Discover Eliminates Some Credit Card Perks

Discover is “streamlining” cardholder benefits, eliminating some perks that offered customers help in times of emergency.

Starting Aug. 1, consumers with Discover credit cards will no longer have access to 24/7 travel assistance, which is essentially a hotline to help you deal with a slew of travel issues you may encounter; baggage delay insurance, which covers your travel essentials of up to $500 if you bought your ticket with your Discover card and your checked bags are delayed for three hours or more; and MyConcierge, a lifestyle deals and planning service. Discover is also canceling its roadside assistance, travel delay insurance and lost luggage insurance, descriptions for which are no longer available online.

In response to a request for confirmation of the changes, a Discover spokeswoman emailed this statement to Credit.com:

“Beginning Aug. 1, 2015, Discover will simplify the suite of cardmember benefits that it provides by eliminating certain benefits in order to provide a better customer experience to all our cardmembers. We will continue to evaluate new benefits based on cardmember feedback.”

Perhaps you didn’t know your Discover card had those options — a lot of credit cards offer similar services, which you can review by looking at your card agreement or account information online. Consumers often forget they have such money-saving perks at their disposal, so it’s worth periodically reviewing any cardholder benefits you may have. For example, a common benefit is extended purchase warranties, where you may be reimbursed for a damaged product you bought with your credit card if a retailer won’t take it back.

Generally, your account has to be in good standing in order to claim cardholder benefits. You’ll want to keep your accounts in good standing anyway, because late payments or high balances relative to credit limits will damage your credit score. To see how your credit card use affects your credit standing, you can see a free credit report summary every 30 days on Credit.com. You can make it part of your money-management routine, just like checking your available credit card benefits and reviewing your card activity for signs of unauthorized transactions or account errors that need to be fixed as soon as possible.