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Discover Escape

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Discover Escape is one of few cards that has a 2% base rewards rate, which is why it ranks so well in terms of rewards.

You earn 2 miles per $1 spent, which we believe is effectively a rewards rate of 2%.

Despite the reward being called Discover Miles, you can effectively redeem it for 1% cash (5,000 miles for $25 in cash), or 2% when redeemed to offset a travel expense on your card (eg 10,000 miles to reduce a travel expense by $100).

Discover states, “Redeem for a direct deposit to your bank account or a Discover account credit starting at 5,000 Miles”. That’s a bit misleading. The truth is, 5,000 Miles gets you $25 in cash or $50 when redeemed to offset a travel expense on your card, so it is worth 1% when redeemed for cash and 2% when redeemed for travel.

When considering the Escape versus miles from other point programs, keep in mind that often times other miles programs are not transferable – for example, you can not add your 5,000 Capital One miles to your 20,000 American Airlines miles to get a ticket. This forces you to spend 25,000 on the card before you can collect a ticket.

Unusually good car rental insurance

A great feature of the Discover Escape card, that almost no other credit card has (other than the Chase Continental OnePass Plus card), is primary auto rental insurance. When you wreck a rental car, your normal auto insurance is your “primary” coverage – or first line of defense – and the credit card insurance gives you “secondary” coverage after the fact, which may cover things such as deductibles. The problem with that is that you have to report damages to your auto insurance company, which may result in increased premiums and additional headaches.

Best Rewards Card? We still give the edge to Capital One

Discover Escape is quite possibly the best card out there, if you ignore the very similar but slightly more attractive Capital One Venture Rewards Visa.

Why Venture is better:

  1. Merchant Acceptance. Although Discover acceptance rates are on the rise – in the United States Discover is accepted at around 90% of the retailers that accept Visa/MasterCard, blowing the socks off of American Express.
  2. Foreign Transaction Fee. Capital One Venture Rewards, like most other Capital One cards, has a 0% foreign transaction fee (here’s our list of no foreign transaction fee credit cards), which bests the 2% offered by Discover Escape. However, most other banks charge 3%, so Discover Escape really isn’t too shabby.
  3. Annual Fee. Capital One Venture’s annual fee is only $59, and it’s waived the first year. On the other hand the Discover Escape fee is $60, from day one.
  4. Signing Bonus is Upfront. Both cards offer a 25,000 mile, or roughly $250 signing bonus. The difference is that Discover Escape’s bonus is 1,000 miles per month, whereas the Venture’s bonus comes in a lump sum after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.
  5. Concierge. You get one with an Visa Signature card, including Venture, but not with Escape
  6. BUT. Venture does not have primary car rental insurance coverage. Instead, you get only secondary coverage. This is where Escape tops Venture.

If you do decide to go with Discover Escape, be sure to hold your Discover Escape card for at least 25 months. Escape has what is effectively a $250 sign up bonus (1,000 points or ~$10 per month for the first 25 months you hold the card). You get this same 25,000 bonus on the Venture Rewards card after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months.

Or – Get the Capital One Venture Card.

  • http://www.nerdwallet.com admin

    The benefits of this card more than offset the $60 annual fee, especially when you take the 25,000 (~$250) point signing bonus into consideration. However, if you plan to hold the same card for more than 4 years, it may be better to go with something like the American Express Blue Cash.

    • Cfichuck

      Why do you say that it might be better to go with something like American Express Blue Cash card if one plans on holding the card for more than 4 years. I was considering getting the Discover Escape card so as to have a valuabel travel card for long term. Please help.

      • http://www.nerdwallet.com/ NerdWallet

        The Discover Escape has a higher signup bonus, making it better in the short run, but in the long term, the Amex Blue Cash’s higher rewards rate wins out.

  • earle alden

    Is 25000 the req for round trip? How difficult is it to get airlines to allot the tickets. When you use these miles they always seem full?

  • http://www.nerdwallet.com Tim

    Nope, even though they’re called “Miles”, Discover’s rewards don’t work that way. Rather than earning miles with a very specific airline and only being able to redeem them for a limited number of flights, Discover gives you a $100 travel credit for every 10,000 miles. You can then use that travel credit on any hotel, flight, or rental car you want.

    And remember, you’re earning 2 miles per $1 spent, so that means you get $100 off travel whenever you spend $5,000. This plus the 1,000 miles (or $10) per month for the first 25 months.

    So all in, it’s a great deal!

    • MK

      Can you only redeem discover escape miles in 10,000 mile increments for travel? Example: If I charge a $350 flight to the escape card, would I only be able to redeem 30,000 miles for $300 of the $350 cost? Just tried to ask this question to a discover customer service rep and they had no idea.

      • http://www.nerdwallet.com/ Tim

        The rep that I spoke with said that you are able to redeem for any amount,
        as long as you have the miles on hand. So in your example, you SHOULD
        (emphasis) be able to redeem 35,000 miles for $350.

        However, I know that phone reps can sometimes be mistaken, so if anyone has
        any experience and can validate, or invalidate, this answer, I’d love to
        hear it!

  • http://www.nerdwallet.com John

    I like your website a lot!

    But there is a problem with what you say about this Escape card. Based on your rankings, I applied for and got the card, and a brochure that accompanied it documents that the only way to get 2% cash back is to accumulate 10,000 miles (i.e.spend $5,000) and then apply the miles (worth $100) as a credit against a travel-related purchase made with the card. If you purchase a gift card or redeem for cash, the reward is only 1%. Regarding cash redemption: the brochure states that you must accumulate 5,000 miles (i.e. spend $2,500), and only then can you redeem for $25 cash.

    I don’t blame you for not knowing this, because only after you get the card do they tell you the truth! If you look at Discover’s long list of FAQ’s about the Escape card at
    http://www.discovercard.com/escape/faqs.html?cmpgn=NCM_N_016M&ekey=999999995184424&emailstat=open&edate=20100405#q110 , it answers the question “How do I redeem my miles?” as follows: “You can redeem your Miles how you want, when you want—select a gift card from more than 90 brand-name Partners, choose a Discover Gift Card, make a charitable donation, apply a travel credit to your account, or receive cash.” There is absolutely no distinction made here (or anywhere else in the FAQ’s) between the reward for the red-highlighted method (2%) and the reward for all the others (1%).

    I will probably still use the card because of the 1,000 mile per month bonus during the first two years. But I’ll cancel the card just before being billed for the annual fee two years from now.

    John

    • http://www.nerdwallet.com Tim

      Hi John,
      Thanks for the feedback! We have updated our review to try to make the distinction between cash redemption and travel expense redemption obvious, per your experience.
      Tim

  • Jimmy

    Hello,
    I'm flying one-way from the states to Africa in January, with the intention of flying elsewhere later in the year, and eventually flying back to the US. Is a travel rewards credit card worth getting, especially if I only have another 4 months to use it in the states? Is a Discover card a good choice for overseas? My research indicates it might not be; are there better alternatives in terms of rewards and ability to use internationally?
    Thanks,
    Jimmy

    • nerdwallet

      A travel reward card is best if you plan to do a lot of travelling, and use a ton of frequent flyer or hotel miles. The Discover Escape is better than many travel rewards cards because the "cash-like" rewards can be used to offset travel expenses on any airline, hotel, or car rental.

      Most other cards are restricted to a single rewards program and would only be worth it if you knew you'd be flying the same airline to Africa and wherever else you end up going.

      As for whether Discover is accepted overseas, it's actually accepted at 90% of the places that accept Visa (see here: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/2010/discover-acce…. While I can't speak for specific countries in Africa or elsewhere, I can say that Discover is a reasonable choice.

      And your best bet, regardless of where you are travelling, is to take two cards. Some places only accept Visa, or MasterCard, or AmEx. So if you take a Visa/MasterCard and an AmEx/Discover, you'll be pretty well covered.

  • mike

    Is this card and the Capital One 2% card really better than the airline cards or SPG card. Here you arent earring miles. you only earn points that can be redeemed at 1% against travel purchases. When you earn real miles, you get to buy flights or upgrades with them at prices that transalte to a much better deal. For example: To book a flight to mexico on AA business class, the price is $900 round trip. That would cost 90,000 Discover or capital one points. The same trip (same dates) only costs 60,000 AA miles. When you book business class to Asia the difference is even bigger. You can usually get a round trip business class ticket for 150,000-250,000 miles. Yet if you wanted to buy it for cash (and redeem your discover or capital one points) it would cost at least $4,000. Is there a card that gives you two points per dollar, but really gives you MILES that can be used on airlines like the amex card gold card or the SPG card? Thank you!

    • Roderick Renfrew

      Mike this is exactly the point if you like to fly business
      (or first class international!)   This came to light for me recently when
      I priced a ticket that I purchased (for 67,500 American aadvantage miles which I
      earned through a combination of flying and my Citibank aadvantage DEBIT card
      (which – cry- may be going away).  I priced the Cathay pacific 1st class international
      ticket to Malaysia and BKK and found that the ticket value (price) was
      $26,00.00.  That is a good use of 135,000 miles round trip, and I get the
      option to do one ways as well if I don’t have enough miles of do one way on American
      and return on united.  Thanks for pointing this out.  It is a trick
      that most people don’t know about, and get very disappointed when they find out
      how much it will cost them to really have a dream luxury trip!

  • http://twitter.com/westby2thelinds Lindsey Westby

    Nobody would accept this card on my last trip to South America, even most of the hotels. I think the Capital One Venture Visa card is a better card because it gets the same rewards, but is a Visa and has no foreign fees. Unfortunately, it wasn’t available when I got the Escape in 2009.

  • Sherrymiller Fashionfloos

    I never travel and I always pay off my credit cards. I have not paid interest since december

  • Andrew S.

    I just received an email notice from Discover; posting it here in case you’d like to update the card description later:
    “We are pleased to inform you that, effective 11/06/11 we will no longer charge a Foreign Currency Fee on any international purchases made with your Discover® card. Additionally, we will no longer charge a Research Fee for any copies of billing statements or receipts that you request.”

    • http://www.nerdwallet.com/ Tim

      Awesome, thanks!