I’m a huge fan of the Discover it® Cash Back card. I love that it gives you 5% back on quarterly rotating categories like gas and groceries (these have to be activated). I don’t even mind that the 5% cash back maxes out at $1,500 in spending per quarter. That’s still a maximum of $75 cash back per quarter – one of the highest amounts 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 a year later. We were attracted a second time by Discover’s impressive welcome bonus. Discover will double all the cash back you earned at the end of your first year. That can be $300 in another $300 from Discover (in our case, we received over $1,000 in total cash back with both cards).
We originally thought we could use both cards to double the $1,500 quarterly spending limit. In practice, however, 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 Discover surprised us with an offer that made us stay.
The card’s cashback rates have increased enormously
To keep us, Discover offered additional cash back on all our spending. If we chose not to cancel, my wife’s Discover it® Cash Back card would give 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 be capped at $2,500 in spending.
That comes to $200 if we use the card exclusively to take advantage of the 8% bonus categories.
Of course we accepted the offer. 8% cashback on a credit card is unbeatable. Even better, this quarter’s bonus category matches our budget (Walmart and grocery stores), so we’re on track to hit the max (at least) for this quarter.
How to get a hold offer for your credit card
To be honest, our story is not an isolated case. Most credit card companies offer hold offers to prevent cardholders from canceling. These bonuses come in various forms, such as annual fee waivers, bonus points or account credits. But they exist to stop You from cancellation or downgrading to another card.
No one can rely on a retention offer. But you’re more likely to get one if you call your credit card company and speak to a representative. Let them know that the card no longer meets your needs and you’re considering canceling it. You might want to add that you like some features, but others (like an annual fee) make you hesitant.
And most importantly, you don’t have to threaten to cancel your card to receive a card retention offer. Since loyalty offers aren’t a big secret, you can be more direct and honest. Tell the company that you’ve heard other cardholders have received these offers and that you’re curious to see if you might qualify. You can say that you’re not sure you’ll keep the card long-term, but you don’t have to cancel the card right over the phone.
You’ll probably have better luck if you use the credit card frequently. Looking back, it’s probably because Discover wanted to keep us because we used my wife’s Discover it® Cash Back card for almost every purchase last year.
Finally, if you really want to cancel your credit card, I would still call the issuer first. Even if you don’t want to keep it, you might still get a bonus. And if not, well – there are plenty of great credit cards that could replace it.
