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Discover® Motiva Card

• Cash Rewards for your good credit management!*
• Get a Pay-On-Time Bonus^SM equal to a full month’s interest every time you make 6 on-time payments in a row—twice a year, every year
• 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus® at top retailers through our exclusive online shopping site
• Up to 1% Cashback Bonus on all other purchases
• Unlimited cash rewards
• Increase, even double, your rewards when you redeem for gift cards from our 100 Cashback Bonus Partners
• No annual fee
• Free payment by phone

Issuer:  Discover

APR: 0.00%

Introductory Period: 3.9% purchase interest on purchases for ten months and the same on balance transfers until 2010

APR After Introductory Period:  10.99%

Annual Fee: $0

Credit Line Possible: This is based on your credit report and history.

Insurance included:  You get up to $500,000 in travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance, and various fraud and security protection services.

Financing Configuration – Interest on the Discover® Motiva Card is calculated on your average daily balance.

Grace Period – You have twenty days during which you do not have to pay interest on purchases.

The Best Thing About It – Make six on-time payments in a row and Discover will pay you the next month’s interest back as a Pay-On-Time-Bonus and receive amazing 5 to 20 percent cash back bonuses.

The Worst Thing About It – Cash advances are an expensive and the introductory period is a short ten months.

Credit Rating Needed For Acceptance – Excellent.

Who Is It For?

 

The Discover® Motiva Card is for those who want a financial incentive to pay their bills on time. This card’s pay-on-time bonus program.  It is good for carrying a balance for the first ten months and offers generous cash rewards.

The Benefits

The unlimited cash rewards are generous and never expire. Through the reward program, cardholders who spend up to $1,500 on general purchases will receive a .25% rebate, between $1,500 and $3,000 will receive a .5% rebate, and over $3,000 will receive a 1% rebate. Cardholders will also earn .25% for purchases made at select warehouse clubs and discount stores.

You are offered special deals at Discovers’ online shopping site. As an added bonus, cardholders are eligible to earn a 5%-20% cash back bonus at participating online retailers on the web.

There is no yearly limit on the amount of rebates that can be earned. Rebates do not expire as long as the account is active within a 36-month period.

There is incentive to pay on time that could help you improve your credit rating. Each time cardholders make six on-time payments in a row they will receive a credit towards the payment of their next month’s interest. Cardholders will be eligible to receive the pay-on-time bonus twice a year, every year when monthly payments are received on time.

There is generous flight insurance. Unlike many cards this one offers up to $500,000 in travel insurance.

You can set your own payment due dates. This can help you pay on time.

The Drawbacks

 

There is a hitch when it comes to the rebates: the highest rebate offered will not apply to all purchases made with the credit card. In this case, 1% will only be applied to those purchases made after the cardholder spends over $3,000 in one year, so the overall cash rebate earned will be less than 1%, depending on the amount spent. For instance, if the cardholder were to spend $4,000, only $1,000 of this amount would be applied towards the 1% rebate.

There is a high interest rate for taking out cash advances.  There is a charge of 20.99% fixed rate for each cash advance transaction.

Monthly payments are applied to purchases first until they are paid off and then to purchases.  This can get very expensive if you use it to take out cash, as the interest rate is high.

A short grace period. Many credit cards don’t collect interest on purchases until thirty days after purchase. The grace period for the Discover® Motiva Card is twenty-five days.

The introductory rate is not guaranteed. If you make a late payment on any bill, not just your credit card bill, your introductory rate can be replaced with the prime rate.

There are lots of hidden fees. The fees for this card can add up and make it seem like you are paying an annual fee anyway. In fact the cash advance fee and balance transfer fees are almost double of what you would pay on another card.

Fees To Watch Out For

Late payment fee:  $15 on balances up to $50; $39 on balances over $500

Over The Limit fee: $15 on balances up to $500; $39 on balances over $500

Cash advance Fee: 3%, $t minimum

Balance Transfer Fee: 3%, $5 minimum, $50 maximum

Balance Transfers: 3%, $10 minimum, $50 maximum (with this introductory offer)

To Summarize –

This is a good card for people who need to carry a balance occasionally. The card has no annual fee and an attractive 3.9% introductory rate on purchases for ten months and a 3.9% rate on balance transfers until the last day of the billing period ending during May 2010. The APR for this card is reasonably low for those who qualify.

Intro APR	Intro APR Period	Regular APR	Annual Fee	Balance Transfers	Credit Needed
3.9%	6 months	10.99%	None	Yes	Good Credit