Discover card has been dipping their toes into the local markets, offering discounts at select retailers when guests elect to use their Discover card to pay for purchases.

I am fortunate that Discover has launched the test program in Cleveland, but it is also available in:

Buffalo, NY
Charlotte, NC
Denver, CO
Hartford/New Haven, CT
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Oklahoma City, OK
Portland, OR

First, guests need to visit the Discover Shop the Block website, and choose their respective city.

Then cardholders can browse the various offers that are available at their local merchants.

In Conclusion

The good news is that when you shop at any of the merchants and use your Discover card, you will earn 2% cashback on up to $1,000 in purchases until November 30, 2013. The not so great news is that the special offers, at least in our market, was fairly limited. Out of the 1,660 listed dining and food options, only 10 were listed with special bonus offers.

Honestly, I do not foresee this program sticking around too long. While it is a great way for guests to earn an additional 2% cashback bonus at these merchants, it seems like it would require a lot of work on behalf of Discover and the merchants to market and entice users to visit the website to learn about the offers, then use them.

If Shop the Block sticks around, great; however, time will see how much marketing effort goes into promoting the program for the little bit of benefit.

Save Money, Travel More!

Source: InACents