Rewards Mall Showdown: ShopDiscover Dominates

If you shop online but don’t use rewards malls, you’re missing out on some awesome discounts. And if you have a credit card, you’re probably already eligible to start saving. We’re not talking chump change here—bonus malls can yield up to 20% cash back. To see what deals your rewards mall entitles you to, or to decide which mall is right for you, check out our discounts tool and peruse over 10,000 different offers.

Types of rewards malls

With no shortage of options, choosing the right rewards mall can be tricky. First understand that there are two main types: 1) Malls operated by popular points programs (i.e. Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall or Delta SkyMiles) and 2) malls run by sites that direct you to their partners (i.e. FatWallet.com or eBates.com). Generally, malls operated by big-name rewards programs pay you in points, while independent mall sites offer cash.

If you find yourself returning to the same stores time and time again, it doesn’t much matter which kind of mall you use—you’ll get your money’s worth either way. But if you’re more of a sporadic shopper and can’t guarantee consistent purchasing, you may benefit more from a straight cash back system.

ShopDiscover: the easy choice

On the surface, they all appear to offer worthwhile kickbacks. But if you look closely, you’ll find significant differences between malls. We chose 20 of the country’s largest retailers (Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, etc.—scroll to the bottom for a full list) and made note of the most rewarding mall for each store. For 16 of the 20 retailers (or 80%), ShopDiscover came out on top with untouchable return rates. At Best Buy, for example, you earn 10% cash back through ShopDiscover. The runner-up stood at a mere 3.6%.

Capital One Perk Central was the next best program, with the best rate at 3 stores and the second-best rate in 6. Following close behind was the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall with 2 first places and 7 second places. (These totals, by the way, don’t add up to 20 because they include ties.) FatWallet.com was the first independent mall site on our list, earning 2 first place awards and 6 second places.

ShopDiscover credit cards

Here are a couple of our favorite cards that will get you signed up of ShopDiscover:

Combined with the ShopDiscover rewards mall, the Discover More card is virtually unbeatable when it comes to shopping rewards. You earn credit card cash back at a base rate of .25% for the first $3,000 spent annually and 1% beyond that. The More also has rotating bonus categories that earn 5%, including things like gas, groceries, restaurants and more. These categories are usually capped at a few hundred dollars in spending. It has no annual fee and comes with 0% purchase and transfer APR for 15 months.

The Escape by Discover is a good choice if you want both shopping and travel rewards. While it falls, primarily, under the travel credit cards category, you still have access to the ShopDiscover rewards mall. The Escape accumulates rewards at a flat 2% rate. The $250 signing bonus is nice, but you won’t receive the full value for quite some time—you get 1,000 points ($10) every month you make a purchase for the first 25 months. It does have a $60 annual fee, but the intro purchase and transfer APR sits at 0% for 6 months, giving you a little time to spend without accruing interest.

Here’s a chart of the best malls for the 20 retailers as mentioned above: