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Review: Citi Custom Cash Card

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

The Citi Custom Cash Card (CCCC) is a no-fee credit card which gives 5% cash back on your top spending category each month. Citi automatically calculates which category you spend the most in, giving you rewards at the end of each billing cycle. It requires zero effort from the cardholder. The Custom Cash is easier to use than competing cards, and may have higher rewards. It’s versatile enough that almost everyone can get use out of it, although it does depend on one’s spending habits.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 3% foreign transaction fee
  • 5% cash back for the first $500 spent each billing cycle in 1 of 10 categories (see below)
  • 1% cash back on everything else

5% eligible categories:

  1. Restaurants/dining
  2. Gas
  3. Grocery stores
  4. “Select travel” (airlines, hotels, cruise lines, travel agencies, etc.)
  5. “Select transit” (car rentals, ferries, trains, taxis, bridge/road tolls, parking lots/garages, bus lines, etc.)
  6. “Select streaming services” (Includes “Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Apple Music, CBS All Access, Disney+, AT&T TV NOW, ESPN+, fuboTV, HBO Max, NBA League Pass, Netflix, Pandora, Showtime, Sling TV, Spotify, Starz, SiriusXM, Vudu, YouTube Red, YouTube TV, and Tidal.”)
  7. Drugstores/pharmacies
  8. Home improvement stores
  9. Fitness clubs
  10. Live entertainment (concerts, theaters, etc.)

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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: Venmo Visa

⭐⭐⭐, Credit Card Reviews /

The Venmo Visa card is an interesting take on the typical 3/2/1 credit card structure. You automatically earn 3% cash back on your eligible top spend category, and 2% on the next highest. The category resets each month, so you can always get 3% cash back wherever you spend the most money. With 8 categories to earn from, most people can effectively use this credit card.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 3% cash back on your top spending category for each month
  • 2% cash back on your second-highest spending category for each month
  • 1% cash back on everything else

Eligible spending categories:

  1. Transportation
    • “Ground transportation such as rental cars, taxicabs, ride share merchants, limousines, bus lines and passenger railways. This category also includes tolls, parking meters and parking garage fees.”
  2. Travel
    • “Airlines, hotels, motels and resorts. This category may include bed and breakfast establishments, resorts, cabins, cottages, hostels, timeshares, short-term property rentals less than 30 days in length, and local inns.“
  3. Grocery (including wholesale clubs)
  4. Entertainment
    • “Movie theaters, theatrical and concert promoters, video rental and game stores, books and newsstands, amusement parks, music stores, and toy and hobby stores.”
  5. Dining and Nightlife (restaurants and bars)
  6. Bills and Utilities
    • “Telecommunications, internet service providers, ongoing delivery of television/radio/streaming content on a subscription or fee basis, subscription products or services (such as magazine/newspaper subscriptions), electric or gas power, water supply, and refuse disposal or other utility services.”
  7. Health and Beauty
    • “Drug stores and pharmacies… and cosmetic stores that sell beauty products. This category also includes sports and recreation facilities that require membership such as health clubs, tennis, golf and swimming clubs.”
  8. Gas

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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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