Discover Bank reviews: Overview of the top Discover Bank accounts

Panna Kemenes

17.05.21 (updated more than 1 year ago)

5 minute read

Discover Bank is a US financial company offering checking accounts, saving accounts, and a range of loans.

This bank has been around since 1985, having initially been set up as an umbrella company for Sears. It’s had several owners since, but it is currently an independent business.

Discover Bank now offers online bank accounts for its customers. Users can also make international transfers. However, you can save more than 2/3rds of the cost of an international transfer when using Wise.¹

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📝 Table of contents
Discover Bank review: Discover checking account Discover Savings Account Review Discover Bank Retirement Accounts Discover Bank Pros and Cons Discover Bank Customer Experience and Access Is Discover Bank FDIC Insured? Who is Discover Bank Best For? Discover Bank Comparison Save Money when Sending and Spending Abroad with Wise

Discover Bank review: Discover checking account

Customers can open an online checking account with Discover in just a few steps. A great feature is that customers can access 60,000 ATMs across the US.

There’s also 1% cashback on the first $3,000 in debit card purchases customers make. In addition, Discover provides this service without charging account fees.²

Monthly fee and deposit	Best for
No monthly fee or balance requirement	Those looking for an online checking account with no fees, and the opportunity to earn cashback.

Discover Savings Account Review

There are three different Discover savings accounts available for customers, and each one has slightly different benefits.

If you want to save with Discover, then it’s best to see what each account offers.

Discover Bank Online Savings Account

The Discover Bank online savings account offers customers Discover savings rates of 0.4% APY. This is 5 times higher than the national average and also higher than some big-name market banks such as Chase and Bank of America. It’s also 10 times higher than Citibank.³

There are no monthly charges applied for the Discover account, so the interest earned won’t be diminished by extra fees.

Monthly fee and deposit	Best for
No monthly fee or balance requirement	Those looking for an online savings account with a good APY rate and no account fee.

Certificate of Deposit

The Discover Bank CD is a higher yield account. It offers customers a 0.5% APY for a 12-month term, but this increases to a 0.6% APY for a 5-year term.

While there are no fees, there is a penalty for withdrawing early. Depending on the account term, a portion of simple interest will be lost when making an early withdrawal.⁴

For this reason, the Discover CD account is better suited for users who will be able to see the fixed term through.

You can read more about what a CD account is if you’re interested in this option.

Monthly fee and deposit	Best for
No monthly fee $2,500 minimum initial deposit	Those looking for a guaranteed rate on an investment that they can leave for a fixed term.

Money Market Account

This account is for customers who want to earn interest on their savings, but also want access to their funds without incurring any penalties.

There are no fees on the account, and it pays 0.3% APY for balances below $100,000, and 0.35% APY for balances above $100,000.⁵

Monthly fee and deposit	Best for
No monthly fee $2,500 minimum initial deposit	Putting money aside, but with the ability to access it without a penalty.

Discover Bank Retirement Accounts

Discover Bank also covers several retirement savings accounts. The two options allow customers to take different approaches depending on how they want to save for retirement.

For guidance on which type of IRA is best suited to your needs, we encourage you to consult a financial advisor or tax professional.

You can also read the guide on IRAs to learn more.

IRA Certificate of Deposit

The Discover Bank IRA CD offers between 0.5% and 0.6% APY. The account allows customers to make tax-deductible deposits, which further enhances the benefits on offer.⁶

Monthly fee and deposit	Best for
No monthly fee $2,500 minimum initial deposit	Putting money aside for a fixed term to save for retirement.

IRA Saving account

The Discover IRA saving account offers customers the ability to make savings and earn interest, but it also gives access to funds that are saved.

There is still a chance to make tax-deductible deposits. There are no fees, and a 0.4% APY applies.⁷

Monthly fee and deposit	Best for
No monthly fee No minimum deposit	Putting money aside to save for retirement without a minimum deposit, and with penalty-free access to the savings.

Discover Bank Pros and Cons

Discover Bank Pros

Pros	Explanation
No fees on accounts	There are no fees on the accounts at Discover Bank. This means that whether you want a checking or saving account, you won’t lose a portion of your income to fees.
Above market average interest rates	The savings accounts at Discover Bank offer customers higher interest rates than the market average. It means that a better rate of return is available if you save with Discover.
Checking account offers cashback	You can get up to $30 cashback each month when you use your debit card with your checking account. You can set this to be deposited straight into a savings account and increase your savings while you spend.

Discover Bank Cons

Cons	Explanation
Fees for international transfers	The fees that Discover Bank charges for international transfers are very high. Not only is there a $30 flat fee, but customers will also potentially have to pay extra on top of the exchange rate.
No increase in interest rates between a 5 year and 10 year fixed term	When saving with Discover Bank the interest rate doesn’t increase from a 5 year to 10 year fixed term. It means that there isn’t too much of a benefit to customers for leaving money in there for the additional 5 years. Especially with how low interest rates are at this present time.

Discover Bank Customer Experience and Access

Customers can get in touch with Discover customer support 24/7. This is available through either calling Discover directly or reaching out by email.

An email reply will be slower than calling. If your issue is urgent, it is best to call the phone number.⁸

Discover Bank also provides more than 60,000 ATMs across the US, so you get easy access to your account.

Discover Bank reviews on Trustpilot (a consumer review website) give the bank 1.7 out of 5 stars, with some complaints being directed towards the credit card process.⁹

Is Discover Bank FDIC Insured?

There is FDIC insurance in place at Discover Bank. Each customer receives up to $250,000 of insurance for each checking account, savings account, and joint account they hold.

It means that in total, up to $750,000 per person can be insured when banking here. This is offered to homeowners for a total of up to $1,500,000 per household.¹⁰

Who is Discover Bank Best For?

Discover Bank can be a good choice if you are looking to have an easy access online checking or savings account that offers above market average interest rates.

It’s also worth considering if you want to avoid monthly account fees.

🤓 Not the one for you? Here are some more reviews you’ll love
Ally Bank review 2022: Ally Bank accounts and features reviewed Axos bank reviews 2022: Is Axos the best bank for you? Varo Bank reviews: Is a Varo Bank account the best choice for you? Green Dot Bank reviews 2022: Is Green Dot Bank the best choice for you? WebBank reviews 2022: Is WebBank the best choice for you?

Discover Bank Comparison

Bank	Fees and minimum opening deposit	APY
Discover Bank	$0 monthly fee $0 opening deposit	0.4%
Axos Bank	$0 monthly fee $250 minimum balance to open an account	0.61%
Ally Bank	$0 monthly fee $0 opening deposit	0.5%

Save Money when Sending and Spending Abroad with Wise

When traveling abroad, you can use a travel credit card with Discover. However, while there is no annual fee in place to use this card, there are cash advance fees of at least $10 or %5 of the cash advance amount.¹¹

If you want to save money with international transfers, then you can try an online solution such as Wise. The fees are lower than with Discover, which charges a base fee of $30.

Wise charges a low, transparent fee, and you will always get the real mid-market rate when making a transfer.

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Sources:

All sources checked 17 May 2021.

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