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Discover cards are accepted by more than 10.64 million U.S. merchants. Outside the United States, you can use Discover cards in 200+ countries and territories. But there are some noticeable gaps, including Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Taiwan. You can check Discover's international-use map to see where, exactly, your Discover credit card will work.
Even in the countries where Discover Card is accepted, you'll still find many merchants that only accept Mastercard and Visa. That's a big reason why Discover ranks 7th out of the 10 largest credit card companies in WalletHub's International Travel Credit Card Report.
Here are the regions where Discover is not accepted:
The truth is, Discover cards really can't compare to Visa and Mastercard credit cards in terms of international acceptance. You can use a Visa or Mastercard virtually anywhere on Earth that accepts credit cards. But there are plenty of countries where Discover cards won't work, which means you'd either need to bring a lot of cash or a different credit card.
A 700+ credit score is needed to get most Discover credit cards, but there's no minimum credit score needed for a few Discover cards. You can get the Discover it® Secured Credit Card with a bad credit score (below 640). And college students don't need a credit score, or any credit experience, to get one of Discover's two student credit cards. But you need at least good credit for all the other offers, including Discover it® Miles and Discover it® Cash Back, two of the most popular options. Some Discover offers listed here are not currently available on WalletHub and may be out of date.
If you're not sure how your credit is doing, you can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, the only site where credit scores and reports update daily.
Whether your finances aren't so great or they're right on track, you should be able to find a Discover card that works for you. Let's take a look at Discover's offers and what score you need to get approved.
Here's the minimum credit score needed for each Discover card:
There aren't any Discover cards that flat-out require excellent credit, currently. But we recommend a score of at least 700, which is toward the top of the good credit range, for the cards that require 700 credit for approval.
With that being said, it's not just your credit score you should worry about. For example, Discover will consider other factors, such as how your income compares to your debt, along with your employment status, whether you own or rent your home, how many loans and lines of credit you already have open, and more.
The Discover minimum payment is the greater of $35 or 2% of the full balance plus any past-due amount. If the entire balance is lower than $35, then the balance amount is the minimum payment.
It's important to always make at least the Discover minimum payment by the monthly due date. Doing so will keep your account in good standing. There's no fee for the first late payment. After that, there's a fee of up to $41 per late payment. And you may suffer credit score damage as well.
The Discover minimum payment is the greater of:
A Discover minimum payment will never be more than your full balance. And you'll only be required to pay your full balance if it's $35 or less.
But it's best to try to pay your balance in full each billing cycle. If you don't, you will lose your grace period, which means interest will start to accrue on new purchases immediately from the purchase date. Credit card interest is really expensive. And it takes paying in full for two billing cycles in a row to get the grace period back.
You can set a Discover card travel notice by logging into your account or calling Discover customer service at (800) 347-2683. A travel notice ensures that when Discover sees purchases made in unusual locations using your credit or debit card, they won't get suspicious and suspend your account for fraud. It's not something you have to do by any means, but Discover recommends it when traveling out of state or country to help make your trip as smooth as possible.
Here's how to set a Discover card travel notice:
You can also complete your Discover card travel notice by calling Discover customer service at (800) 347-2683. From there, you'll have to say “travel notification” and then enter the last four digits of your Social Security Number to speak with a representative. Then you can tell them where you plan to travel and for how long, and the representative will set up the alert for you.
You can get a Discover Card referral bonus by logging into your Discover account online and creating a referral link, which you can then share with friends and family. If someone you invite gets approved, both you and that person will earn $50 to $100 statement credit. The person you referred just has to make a single purchase to get their reward. You can do this up to 10 times a year, for a total of $500 in the form of statement credit. And if it's your first year with one of the Discover it cards, all the rewards you earn (including referral bonuses) get matched at the end of the year.
It costs nothing but a few minutes of your time to make referrals, so it's definitely worth doing. Let's look at the details.
Here's how to get a Discover Card referral bonus:
1. Go to Discover's Refer-A-Friend page and log in with your username and password.
2. Choose whether to create a link to distribute yourself or automatically email select individuals. If you make a link for anyone to use, you can share it on Facebook or Twitter.
3. Wait for people to use your link. You'll have to ask them to let you know if they get approved. Discover, unfortunately, won't notify you.
4. After your referral is approved, wait 1-2 billing periods for the reward to actually show up in your account. If it doesn't, call Discover customer service at 1-800-347-2683.
So in conclusion, the Discover referral bonus is a great value, and it's super easy to get as long as you have friends who are able to get approved for the card you refer them to. It just might take a while for you to receive the rewards you've earned, which can be frustrating.
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