
The Discover Card was founded in 1985 by Sears, Roebuck & Co. Famous for launching the first reward card in America, Discover continues to promote its Double Cash Back rewards program today. But those rewards can lead to a financial disaster for some people. For those that pay off their debt in full every month, there’s no problem. But for the rest of us carrying a balance each month, financial stress lurks.
Discover clients possess an outstanding credit card balance of $102.8 billion. This puts Discover in the top ten of banks with the highest amount of credit card debt.
Discover Credit Card Hardship Programs
If you find yourself struggling with credit card debt, hardship programs can help. Contact Discover directly and let them know details about your financial situation. They will likely ask about your monthly income and expenses. Telling them that you are simply looking for a lower interest rate and payments won’t suffice. You must have a compelling hardship such as job loss or medical emergency to qualify.
Any concessions granted by Discover will likely be temporary. A lower interest rate might last less than 12 months. Take advantage of that time and attack your debt with extra payments. Some creditors might reduce your credit limit once they approve you on their hardship plan.
If you don't have any luck getting concessions or you want a more long term benefit, credit counseling is your next best option. Discover works very well with nonprofit organizations offering their clients interest rates usually below 10%. Payments typically get lowered as well. Your credit card will be closed on a debt management program. This can be viewed as a good thing for some as the temptation to continue using the card is eliminated.
DebtWave has been helping Discover clients for more than 20 years
DebtWave has worked with Discover since 2002 helping clients pay off debt at lower interest rates. Most clients add other credit cards to their plan such as Wells Fargo and Chase. Clients make payments to DebtWave via ACH either monthly, semi-monthly, weekly or biweekly. And then DebtWave sends payments to their creditors. Most clients complete their program and become debt free in less than 5 years. DebtWave has a 68% successful completion rate.
DebtWave conducted a study during a fifteen year period (2010 through 2024) which they enrolled 7,272 American Express accounts onto their program. They discovered that 4,753 successfully paid their balance in full. And more than 727 clients are still actively paying down their debt.
Here are some additional stats from the study:
Average Starting Debt Per Account | $5,866 |
Average Payment on Own | $146 |
Average Payment on DMP | $139 |
Average Payment Reduction % | 5% |
Average APR on Own | 21.02% |
Average APR on DMP | 8.86% |
Average Months to Payoff | 34 |
Total Discover Credit Card Debt Enrolled | $42.7 million |
Total Debt Paid Off | $30.5 million |
The Dream of Getting Out of Debt on Your Own is Possible
Paying back your credit card debt may seem impossible. But it has proven to be achievable by thousands of DebtWave clients. If you would rather tackle the debt on your own, it can be achieved. Create your own plan. The first step is lower interest rates. High interest rates (25-30% APR) on credit cards make it challenging. This would require you to significantly increase your minimum payments (at least 2x) to make progress.
If you have your rates reduced to less than 10%, then use a payoff calculator or google spreadsheet to create a plan. Find ways to increase income and reduce expenses. Stay motivated and refrain from using cards again. Build an iron clad budget that accounts for all expenses.
Accordions
Yes. Most credit card companies have a hardship program. Banks will temporarily lower your interest rate for roughly 6-12 months to help you get back on track. Sometimes, they may lower your payment as well. Your financial hardship reason must be compelling to merit the benefits.
There is no documented information about a Loan Forgiveness Program thru Discover or whether or not they will negotiate debt. However, they do offer an internal hardship program. And Discover also works with credit counseling agencies to lower your interest rate and payments.
Contact your creditors and tell them about your personal hardship. Your story must be persuasive. Provide specific details of your income and expenses. The hardship reason should involve loss of income and/or increased expenses in essential categories. Your budget should not include categories such as travel, entertainment and eating out. These should all be $0 per month to qualify.