Discover “The Miles Card”: Get 12,000 Bonus Miles
As discussed on FW:
Call 800-975-0463, mention invitation #FASZ, get approved by 6/15/06, make one purchase each month during the first 12 months, get 1,000 bonus miles credited to your account each month for a total of 12,000 bonus miles.
According to Discover, this card allows you to:
Redeem your Miles for tickets on any major U.S. airline. Plus, there are no blackout dates on flights when you use your Miles. You can get air travel rewards starting at only 10,000 Miles.*
You can also redeem your Miles for:
- Cruise and vacation packages
- Hotel and car rental certificates
- Gift cards for your favorite stores and restaurants
- Brand-name merchandise
While this all sounds good on the surface, I would actually recommend staying away from this card. Miles cards are best when they can be used to purchase tickets that would otherwise be too expensive, such as first class or business seats, or last minute flights. In contrast, most general miles cards that allow you redemption on a number of airlines, like this one, have significant restrictions on award redemptions. In fact, this card from Discover requires that all round trip coach tickets be purchased at least 21 days in advance and have a Saturday night stay, among other restrictions.
And if you look at the other redemption options, you’re getting less than a cent of value per point. At that point, you’re better off going with a standard 1% cash back card. (Did this just turn into a mini-review of the Discover Miles Card?)