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Discover and Chase 5% Rotating Categories for 2024

News /

If you have the Discover It Cash Back and/or Chase Freedom Flex (or older Chase Freedom) then don’t forget to activate your quarterly categories in March, June, September, and December, before the next quarter begins. For Q1 categories (January 2024) you can activate both Chase and Discover cards as of today (December 15, 2023) or shortly afterwards.

Discover reveals their categories on the 1st of those months, whereas Chase allows activation on the 15th. So for example, if you want to activate Q4 categories for both cards at once, you’d have to wait until September 15th at the earliest.

Discover 2024:

  • Q1 Jan-March: Restaurants & Drug Stores
  • Q2 April-June: Gas, EV Charging, Home Improvement, Public Transit
  • Q3 July-Sept: TBD (probably groceries)
  • Q4 Oct-Dec: TBD (probably Amazon and retail/Target)

Chase 2024:

  • Q1 Jan-March: Grocery Stores, Gym & Fitness, Spa Services & Self-Care
  • Q2 April-June: Restaurants, Hotels, Amazon.com
  • Q3 July-Sept: TBD (probably gas and entertainment)
  • Q4 Oct-Dec: TBD (probably Paypal and retail/Walmart)

Chase’s Q1 2024 is broadly useful. Everyone uses grocery stores and most people should have a gym membership. Many people also buy gift cards at grocery stores to increase their effective cash back rates for non-grocery purchases. Discover’s Q1 is not quite as useful, especially when the Chase Freedom Flex already gets 3x points at restaurants and drug stores.

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Discover and Chase 5% Rotating Categories for 2023

News /

If you have the Discover It Cash Back or Chase Freedom Flex (or Chase Freedom) then don’t forget to activate your quarterly categories in March, June, September, and December, before the next quarter begins.

Discover makes their categories available on the 1st of those months, whereas Chase allows activation on the 15th. So for example, if you want to activate Q4 categories for both cards at once, you’d have to wait until September 15th at the earliest.

Discover 2023:

  • Q1 Jan-March: Grocery Stores, Drug Stores, Select Streaming
  • Q2 April-June: Restaurants and Wholesale Clubs (including gift cards for Costco/Sam’s/etc.)
  • Q3 July-Sept: Gas Stations and Digital Wallets
  • Q4 Oct-Dec: Amazon and Target

Chase 2023:

  • Q1 Jan-March: Grocery Stores, Target, Gym & Fitness
  • Q2 April-June: Amazon and Lowe’s
  • Q3 July-Sept: Gas Stations, Electric Vehicle Charging, and “Select Live Entertainment”
  • Q4 Oct-Dec: Paypal, Wholesale Clubs, and “Select Charities”

Chase defines “Live Entertainment” as including: amusement/theme parks, professional sporting events, ticketing agencies, aquariums, museums, theatrical productions, zoos, and more.

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The Top 15 Credit Cards For 0% APR

Credit Card Roundups, Reference /

0% APR can have a variety of applications. Sometimes you need more than 30 days to pay for something, or need to increase the amount of cash on hand. This is usually the best way to solve that problem while avoiding interest. Credit cards normally have 15-20% APR, and it’s rarely worthwhile to pay interest on card purchases. One of the downsides here is that most of the below cards require a minimum credit score of 650+. People who really need 0% APR often have lower credit scores. If you fall into this category, check to see if you’re prequalified before applying. Most banks have this option. Search “[bank name] prequalification” and their website should pop right up.

Most of the below cards also have 0% APR on balance transfers, but balance transfers almost always have a fee associated with them. It’s better to put new purchases on a 0% APR card instead of trying to do a balance transfer. Note: This list is current as of December 2021 and is subject to change.

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Anti-Churning Rules and Chase 5/24 Explained

Reference /

“Churners” seek sign-up bonuses and other rewards by opening lots of credit cards. In most cases, they’re legitimate customers who want extra cash back or free travel. A lot of credit cards offer great rewards and bonuses. As people become more educated about credit cards (CCs) some inevitably want to maximize (or abuse) the system, despite risks to their credit scores.

As a result, banks have implemented rules (sometimes unofficially) to deter churners. They naturally aim for a positive ROI on customers. Here’s a compilation of the most important things to keep in mind. Keep in mind that this isn’t a comprehensive list of all rules/guidelines, and things are subject to change.

As a side note, some banks might shut you down if you go too hard and fast. They can take away points or close your cards. We recommend applying for 1 new card every 3-4 months, to start. If you have higher risk tolerance, maybe apply for a new card every 2-3 months, once your credit history is pretty well-established. Don’t go overboard. Start with credit cards that you’re likely to use on a regular basis, and pay your balance in full every month.

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Discover Releases 2022 Categories For 5% Cash Back

News /

Discover released their cash back calendar for 2022. Anyone who has the Discover It Cash Back can get 5% cash back on the following categories, up to $1,500 spent each quarter ($6,000 annual limit). You do have to “activate” the bonus earnings ahead of time but it’s a simple process. Only takes a couple seconds, four times per year.

Q1 (January, February, March)

  • Grocery Stores
  • Fitness Clubs
  • Gym Memberships

Alternative cards: Click here for our list of the best grocery credit cards. For fitness clubs and gym memberships, the next best card could be the Venmo Visa. Cash back earnings may depend on where you go, since Venmo won’t classify all gyms as eligible for 3% cash back. The best option is to use Discover It to buy an annual gym membership. Depending on where you live, that’s probably $300-500 toward the $1,500 quarterly spending limit. This is a valuable category since zero cards give 5+% cash back at clubs/gyms, and everyone should have a gym membership of some kind.

Q2 (April, May, June)

  • Gas Stations
  • Target

Alternative cards: Click here for our list of the best gas credit cards. At Target, people with the Target Red Card already get 5% off, although Discover can be slightly better.

Q3 (July, August, September)

  • Restaurants and Dining
  • PayPal

Alternative cards: Click here for our list of the best restaurant credit cards. For Paypal, any everyday card is the next best thing. There aren’t any cards which earn 5% back at Paypal year-round.

Q4 (October, November, December)

  • Amazon.com
  • Digital Wallets

Alternative cards: If you have Amazon Prime, the Chase Amazon card gives 5% cash back at Amazon. There are a few options overall for Amazon spend. Then for digital wallet purchases, the closest alternative is the Kroger Mastercard or U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve.

 

Categories in recent years

2019 & 2020
Q1 Jan-March: Grocery stores
Q2 April-June: Gas stations, Uber/Lyft
Q3 July-Sept: Restaurants, Paypal
Q4 Oct-Dec: Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com

2021
Q1 Jan-March: Grocery stores, Walgreens, CVS
Q2 April-June: Gas stations, Wholesale Clubs, Streaming Services
Q3 July-Sept: Restaurants, Paypal
Q4 Oct-Dec: Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com

Review: Discover It Miles

⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

The Discover It Miles is a simple no-fee card which earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases. It doesn’t have any especially interesting features or benefits, but may work for certain people in the short term. The card does earn 3% cash back on all purchases for the first year, without category restrictions, which is nice.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 1.5x points on everything

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Review: Discover It Cash Back

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

The Discover It Cash Back is a no-fee card which earns at least 5% cash back on certain categories. These categories change every 3 months. Discover used to show each year’s cashback calendar in advance so there aren’t any surprises, but now they announce one month before. It’s fairly easy to plan ahead. Not to be confused with Discover It Miles, this card also earns unlimited 1% cash back on non-category purchases.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 5% cash back on rotating categories ($1,500 quarterly spending limit)
  • 1% cash back on everything else

Click here for 2024 categories.
Click here for 2023 categories.

Categories typically look like:

  • Q1 Jan-March: Grocery stores plus 1-2 other categories
  • Q2 April-June: Gas stations or restaurants, plus another category
  • Q3 July-Sept: Restaurants or gas stations, and maybe Paypal or digital wallets
  • Q4 Oct-Dec: Amazon.com plus Walmart.com and/or Target.com

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