Discover’s Apple Pay Lure: 10 Percent Cash Back for 15 Weeks (Sept. 14, 2015)
When Discover Financial Services goes live this week with Apple Pay, customers who’ve been waiting to access the m-payments service with a Discover card will get a chance to reap one of the richest rewards programs available for Apple Pay users.
When Discover Financial Services goes live this week with Apple Pay, customers who’ve been waiting to access the m-payments service with a Discover card will get a chance to reap one of the richest rewards programs available for Apple Pay users. Discover will reward its credit card account holders with an extra 10 percent cash back on all purchases over the next 15 weeks, substantially higher than the industry’s cash-back rewards average of 1 percent to 2 percent. Customers with Discover it Miles, Miles and Escape cards will earn even more: an additional 10 percent cash back, on up to $10,000 of purchases. The promotion runs from Sept. 16 to Dec. 31.
Discover’s rollout coincides with Apple Inc.’s release on Wednesday of iOS 9, when Apple’s Passbook app will be renamed Wallet, reflecting an expanding list of merchants enabling customers to store loyalty cards within the app, Apple said. After upgrading to iOS 9, Discover customers may go to the Apple Wallet app to get started. Those who already have a Discover card on file with iTunes need only enter the card’s security code, or they can add a new Discover card.
Enriching consumers’ options for earning rewards and providing convenient access to existing merchant loyalty programs are keys to driving ongoing usage of Apple Pay, according to analysts. Though Discover’s Apple Pay rewards promotion isn’t permanent, it’s already driving buzz on consumer deal sites at a time when cash-back rewards for routine purchases appear to be gaining favor. American Express Co. last month broke new ground in the prepaid card industry by offering its Serve customers 1 percent cash back on all purchases with the GPR card. Consumer rewards also will be included as part of Samsung Pay’s rollout later this month, according to reports.
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