Discover It vs Citi Simplicity

Which one would make the most sense for you? We’ll let these credit cards duke it out for your application with this in-depth comparison. Interest rates, benefits and fees from published web sites as of April 3, 2017.

Why Either Card Is a Good Choice

If you have been hankering to make serious inroads in your debt, both of these cards will give you an easy way to do it. With their promotional offer of 0% interest on balance transfers for 14 months (Discover It) or 21 months (Citi Simplicity), you get at least a year to pay down your debt and — if you have hefty balances to begin with — you could save big bucks in the long run in interest charges. After the introductory period, the variable APR will be 11.74% to 23.74% for the Discover It and 14.49% to 24.49% for the Citi Simplicity.

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And if you plan to make any big purchases with one of these cards, you get 0% APR as you pay them off. Citi Simplicity’s promotional rate for purchases lasts 21 months, but Discover It’s lasts only 14 months.

Why Citi Simplicity Is Superior

Disclaimer: The information for the Citi Simplicity® Card has been collected independently by CreditDonkey. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

• The intro period on purchases is longer: The 0% APR introductory rate on purchases is longer than what you’d get with the Discover card. (21 months vs 14 months)

• It’s cheaper to use: You’ll never have to pay a late fee or an annual fee with this card, and if you miss a payment, you won’t get socked with a penalty rate either. The main thing you have worry about is when the 0% APR promotional rate on purchases and balance transfers ends. After that, the card can be useful to have.

• It's accepted at more places: Citi Simplicity can be used wherever MasterCard is accepted. Discover cards have a somewhat limited use as not every merchant accepts Discover.

Why Discover It Is Superior

Discover it® Cashback Match™ Intro APR for Purchases Intro APR for Balance Transfer Regular APR Annual Fee 0% for 14 months 0% for 14 months 11.74% - 23.74% Variable* $0

Disclaimer: The information for the Discover it® Cashback Match™ has been collected independently by CreditDonkey. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

• You get rewards: With Discover It, you get cash back on your purchases, as much as 5% on certain categories during certain times of the year (on up to $1,500 in purchases), and 1% on all other purchases. Every time you use the card, you’re rewarded for using it as long as you use it responsibly and pay off the balance each month (otherwise the interest charges that eventually come into play could wipe out whatever cash back you have earned).

• You may get more use of it over time: This card may be more useful to you over the long term than the Citi Simplicity, which would be primarily attractive to people who are looking to consolidate their debt. Discover It gives you a way to consolidate debt inexpensively and earn rewards on purchases.

• No foreign transaction fee: And with Discover, you won’t have to pay a foreign transaction fee when you use it outside the country, whereas the Citi Simplicity will charge you 3% on every foreign purchase.

Learn more about Discover it®

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So, Should You Get the Citi Simplicity or the Discover?

	Discover it® Cashback Match™	Citi Simplicity® Card
	Interest Rates and Fees
Introductory APR for Purchases	0% introductory APR for 14 months	0%* introductory APR for 21 months*
Introductory APR for Balance Transfers	0% introductory APR for 14 months	0%* introductory APR for 21 months*
Purchase APR	11.74% to 23.74% Variable* based on your creditworthiness and other factors	14.49% to 24.49%* (Variable) based on your creditworthiness and other factors
Balance Transfers APR	11.74% to 23.74% Variable* based on your creditworthiness and other factors	14.49% to 24.49%* (Variable) based on your creditworthiness and other factors
Annual Fee	$0 annual fee	$0 annual fee
	Benefits and Features
Introductory Bonus Cash Back	Introductory Bonus Cash Back: Discover will match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year (only for new cardmembers).
Cash Back Rewards	Cash Back Rewards: 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Bonus Cash Back	Bonus Cash Back: 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases in rotating categories that change each quarter (requires free and easy sign-up for 5% Cashback Bonus)* Limitations apply*. See issuer's website for additional program details. Bonus Categories for 2016: January - March 2016: 5% on up to $1,500 in purchases at Gas Stations and for Ground Transportation April - June 2016: 5% on up to $1,500 in purchases at Restaurants and Movies July - September 2016: 5% on up to $1,500 in purchases at Home Improvement Stores and Amazon.com October - December 2016: 5% on up to $1,500 in purchases at Amazon.com, Department Stores and Sam's Club Bonus Categories for 2017: January - March 2017: 5% on up to $1,500 in purchases at Gas Stations, Ground Transportation & Wholesale Clubs April - June 2017: 5% on up to $1,500 in purchases at Home Improvement Stores and Wholesale Clubs July - September 2017: 5% on up to $1,500 in purchases at Restaurants
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Discover It: Pricing information including interest rates, rewards, benefits and fees were obtained on April 3, 2017 from published websites and are believed to be accurate, but not guaranteed. Citi Simplicity: Pricing information including interest rates, rewards, benefits and fees were obtained on June 20, 2017 from published websites and are believed to be accurate, but not guaranteed. Disclaimer: The information for the Discover it® Cashback Match™ and Citi Simplicity® Card have been collected independently by CreditDonkey. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you’re looking for a card that will give you time to pay off a big purchase (for example, if you are about to buy new kitchen appliances), opt for Citi Simplicity as you will get 9 more months of 0% APR on purchases over Discover It. However, you will get no rewards for your big purchases. For more of an everyday card that will serve you well over the long term, you may want to go for the Discover card.

Either card will help you get over your debt hump if you use it responsibly to pay down your balances during the 0% APR promotional period.