• Facebook Facebook
    • Twitter Twitter
    • RSS Feed RSS Feed
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Credit Card News
  • Questions

Home > Spotlight

Discover® Motiva Card Review

September 7, 2011 - 3:57 pm

On the surface, it seems like the Discover® Motiva Card rewards customers for paying their bill on time. But it really seems like the card rewards you for carrying a high balance and paying a lot of interest. The card rewards you with 5% of your interest charges as a cashback bonus every month that you make your payment on time. Earning the maximum amount of 5% bonuses would mean that you pay a lot of interest and to do that, you’d have to revolve a high balance. If you always pay your balance in full every month, you’ll never get the 5% interest bonus.

5% Pay-On-Time Bonus Example

Let’s say you have a $1,000 balance at the 3.99% introductory interest rate. You paid the minimum on time last month and received finance charge of $3.25. The 5% bonus would be $0.17. At the maximum interest rate of 19.99%, you’d pay $16.58 in interest and earn a $.83 bonus.

Other Rewards

The 5% cashback isn’t the only rewards program on the Discover Motiva credit card. The card also pays up to 1% cashback bonus on other purchases and 5% to 20% bonus when you shop in Discover’s online shopping mall. Annual purchases under $1,500 earn 0.25%; purchases between $1,500 and $3,000 earn .50%; and purchases over $3,000 earn the maximum 1% reward. You can earn an unlimited amount of rewards as long as you keep your account active and in good standing. You can redeem rewards in cash, Discover gift card, donation to charity, merchandise, or a partner gift card.

Benefits

Discover Motiva has a few other benefits. You get up to $500,000 in flight accident insurance to cover you if you’re injured on a flight that you purchased with your Discover card. The card also has free auto rental insurance that kicks in to cover uncovered damages on a car you rented with your Discover card. You must decline coverage from the car rental agency to use this insurance.

Fees and Interest

There’s no annual fee on the Discover Motiva credit card. The card has a 3.99% introductory interest rate on purchases and balance transfers that lasts 15 months. After that, the regular APR on purchases and balance transfers is 11.99% to 19.99% variable based on your credit standing. People with good credit history will get a lower interest rate.

The cash advance APR is 23.99%. The fee paid for a cash advance will be either $10 or 5% whichever is greater.

The balance transfer fee during the introductory period is 3% of each transfer. After the introductory period the balance transfer fee will be $10 or 5%, whichever is greater.

Better Discover Cards

The Discover Motiva has a weaker reward program than the Discover Open Road and Discover More cards. The Discover Open Road pays 2% cashback on the first $250 in gas and restaurant purchases each month and the Discover More credit card pays up to 5% cashback back on purchases in categories that rotate every few months. Both cards also let you earn up to 1% cashback on everything else.

Biggest Benefit

  • Long introductory period
  • No annual fee

Biggest Drawback

You have to carry a big balance to earn the best rewards

Similar Posts

  • Discover® More Card Review
  • Discover® Open Road Card Review
  • Discover® Student Open Road Card Review
  • Discover Student Card vs. Discover Student Open Road Card
  • Prepaid Visa® RushCard Review
  • Recent Posts

    • Why Stay-at-home Moms Created a Petition against the 2009 Card Act
    • Credit Card Rates Stand at 4 Year High Mark
    • Average Credit Card Rates in December 2011
    • Obama Proposes Initiative for Making Credit Terms Easier to Understand
    • Aggressive Cash Back Credit Card Deals for the 2011 Holiday Season
  • Categories

    • Credit Card Blog
    • Credit Card News
    • Featured Articles
    • Spotlight

Home | About | Credit Cards | News | Blog | Questions


Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions


Copyright © 2011 ApplyForACreditCard.com. All rights reserved.

By using our service and providing your personal contact information, you agree that ApplyforaCreditCard.com, any of its affiliates and any company you are matched with may contact you by any method of communication, including by telephone even if you are on a federal or state Do Not Call registry. This site is a free matching service intended to provide a variety of options and information, and is not responsible for any service/information provided by any third party provider. ApplyforaCreditCard.com is a marketing and advertising agency only. It does not supply the service provided for therein, rather it provides a matching service. Upon your submission of the information requested on our website, we re-direct you to one or more of our participating service providers. You are under no obligation to pursue business with any of the participating service providers in our network. We encourage you to review each service carefully before electing to do business with them. Further, you should review their privacy policy and terms on the their page and contact them directly regarding their organizations' policies.


The content, including without limitation any viewpoint or opinion, contained in any article or video posted on this website is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or viewpoint of ApplyForACreditCard.com. Any third party contributor to any such article or video has been compensated by ApplyForACreditCard.com for such contribution. It is advised that you conduct your own investigation as to the accuracy of any information contained herein.