I’m a big fan of the Discover it® Cash Back card. I love that it earns 5% back on quarterly rotating categories, like gas and groceries (these must be activated). It doesn’t even bother me that the 5% cash back maxes out at $1,500 in spending each quarter. That’s still a maximum of $75 in quarterly cash back — one of the highest for a card with no annual fee.
But here’s the thing — my household has two of these cards. I got one in 2022, and my wife got one a year later. We were drawn a second time by Discover’s impressive welcome bonus. Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. That can turn $300 into another $300 from Discover (in our case, we got over $1,000 in total cash back on both cards).
Originally, we thought we could use both cards to double the $1,500 quarterly spending max. But, in practice, we don’t use the second Discover it® Cash Back card as much as we hoped. A few months ago we called Discover to cancel the second card. And it surprised us with an offer that made us stay.
The card’s cash back rates got a huge boost
To retain us, Discover offered extra cash back on all our spending. If we decided not to cancel, my wife’s Discover it® Cash Back card would earn 3% back on all regular spending (normally 1%) and 8% back on the quarterly rotating bonus category (normally 5%). This bonus would last for six months and cap at $2,500 in spending.
That comes out to $200 if we use the card exclusively to max out the 8% bonus categories.
Of course, we took the offer. Earning 8% on a cash back credit card is unbeatable. Better yet, this quarter’s bonus category matches our budget (Walmart and grocery stores), so we’re on track to hit the maximum for (at least) this quarter.
How to get a retention offer on your credit card
Truthfully, our story isn’t unique. Most credit card companies offer retention offers to keep cardholders from canceling. These bonuses come in different forms, like annual fee waivers, bonus points, or statement credits. But they exist to stop you from canceling or downgrading to another card.
No one is guaranteed a retention offer. But it’s more likely you’ll get offered one if you call your credit card company and talk with a representative. Let them know the card is no longer serving your needs, and you’re considering canceling it. You might want to add that you like a few features, but others (like an annual fee) are making you hesitant.
Most importantly, you don’t have to threaten to cancel the card to get a retention offer. In fact, since retention offers are no big secret, you could be more straightforward and honest. Tell the company you’ve heard of other cardholders getting these offers and you’re curious if you might qualify. You can say that you’re not sure if you’ll keep the card long-term, but you don’t have to outright cancel the card on the phone.
You’ll likely have more luck if you use the credit card frequently. In retrospect, it’s probably because we used my wife’s Discover it® Cash Back card for nearly every purchase last year that Discover wanted to keep us.
Finally, if you truly want to cancel your credit card, I would still give the issuer a call first. Even if you don’t want to keep it, you might still get a bonus. And if you don’t, oh well — there are plenty of great credit cards that could replace it.
