What are the Discover it Secured Credit Card categories for rewards?

​There are two ways to get a Discover secured card credit increase: 1) add money to your security deposit or 2) graduate to an unsecured card after consistent on-time payments. But depositing more money is certainly the easier and more immediate way to get a Discover it Secured Credit Card limit increase. You’re unlikely to graduate to an unsecured card (i.e. get your deposit back) for at least 7 months.... read full answer

You can find more info on both options below, starting with the more accessible of the two.

Here’s how to get a Discover it Secured Credit Card credit limit increase:

1. Add to Your Deposit – Discover it Secured Credit Card’s deposit can be as little as $200 or as much as $2,500. And your spending limit will equal whatever you put down. So if you deposited less than $2,500 at the start, adding to you security deposit will result in a credit limit increase. Specifically, your limit will increase by the amount you add.

To deposit additional funds, you’ll need to log in to your Discover account or call Discover customer service at 1-800-347-2683. Bear in mind it’s possible that Discover could deny your deposit if you haven’t been paying on time.

2. Pay On Time for 7+ Months – Starting 7 months into your account, Discover will take a basic look at your credit and payment history. If they like that they see, Discover may choose to graduate you to an unsecured card. If that happens, they’ll return your security deposit and you’ll have an equal or higher unsecured credit limit.

Exactly how high that credit limit will be depends on Discover’s evaluation of your credit. And if a year has gone by and you’ve been consistently paying on time but haven’t been contacted by Discover, there’s no harm in calling them up and inquiring about graduation.

Finally, you can always apply for another card from a different issuer. Your credit line will be separate, but you’ll have a higher amount of total credit.

Yes, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card will do a hard pull. You can apply for it with bad credit though.

You can prequalify for the Discover it Secured Credit Card on Discover's pre-qualification page, which will not affect your credit score as it will be a soft pull. However, if you do prequalify and want to get the card, you will need to submit an actual application which will result in a hard pull.... read full answer

A hard pull usually causes an applicant's credit score to drop by 5-10 points. Most people’s scores bounce back within 3-6 months with responsible credit management, but it can take up to 12 months. You can learn more about how to minimize the credit score damage here.