Discover made it happen

Ruby W, San Diego, CA:

I got a Discovercard a few months ago in October because I wanted to start building good credit as soon as possible. I had tried getting a credit card through Chase (who I’ve been with for years) and other companies offering student credit cards but I can’t tell you how many times I got denied, even after they’d sent me offers! Applying for Discover online was super easy and I got confirmation the very next day that I’d (finally) been approved for a credit card! Being my first credit card, I had a ton of questions about how everything worked and I called their support line and logged onto their live-chat probably ten times a day until I finally got the hang of things. All of their customer service representatives were extremely helpful and kind to me.

I had wanted to do something really great for my girlfriend’s birthday this year because she’s always been good about giving thoughtful gifts and I never have enough money to do the same for her. She’s always wanted to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL, but being across the country from our hometown (San Diego), it’s always just been out of reach. When I saw that Discover was doing a Refer-A-Friend cash back program, I found out which of my friends on Facebook didn’t have a credit card and shamelessly messaged all 50+ of them. I figured that even if I only get one friend to successfully sign up for Discover, that’s still $50 that I would have never had that I could use towards our trip.

I put the entire trip on my Discovercard, and because I was still a new member, I don’t have to start paying interest on the balance until July. Discover was also doing 5% cash back on all purchases made online at the time, so I received cash back on the travel, hotel, and park tickets as well. With the Refer-A-Friend cash back bonuses I got from my friends and the 5% cash back I earned just by buying the trip with my Discovercard, I saved over $200 on our adventure. We even earned cash-back while on our trip by using our card everywhere we ate, since the 5% bonus for the current quarter is for restaurants and movies.

I read some of the negative comments left here about the cash back program, and how you have to sign up for them instead of it all just being automatic, but that’s something I like about it. I have automatic payments set up so I’m never late, but I still log onto my Discovercard account every day because it keeps me on top of my money and how I’m spending it. I feel like with all of the automatic features in place nowadays, it would be easy for me to lose track of my money simply because I can and wouldn’t be fined for it. And, maybe it’s just because of where I live, but I haven’t had any trouble finding places that accept Discover. I had thought I’d only use the card at grocery stores or for gas, but a ton of places I shop accept Discover too(but maybe I’m only going to the right places?).

Anyways, this was a long story, but I’m very happy with my Discovercard. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to take my girlfriend on our first vacation together and I wouldn’t be as knowledgeable about credit and my finances as I am today. Thanks for giving me the chance to start building credit, Discover!