Discover

Your options for Discover it card designs depend on whether you're opening a new account or looking for a replacement it card. You'll have a small number of generic designs to choose from when applying for a new account. But once your account is open, you can immediately order a replacement card bearing any of Discover it's many designs.

You can pick from a selection of 100+ designs in categories ranging from “Botanical” and “Patriotic” to “Sports” and “Wildlife.” Plus, it's free and really easy to do.

Here's how to get a new Discover it card design:

1.     Log into the Discover Account Center.

2.     Pick a new design from the available options. There are more than a dozen categories and over 100 individual designs.

3.     Wait 4-6 business days for your new card to arrive. Then destroy or return your old one. Your account number will stay the same.

Unfortunately, you can't see the full list of Discover it card designs without logging in. So you can't check whether you like any of them before being approved for a card. Furthermore, the only credit card designs exclusive to Discover it® are those from the NHL® Discover it® card. You can personalize this card with a design for any of the teams in the National Hockey League.

Finally, it's worth noting that other credit card companies take card designs to another level by allowing you to upload a custom image. You can certainly compare these so-called photo credit cards to see what else they bring to the table. But you shouldn't get too caught up in appearances. At the end of the day, what your credit card looks like doesn't matter. What it offers in terms of rewards, rates and fees is what's important.

Discover cards are accepted by more than 10.4 million U.S. merchants. Outside the United States, you can use Discover cards in 185 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:

• Caribbean: Cuba, Haiti
• South America: Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Bolivia, Chile
• Europe: Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Belarus, Moldova
• Asia: Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Taiwan, North Korea
• Oceania: New Caledonia, Vanatu, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Brunei
• Africa: All but 7 countries
• Middle East: Almost all countries

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.

You need a 700+ credit score to get most Discover credit cards, but there's no minimum credit score needed for three Discover cards. You can get the Discover it Secured 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 good or excellent credit for all the other offers, including Discover it Miles and Discover it Cash Back, two of the most popular options.

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.

Minimum Credit Score Needed for Discover Cards:

• Discover it Secured: No minimum score, will approve bad credit applicants
• Discover it Student Cash Back: Available to applicants with limited or no credit
• Discover it Student chrome: Available to applicants with limited or no credit
• Discover it Cash Back: Good credit (700+) required
• NHL Discover it: Good credit (700+) required
• Discover it chrome: Good credit (700+) required
• Discover it Miles: Good credit (700+) required

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 range, for the cards that require good credit for approval. So most Discover cards may be a tough get for the average person, who has a credit score of 669.

With that being said, it's not just your credit score you should worry about. For example, Discover will consider 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.

You can set a Discover card travel notice by logging into your account or calling Discover customer service at 1-800-347-2683. 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:

1. Log in to your Discover account.
2. Click on the “Manage” tab.
3. Click on “Travel Notification.”
4. Enter the dates you'll be away and where you'll be traveling.
5. Submit your notification.

You can also complete your Discover card travel notice by calling Discover customer service at 1-800-347-2683. From there, you'll have to enter your account 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 bonus cash back, or 5,000 bonus miles if you have a miles card. 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 cash back or 50,000 miles. 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.