealing benefit is the ease and simplicity of earning and redeeming — but since earning and redeeming will be discussed in detail in subsequent sections, let's focus on the card's other benefits in this section.

One key benefit of the Discover it Miles card that can especially benefit new cardholders is that you won't be charged a late fee on your first late payment. So, if you accidentally forget to pay your bill on time or have an issue with auto-pay, you can avoid paying a late fee once. Plus, paying late won't raise your annual percentage rate.

Other benefits and perks of the Discover it Miles card include:

• No foreign transaction fees
• No over-limit fee
• No pay-by-phone fee
• The ability to pick the color and style of your card with no fees
• Free alerts notify you if your social security number is found on any of thousands of dark websites
• Free alerts that notify you when any new credit card, mortgage, car loan or other account shows up on your credit report
• Free overnight shipping for card replacement to any U.S. street address at your request
• Freeze your account in seconds to prevent new purchases with an on/off switch available on both the mobile app and website
• Get a free credit scorecard with your FICO credit score , number of recent inquiries and more
• 100% U.S.-based customer service available at any time

These benefits pale in comparison to what you'll find on our favorite travel cards , but they aren't bad for a no-annual-fee card.

Related: Your ultimate guide to Discover cards

Earning miles on the Discover it Miles

The Discover it Miles has a straightforward earning structure: You'll earn 1.5 miles for every dollar spent on all purchases. There's no cap to the miles you can earn. Plus, your miles will never expire (although Discover will credit your account with your miles balance if your account is closed or has not been used in 18 months).

However, note that you will not earn miles immediately after each purchase. Instead, miles are calculated at the end of each billing period based on your purchases made during that billing period. Discover will then round the miles you earned during that billing period to the nearest whole mile before adding the miles to your account.

Related: 5 reasons why families need a Discover it Miles card

Redeeming miles on the Discover it Miles

Redeeming miles with the Discover it Miles is easy and straightforward. You don't need to worry about selecting the best or most valuable redemption since your miles are worth 1 cent each, regardless of which redemption method you choose.

You can choose from the following redemption options:

• Redeem miles for travel purchases; miles can be used to cover all or part of a travel expense, and Discover defines travel purchases as "airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, travel agents, online travel sites, commuter transportation, restaurants and gas stations."
• Electronic deposit into a bank account
• Check out with miles at Amazon
• Redeem miles at PayPal

It's nice that you don't have to worry about choosing the most valuable redemption option, but many cash-back cards offer the ability to redeem rewards for a statement credit with no limitations.

Related: How to redeem Discover it Miles

Which cards compete with the Discover it Miles?

There are other cards that earn a 1.5% return (or better) on all purchases, and some of these cards provide multiple redemption options.

• If you want to earn more on non-bonus spending : The Citi Double Cash® Card earns up to 2% back, 1% cash back when you buy and 1% when you pay, all while having no annual fee (see rates and fees ). Plus, this card earns $200 cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. For more details, check out our full review of the Citi Double Cash card .
• If you want access to transfer partners : The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great option for beginners and earns 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases. With these miles, you have access to Capital One's impressive roster of 15-plus transfer partners . This card also comes with a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit to make navigating airport security a breeze. For more details, check out our full review of the Capital One Venture Rewards card .
• If you prefer bonus earnings in multiple categories : The Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 5% back on Chase Travel℠ purchases, 3% back on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services) and drugstores and 1.5% back on all other purchases, all while having no annual fee. Plus, in the first year, you'll earn an extra 1.5% back on all purchases (up to $300), meaning you'll earn at least 3% back on all purchases. For more details, check out our full review of the Chase Freedom Unlimited .

For more details, read our guide on the best credit cards for everyday spending .

Related: How to choose a credit card

Is the Discover it Miles worth it?

If you're a beginner looking for a card with no annual fee and a simple earnings structure, the Discover it Miles is a great choice. However, if you're looking for more consistent bonus categories or a longer list of benefits, you'll want to opt for a different card.

Bottom line

The Discover it Miles provides 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and allows you to redeem your miles for 1 cent apiece, regardless of how you choose to use them. So, you don't have to worry about maximizing your miles when redeeming them or remembering to use a particular card for certain types of purchases.

The Discover it Miles card is a particularly good choice if you don't want to pay an annual fee or foreign transaction fees and prefer earning cash back instead of transferable points or miles .

Related: The best cash-back cards

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Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.

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Key takeaways

• The Discover it® Miles is a good starter travel rewards credit card for those who don’t want to spend much time tracking spending categories or redemption values.
• Unlike most other travel rewards credit cards, the Discover it® Miles offers a flat-rate rewards structure instead of boosted category rewards — and instead of using miles to book flights or hotel stays, cardholders redeem miles for statement credits for travel purchases charged to the card.
• The Discover it® Miles doesn’t have nearly as many benefits as some other travel rewards credit cards on the market — especially the premium ones — but its ease of use and broad definition of what counts as “travel” might still make it worthwhile to some cardholders.

If you’re looking for a card that’s straightforward and easy to use to help you save on travel, the Discover it® Miles credit card should probably be on your radar.

The Discover it® Miles is a flat-rate travel rewards card with a structure that’s different from most travel rewards cards. You won’t get a boosted rewards rate for travel-related purchases like many other cards offer. The Discover it® Miles simply earns 1.5X miles back on every purchase, and instead of cardholders redeeming miles to book things like flights and hotels, they use miles to reimburse themselves for travel-related purchases.

Plus, unlike other travel rewards credit cards that put spending limitations on their category rewards, the Discover it® Miles card doesn’t offer levels or limits. You get the same 1.5X miles rate no matter what you buy, making this card great for those who want to earn miles without putting too much effort into tracking category spending.

The Discover it® Miles card also comes with some benefits that might make the card worthwhile for you, especially since it has no annual fee . Here’s a breakdown of all the perks you can get with the Discover it® Miles card:

Discover it Miles benefits

The benefits of the Discover it Miles can be broken down into the following travel and shopping categories:

Travel benefits

The Discover it Miles won’t net you airport lounge access or the ability to transfer points to high-value travel partners like premium travel cards would, but it still offers a solid range of starter travel benefits. Those looking for a straightforward travel credit card will appreciate that the Discover it Miles offers:

No points expiration dates

Your miles never expire, and you can redeem them for travel purchases charged to your account or for statement credits or cash back in your bank account. Plus, the miles you earn on your spending are worth 1 cent each, regardless of your redemption choice.

No blackout dates

The Discover it Miles lets you redeem miles to cover any eligible travel purchases you make with your card, including hotel stays and more. This means you don’t have to book travel through a specific portal, nor do you have to worry about blackout dates or capacity controls.

Find the travel you want, book it with your card and redeem your miles to cover all or part of the expense. It’s as simple as that.

No foreign transaction fees

Purchases you make abroad with the Discover it Miles will incur no foreign transaction fees , like every credit card from Discover . This can make a big difference when you’re traveling internationally, since these fees are typically around 3 percent of each transaction.

Double miles after the first year

As an added bonus for new cardholders, all the miles you’ve earned after the first year are doubled with Discover Match. That’s on top of the 1.5X miles you already earn on every purchase.

Say for example you make $20,000 in purchases over the first year you have this card. You would wind up with a total of 30,000 miles earned, and Discover would double this amount to 60,000 miles at the end of that year. With Discover’s 1:1 redemption rate, that’s worth $600 in travel.

Broad travel redemption opportunities

Discover’s definition of travel is rather broad and offers a lot of flexibility. Eligible purchases include:

• Hotel stays
• Car rentals
• Travel website bookings
• Travel agent bookings
• Commuter transit purchases
• Gas station purchases

Keep in mind: Cardholders who want to get reimbursed for travel must do so within 180 days of the initial purchase.

Shopping benefits

While the Discover it Miles is a travel rewards card, there are also some shopping benefits that can help you save money on interest, make it easier to build and monitor your credit and more. Those benefits include:

0% introductory APR offers

The Discover it Miles comes with a 0 percent intro annual percentage rate (APR) on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, followed by a variable APR of 18.24 percent to 28.24 percent. This 0 percent introductory rate can lead to significant savings if  you want to make a large purchase and pay it down over time, or if you have debt from other cards to consolidate.

In addition to the 0 percent introductory APR offer, the Discover it Miles also offers an introductory balance transfer fee of 3 percent. This fee applies to all balance transfers made before June 10, 2024. After that, the balance transfer fee will increase to 5 percent for future balance transfers.

FICO credit score checks for free

You’ll also get a FICO credit score for free on your credit card statement each month, which can help you make sure you’re keeping your credit score in check. The score is available to you whether you receive paper statements in the mail or opt to use the app or the bank’s online portal to access your account. Having this score readily available can help you track your progress as you build credit, as well as help you keep an eye out for any sudden dips that could indicate fraudulent activity.

The ability to freeze your card

For added safety, Discover offers a “Freeze it®” switch for your account, which lets you freeze your card if it’s lost or stolen. You can also freeze your card if you want to stop using it for a while and think it would help you avoid temptation.

Redemption options at PayPal and Amazon.com

You can link your Discover it Miles card to your PayPal or Amazon account and use your miles for purchases. Amazon and PayPal both have the same redemption rate at 100 miles for $1, so you won’t be losing any value by using your miles this way.

Maximizing the Discover it Miles card

There are many reasons to love the Discover it Miles , from the unlimited 1.5 miles for each dollar you spend to Discover Match bonus and no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.

To make the most of this card, your best bet is to use it for as many purchases as you can to maximize your 1.5X rewards. This is especially true for the first year of membership since Discover doubles all rewards earned during year one.

From there, you can use the Discover it Miles you’ve earned to cover any travel bookings by turning your miles into statement credits for travel purchases made within the last 180 days. It may be useful to bank your miles rewards, then redeem them when you’re ready to book your next big trip.

Keep in mind: Discover does not let you transfer miles to another travel rewards program. This means you cannot convert your Discover miles into frequent flyer miles or hotel points. Likewise, you cannot turn points or miles you’ve earned through another travel rewards program into Discover miles.

That said, you can still use the miles you earn for cash back or for online purchases through Amazon or PayPal if you want added flexibility. This might be beneficial during periods when you’re not traveling as often, but you still want to save.

The bottom line

If you want a card that will reward you for every dollar you spend without annual fees or complicated loyalty program rules, the Discover it Miles has a lot to offer. For some travelers, it might be the travel rewards card they never knew they needed — especially since there aren’t many other travel cards with comparable rewards rates and redemption options .

Before you decide, make sure you read our full review of the Discover it Miles card . And don’t forget to consider other travel card options that may better suit your travel spending and budget, including those with credit card rewards programs that let you transfer points to hotels or book travel through a portal at a better rate, like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards .

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