While it will never hang in the Louvre, Discover Card’s email alert is a true masterpiece (at least to fintech geeks). The message is nicely laid out with plenty of white space and it’s chock full of links to get more information.

Here’s eight specific elements I like (in no particular order). See the corresponding number on screenshot below:

1. Personalized with first name, last name and last four digits of account number; an important anti-phishing security precaution

2. Big orange button that leads to detailed transaction info

3. Table outlining the key data (yellow highlight is ours):
     – Date of notice
     – Balance limit set by user
     – Current account balance
     – Total credit line

4. Email subject line that explains exactly what’s in the message (important for scanning email messages), "Your balance exceeds the limit you set". Also, note how they ease your fears by saying it’s over the limit "YOU SET," which is much less of a problem than if it was over the card limit

5. Brief explanation of factors that might be impacting the balance (such as car rental holds)

6. Concise pitch for Discover’s mobile app, with text message option

7. Link to log in to adjust alert settings

8. Navigational links to: Statements | Payments | Rewards

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Discover Card email balance alert (4 May 2013)
Note: Yellow highlighting is ours

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Notes:
1. We previously blogged about Discover Card alerts here
2. For more info see our report, Email Banking: Revitalizing the Channel (published 2010, subscription).