Is Discover card accepted everywhere?
Q: I have seen a lot of commercials lately for a Discover that gives 5% cash back. I am interested in this but am concerned about acceptance. Is the Discover credit card accepted everywhere?
A: If you haven’t used Discover and aren’t very familiar with the company, you may be surprised to learn these facts about their credit cards:
- Discover cards have been around for over 25 years
- In 2010 it was announced that Discover is now accepted at over 90% of stores/merchants in the United States. And that was a couple years ago, in 2013 their acceptance is even better.
- Discover is the most widely accepted card in China, even more accepted than Visa and MasterCard
- Acceptance in other countries is growing every year
If you live in the United States, Discover card is accepted almost everywhere (90% of merchants) so using it won’t be a problem. If you want to learn more about their 5% cash back credit card, check out our Discover More card review.
Here are some other interesting tidbits about Discover:
- Unlike most credit cards, Discover only uses American customer call centers in places like Utah, New York, and other states. That means you can actually get real assistance when you call customer service.
- Discover is considered to be the pioneer in offering no annual fee cards and rewards. They turned the industry upside down when they began offering them in 1985.
- It is the only credit card accepted by the U.S. Customs Service for paying customs duty
- There are over 50,000,000 Discover cardmembers
Conclusion?
Is Discover card accepted everywhere? Well in the United States it’s pretty darn close to that! With no annual fee and high cash back, it’s definitely something everyone should have. Check out our sponsored offer for the 5% cash back Discover More.









I just moved to the UK from the US and have found that most people haven’t even heard of Discover. I have yet to find a shop that accepts Discover, even the Wal-Mart owned ASDA stores don’t accept it. Very disappointing, especially when there aren’t any international fees, doesn’t really help when you can’t use it internationally.
I just got back from my first trip to London and Paris. My Discover card was not accepted ANYWHERE outside of the U.S. on this trip.
Thank you David! I am going to London in January and was unsure if Discover was accepted there. In your opinion would Visa be the best choice?
Thank you!
I tried to use my Discover card today with 3 different merchants (2 local restaurants and 1 local repertory theater), and ended up having to use a different credit card because they didn’t accept Discover. That said, I was able to use it successfully with 3 online merchants. (Discover has a promotion that just started today, so I am actively trying to use it whenever I need to make a credit card purchase.)