{"id":8319,"date":"2009-09-21T20:00:04","date_gmt":"2009-09-22T00:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/?p=8319"},"modified":"2009-09-21T20:00:04","modified_gmt":"2009-09-22T00:00:04","slug":"discover-card-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/discover-card-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover Card Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Change is always in the air in the credit card industry.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This has never been more true than it is now that companies are quickly adjusting to the new realities of the CARD act.<\/p>\n

At Discover, Change Comes Early<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Consumerist points out<\/a> that the Discover Card is notifying customers changes to it’s terms and conditions in advance of the CARD act becoming effective next year.\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, the Consumerist didn’t read the notice all the way through when it concluded:\u00a0 “that the terms and conditions for the card are basically coming in line with the CARD act<\/a> ahead of schedule.”<\/p>\n

Granted, these notifications are full of long, rambling legalese, yet if they had read the whole thing, they would have noticed that most of the changes do not take effect until February 1st, 2010.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is just three weeks before the deadline for CARD act compliance.\u00a0\u00a0 They are ahead of schedule, but just barely so.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, they are probably early because it was easier for them to make the changes on the first of the month than on the 22d, when the law mandates.<\/p>\n

What Are The Changes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the big ones that jumps out is that the “open road” rebate on gas and automobile maintenance is going from 5% to 2%.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is a major drop that mirrors my Amex OPEN Platinum Business card, that will be going from 5% to 3% next month.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Another change is that you will only be able to receive a check for your cash back when your balance reaches $50.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the past, that threshold was a mere $20.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is no big deal for large spenders, but for those of you who use your Discover card sparingly, this will mean that you will get a return less often.<\/p>\n

Other changes are positive and are a preview of what we might expect from Mastercard, Visa, and Amex as they retool their terms and conditions to become CARD act compliant.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some highlights\u00a0 changes include:<\/p>\n