Gautam S, Edison, NJ:
I purchased windows for my home and signed up in April to June for Home Improvement cash Back Bonus. I talked to one of representative of Discover and fully understand how i get full cashback bonus. She clearly told me that i will get maximum of $400 cash back bonus. With that explanation i paid $8000.00 with my discover card so i will get $400.00 cashback. After i paid i called Discover and asked one of representative that i paid this amount and she checked my account and confirmed that at the end of August i will get this. Now they told me that i will get only $1.20 and not $400.00 with different story. Ridiculous!
What was there reason for only giving you $1.20? if you signed up for the 5% cash back? I believe that the ‘rule’ is that you will receive 5% cash back on up to 300.00 dollars in purchases. So if you get 5% back on 300 dollars, you should have received $15.00. I think this is how it works, it is a little confusing though.
I apologize for the miscommunication, however, I think the Account Manager meant you get 5% on up to $400 in purchases, so you earned 5% on the first $400 of the $8,000 and then you got 1% on the $7,600 left. Please let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks! *Stephanie
Read the terms. It is not confusing. Key words are “UP TO”. “Up to” is the amount of the purchase, not the amount of the cashback bonus. There is always a cap on the amount of purchases in the special 5% categories.
If the special cashback bonus is critical in your purchase decision make sure the merchant is in the covered category before making the purchase. Was the purchase listed as Home Improvement on your statement?
Always check ShopDiscover to see if you can make your purchase there and receive the maximum cashback bonus for your purchase. Sometimes the ShopDiscover terms will net you more cashback earnings even when the special 5% bonus applies.
Regardless of how your merchant was classified or where you are in the anniversary tier for cashback bonus you would earn more than $1.20 on an $8000 purchase. A minimum of $57.50 should have been earned, (.0025 X $3000 + .01 X $5000 = $57.50).