2015.11.03 Update: People are starting to receive their 10% cashback. You need to wait for the second statement after the purchase to get this cashback, if you still don’t receive the cashback, please be patient. The datapoints show that, Discover really has the ability to distinguish whether you bought gift cards, you won’t get the 10% cashback for gift cards purchases.
2015.9.18 Update: Discover now has an official announcement about this promo in Apple Pay, note that “Exclude gift cards.”
Recently Discover announced a big news: Discover will join Apple Pay on 2015.9.16 when Apple release iOS9, and since that day till the end of 2015, if you pay via Discover + Apple Pay to make in-store purchases, you will get extra 10% cashback! Up to $10,000 in purchases!
By contacting with Discover official twitter account, we can now confirm that our understanding is correct: this extra 10% is on purchases, not on cashback!
If you enrolled the Discover “double cash back” promotion (you will be automatically enrolled if you apply for it between 2015.6.1~2015.12.31), your cashback will be doubled 12 months later, then in a 1% category, you will finally get (1%+10%)*2=22% Cash Back!!! The cap is $10,000 in purchases, so you can get at most $2200 cashback!
If you use Discover it Miles, you will finally get (1.5%+10%)*2=23% Cash Back!
If you use your Discover it in the 5% category, you will finally get (5%+10%)*2=30% Cash Back!
Yes, you should believe your eyes, Discover + Apply Pay can give you 22%, 23%, or 30% cashback! So don’t hesitate, if you don’t have a Discover card, apply for it! Review of the Discover cards: Discover it; Discover it Miles. Application Links: Discover it；Discover it Miles.
Apple Pay can only work on Apple Watch or iPhone 6 and higher version iPhones. If you don’t have a phone that support Apple Pay, go ahead and buy a newest iPhone 6s (Plus)! See What is the best way to buy an iPhone (introduction) and What is the best way to buy an iPhone 6s (Plus) (comparison) for more information about how to save money.
PS: If you are using iPhone 6 / 6 Plus, you need to upgrade to iOS 9 before adding Discover card to Apple Pay.
Caution: Discover is a small bank, if you abuse its cards, there’s a risk that Discover will close your accounts. So be careful if you plan to do manufactured spending on their cards.