The big difference is in the initial bonus. Discover it Miles matches all miles you've earned at the end of your first year, and Capital One Venture nets you a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
While Discover has a minimum deposit of $2,500, Capital One has no minimums. Additionally, apart from the one year CD, where Discover offers a better rate, Capital One has higher rates. Capital One also has a wider variety of credit card options. So, overall, it does appear to be the better bank.
Capital One and Discover are both major financial services companies that provide a variety of products such as bank accounts, loans, and an assortment of credit cards. Discover is known for introducing the first cash rewards credit card to the market.
The Discover it® Cash Back features a high cash-back rate in rotating quarterly categories — but you don't get those rewards automatically, activation is required and spending caps apply. Even so, for people who prefer cash back and don't mind putting in a little work, this $0-annual-fee card is well worth it.
Paying the security deposit on a secured card might not appeal to everyone at first, but the Discover it® Secured Credit Card could be one of your best options for building or rebuilding your credit. It reports to the three major consumer credit bureaus and offers plenty of useful features, all with no annual fee.
The highest credit limit on a Discover card is not public knowledge, as Discover does not disclose a maximum credit limit for any of its unsecured credit cards. Some Discover cardholders have reportedly been approved for credit limits ranging from $6,500 up to $9,200. These are unconfirmed reports, however.
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).
The Capital One Platinum Credit Card is a solid option for those with average credit. It has an annual fee of $0 and also charges no foreign transaction fees. But for many, its standout feature may be that it also offers the chance to earn a higher credit limit after making on-time payments in as little as six months.
Merchants Pay More
It may come as no surprise that the reason many merchants opt-out of accepting Discover cards (and American Express, for that matter) is about the bottom line. The Discover card is also like American Express in that they both charge a bit more to store owners to accept their cards.
One major national chain outlet that doesn't accept Discover at any outlets is Costco, which only honors one credit card brand at its members-only warehouse stores, tire centers and gas stations.
Is Discover Card accepted everywhere? Discover is accepted nationwide by 99% of the places that take credit cards. And internationally, the Discover Global Network offers acceptance in 200 countries and territories, and growing.
The bottom line: Capital One stands out with one of the best combinations of online bank perks — no checking or savings fees, a competitive savings rate and high CD rates — and a brick-and-mortar presence. It offers a top-of-the-line bank experience with strong customer support and doesn't charge any overdraft fees.
Discover Bank offers excellent accounts and a massive free ATM network, and it does not charge monthly or overdraft fees.
If you're choosing between American Express and Discover, there are a few factors to consider. You'll want to look at welcome offers, rewards and secondary benefits. Overall, American Express is better for travel cards, while Discover is better for cashback cards.
Major Credit Card means MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover.
Simply using your card for purchases won't help build or rebuild your credit. Instead, building and rebuilding is about using your card responsibly over time to help improve your credit score. And a better credit score could help with things like qualifying for a mortgage and even getting a job.
In general, we don't change an account's credit line more often than every 6 months, but that can vary based on account. Please wait several months after your last credit line change before requesting a credit line increase. This Capital One account was recently past due.
Discover actually is a good credit card company for most people because it has credit card offers for people of all credit levels, and its cards all have $0 annual fees as well as rewards. Discover also offers its cardholders 100% U.S.-based customer service that is highly regarded.
Discover is now also at 99% acceptance among U.S. merchants that take credit cards. That's according to the February 2020 Nilson Report industry newsletter.
The main differences are that Discover is accepted less frequently than Mastercard, and that it doesn't partner with banks to provide consumers with debit or credit cards. Basically, Discover is both the issuer and the network, whereas Mastercard is just the network.
Discover provides your FICO® Score 8. Lenders use several different kinds of FICO® Scores, depending on the type of loan they provide. Discover provides your score from data on your TransUnion® credit report. Scores may vary when using data from your Experian or Equifax credit report.
Credit cards branded Visa Signature or Visa Infinite typically offer a starting credit limit of $5,000 or more. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a Visa Signature card, for example, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a Visa Infinite card (a tier above Signature).
Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company. Your Discover it approval odds are good if you have a 700+ credit score; this means that you need at least good credit to qualify for most Discover it credit cards.