Discover’s Price Protection Policy Is Possibly My Favorite Credit Card Perk
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Discover has one of the best price protection policies in the business. Basically, if you find a cheaper price on an item you purchased within 90 days, they’ll send you a check for the difference. There are a few exclusions, but compared to the price protection policies offered by other banks, Discover’s is the most lenient and easy to use.
If you don’t have a Discover card or you’ve never used their price protection policy, you’re definitely missing out.
Disclaimer: There are a whopping zero affiliate links in this post. Discover’s products are so good, I don’t even need to be incentivized to post about them.
Discover vs Everyone Else
| Discover | Chase | Citi | Amex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offers Price Protection? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Eligible Cards: | All Discover Cards | Sapphire Preferred, Freedom | All Citi Cards | N/A |
| Days to Find Lower Price: | 90 | 90 | 60 | N/A |
| Min Claim Limit: | $1.00 | $1.00 | $25.00 | N/A |
| Max Claim Limit: | $500 | $500 | $300 | N/A |
| Yearly Limit: | $2,500 | $2,500 | $1,200 | N/A |
| Black Friday Eligible? | Yes | Mixed Reports | No | N/A |
| More Info: | Link | Link | Link | N/A |
Black Friday
As I’ve mentioned before, Discover is very adamant about offering Black Friday price matching. This is a huge benefit in and of itself, especially for door buster sales that are in-store only.
This past Black Friday I took advantage of Discover’s generous price protection policy on a TV at Best Buy. By doing so, I saved $300 and my sanity, since I didn’t have to wait in line during the wee hours of the morning. I had to float the extra $300 for about 3 weeks, but in the end it was totally worth it.
How to Submit a Claim
- Purchase the item you want to submit a price protection claim for. If you want to verify that Discover will approve the claim, give them a call. They will be happy to help you.
- Call Discover at 1-800-347-0213 or via the number on the back of your card and start a Price Protection claim. The Price Protection office is open Monday-Friday 8am-8pm EST and Saturday 8am-12pm EST. They will then give you the option to receive your claim form via snail mail, which takes about a week, or via email, which takes about 5 minutes. I suggest the latter.
- Fill out the form and send it back to Discover with a copy of your receipt and a copy of the sale ad. You can either snail mail the form, receipt, and ad back to Discover or you can use their online form. Make sure your receipt and the sale ad have the EXACT same model number displayed.
- Wait 2-4 weeks for your check to arrive in the mail, assuming that your claim is approved. You can check the status of your claim at cardbenefitcenter.com.
FAQ
What are the limits?
$500 per claim and $2,500 per year.
Do I have to make the entire purchase with my Discover card?
Yes. If you pay even $0.01 with another form of payment, there’s a good chance your claim will be denied.
Do the model numbers need to match up even if the item is the exact same (e.g. store specific model)?
Yes, however, in my experience price matching with Discover, one of my items did not have the same model number, so YMMV.
Do I have to sign-up for this benefit?
Nope, it’s included with your card membership.
Do all Discover cards offer Price Protection?
Based on Discover’s website, all Discover cards DO qualify.
Are there any exclusions?
Yes. Here are the exclusions listed on Discover’s website:
- Services
- Any used, rebuilt, remanufactured or second-hand items
- Consumable and perishable items including, but not limited to, food, fuel, oil, household products and cosmetics
- Jewelry, travelers checks, tickets of any kind, negotiable instruments and bullion
- Rare or precious coins or stamps, collectibles, antiques and art objects
- Motorized vehicles and their parts including, but not limited to, boats, airplanes, ride-on toys automobiles, trucks and motorcycles; and their parts and accessories including but not limited to tires and batteries
- Floor models, demonstrator models and one-of-a-kind items
- Live animals and live plants
- Negotiated sales, one-of-a kind sales, cash-only sales
- Close-out/liquidation/going-out-of-business sales but only as they relate to a business (not a particular item) going out of business
- Employee discounts
- Products purchased at Internet auction sites
- Items advertised or shown as price quotes or bids from an Internet auction site
- Items that are advertised as buy one, get one free or where the advertised price includes free offers or includes a bonus offer
- Digital downloads including, but not limited to, music, movies, books, mobile apps and eCertificates
- Gift cards
- Special discounts offered through a specific retailer membership or rewards program
- Travel and travel-related services
Conclusion
I’ve used Discover’s price protection policy three times now and every time it’s been a very smooth process. Here are the claims I’ve submitted:
- I bought a Pikachu 3DS XL when they first came out for $199.99 from Meijer. I originally planned to buy it for $169.99 from Target, but they were sold out. I submitted the claim and had my $30 check in about 3 weeks.
- My wife bought a purse from Macy’s that was black, white, and orange for $59.99. About a month later, we found the same purse in a different color (yellow) on Amazon for $49.15. Since it was a different color purse, I didn’t think Discover would approve the claim, but i tried anyway and they did. We received the check in about 4 weeks.
- About two weeks before Black Friday, I bought a TV from Best Buy for $499, because I knew it would be $199 on Black Friday. I submitted the claim for the TV about 5 days before the sale and was approved in 8 days. I received the check in 3 weeks.
If you’ve never used Discover’s price protection policy, you should! It’s by far one of the best perks offered by this card. If you want to learn where you can find the best deals and prices on items, check out this post. Also, if you don’t have a Discover card yet, they are currently offering a $150 sign-up bonus.
