Thread: Why isn't Discover seen as a more prestigious card?

First let me say hello. I'm a new member and I'm really enjoying the CCF site, so thanks for all of the great posts and responses!

I typically use an AmEx Premier Rewards Gold for most everything, but I've spent some time doing research on cash back cards and Discover seems to be well regarded for their quarterly 5% cash back bonus. After some further research, something that I really liked was that they give you secure online account numbers for online shopping. Being a Fraud Investigator, that's HUGE to me. I pay in full so interest rates aren't so important to me, but I got a pre-approval in the mail from them 2 weeks ago. I figured why not give it a shot and make up my own mind, so I went ahead and got it so that my wife and I can take advantage of the quarterly cashback bonus opportunities and the online partners that seem to offer up to 20%. I probably won't use it for most everything because of the tier spending thing, which I'm not crazy about, but given the other benefits, it can definitely work well as my secondary card.

I honesly don't see why they get the kind of laughter and mocking that they do. Especially given that it appears to be one of the more difficult cards to get.

I'm fairly baffled by it as well. People are sheep, so it is probably mocked simply because it isn't widely accepted and because of their brighter / less mature advertisements and commercials. Really, it's one of the harder cards to get and is among the best for rewards. Oh well, people can mock it all they want - I got $50 in cash back last month alone for just throwing bills and a couple of small online shopping expenses on it.

Originally Posted by c0Ld

I'm fairly baffled by it as well. People are sheep, so it is probably mocked simply because it isn't widely accepted and because of their brighter / less mature advertisements and commercials. Really, it's one of the harder cards to get and is among the best for rewards. Oh well, people can mock it all they want - I got $50 in cash back last month alone for just throwing bills and a couple of small online shopping expenses on it.

Thanks for the feedback. $50 for one month's bills and a little bit of shopping isn't bad at all! I'd take that any month.

To grossly over simplify, Discover has managed its image erractically and inconsistent with who they really are, ie their true identity. Mismanaged is a better description.

Their roots are cash back. They "own" that piece of marketing space. They then get silly with "Peggy" commercials, which do absolutely nothing for the value proposition, much less to assist with acquisition of more cards or card usage or merchant acceptance. Peggy may help awareness but that is not at all needed.

Their operating goal appears to be credit loss minimization which means being risk adverse, more so that their competitors , but their message and communication, which they control is not at all in sync.

My own personal experience is that their operations are significantly uneven and in some cases even foolishly managed, driving customers to competing products.

American Express on the other hand has created an image of something to attain and to reach for, but in reality is not as hard to get. The Amex approach is a much more effective marketing model.

My own personal experience is that their operations are significantly uneven and in some cases even foolishly managed, driving customers to competing products.

I'm not sure what you mean by their operations being "uneven", but I can say from my experience with 3 other major issuers, that Discover (by far) offers the best service. My other cards collect dust while Discover pockets my transaction fees every chance they give me.

American Express on the other hand has created an image of something to attain and to reach for, but in reality is not as hard to get.

I don't know what I've been doing wrong, but every time I've applied for amex, I've been denied. Although I'd love to run some business their way and give them a try, I've never experienced their "something to attain" marketing model. (has anyone else?) You're sounding like an amex apologist rather than an objective credit consumer...

I think American Express is tough to get and has the greatest level of prestige associated with it.

Discover is very stingy and hard to qualify for. I think they have some of the best and easiest rewards programs though. I actually carry two of their cards now because of this.

If you are having success with Discover then by all means go with whats working for you. However if looked at over a broad group of people and experiences Discover is a card that stands well behind the others in desirability, functionality, relationship value, prestige, in fact virtually every relevant measure there is.

Merchant accepatnce is not as good as the others, APR's are generally not as attractive, spending limits are not as generous, they are reported to be a more difficult card to get, they generate more Better Business Bureau complaints than competitors.

My experience differs from some others stated here. I found them regimented in their thinking and unable to deal with a mistake that they themselves created without an extensive effort. They were pleasant, but either brain dead or hopelessly locked in bureacratic dogma - it was almost entertaining ( and fortunately their were a handful of other cards in my wallet that did not have a similar problem)

This is just not a business card. It's a card meant for shopping and going out to Family restaurants like Applebees, Friday's ect.
Not thought of when your going to stores like Bergdorf goodman's Hermes a French clothing store. it's more like the Gap Kohls
Jc pennys J crew ect. I'm sure some sales people and vp's use this card for business But Discover is more similiar to Chase Freedom and Bank of america. While the premium cards from Ameican express are like Capitol 1 and Chase Saphire there used for business. Its also that the front of the cards don't look prestigious. they don't offer anything more business like. For example American Express Platinum card has airport lounge access, a concierge , they pick up the phone right away.
some capitol 1'ns have a concierge miles to dollars and Saphire you know about. Discover is a great card but you don't get any of these perks on the Discover card.