Discover IT Balance Transfer Card

The Good

• 0% APR introductory offer for 18 months
• 0% on purchases
• Earn 5% cash back on some purchases
• FICO credit score for free

    The Discover IT card will not only offer you 0% on your balance transfer, but any purchases you make in the first 18 months will also incur 0%.  During the period that you are paying down debt, we strongly advise on not making any purchases that you cannot make in cash.  But if the need arises, 0% interest is a nice option.   Discover also offers a lot of tools to card holders, such as a free FICO score.  If you’re using CreditKarma or MyFICO to monitor your credit score, you might find that Discover’s tools are as good if not better and at zero cost to you.   Discover also waives the first last fee, but obviously, you should try not to use this benefit.  They offer 5% cash back on some purchases as well, but again, try to use this card only to pay down debt and not create new debt.

The Bad

• 3% transfer fee
• Late fee of $37 if you miss a payment
• No annual fee
• Cannot transfer debt from another Discover card

  If your current debt is with Discover on a credit card, then this card is not for you.  You cannot transfer debt from another Discover card, and you should look at some of our other balance transfer card options.  

The Summary

Discover is one of the strongest brands in consumer finance.  They consistently have great customer service ratings, and all customer service representatives are in the USA.  So this card is a great option for people with at least a 700 FICO score (at 680 you might still qualify if you have enough income).   The Discover IT Card offers a 0% introductory offer for 18 months which is longer than most, and this is one of the best offers you could ask for.  This gives you extra time to pay down your debt and take advantage of the no-interest savings.  You’ll pay a one-time 3% balance transfer fee in order to take advantage of this – but then no interest for 18 months.  This can save you hundreds of dollars.   If you had $4,000 outstanding in debt at a 15% interest rate, you’d be paying $275 per month in interest.  Over the course of 18 months, that is $4,950 if you only pay the minimum payments.  This card has big potential for savings, and more importantly, can give you the breathing room to hopefully pay down much more than just the minimum payments on your path to debt free.   It is important to remember that with any balance transfer card, you should continue paying the monthly payments on your old debt until the balance transfer is confirmed.  This can take up to three weeks.