There has been a lot of big news lately in the miles-and-points world: first, Discover Apple Pay’s 22% cashback; then AMEX started handing out unusually high welcome bonuses left and right (ED/EDP, BCE/BCP, PRG, Gold, Green, Platinum); and then the legendary Sallie Mae Mastercard, after hanging on for so long, finally met its end. Has everyone been so busy that they have not had time to pay attention to the newly started Q4 5x cashback/points categories? In this post, we have summarized these 5x spending categories below (note that 5x only applies to the first $1,500 in purchases):
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Chase Freedom: 5x UR
First, Chase Freedom’s 5x UR categories include Amazon and three of its subsidiaries: Zappos, Audible, and Diapers. Since Discover it offers 10% cashback at Amazon, Freedom’s 5x category is not especially useful this quarter. However, if your Discover it card does not happen to have the first-year cashback match bonus, and you do not want to apply for another Discover card (you can apply for a second one after your first card has been open for a year), or if you have already used up Discover’s $1,500 cap, then Freedom’s 5x UR can still be used on Amazon. If you also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus, the value of 5x UR is worth at least 9% cashback, which is quite a bit better than Discover’s 5% cashback. Amazon sells plenty of gift cards, so you can simply go ahead and buy them there.
Discover it: 5%/10% cashback
Next is the very popular Discover it Q4 5%/10% cashback categories, which include Amazon, Department Stores, and Clothing Stores.
Amazon
Amazon is also on Discover’s 5x list, as mentioned above, but do not forget the incredible Apple Pay promotion offering 22%-30% back. Many Walgreens stores sell Amazon gift cards, and buying those first and then spending them on Amazon can be even more rewarding (note that Amazon gift cards cannot be used to buy other gift cards). However, Discover clearly states that this promotion cannot be used to buy gift cards. My Discover it statement closed a few days ago, and it did not show any extra 10% back from Apple Pay, so we cannot verify it for now.Buying clothes
There are not many good options here. It is possible that local clothing stores may sell useful gift cards or even Visa gift cards, but that would take some time to investigate.
Department Store
The main MS options are concentrated here:
- (Thanks to Physixfan for pointing out that Macy's does not work with Discover Apple Pay.)
- Although Sears does not accept Apple Pay, it usually sells a large selection of gift cards, including Shell, Staples, Subway, and Visa gift cards (up to $200.00 + 6.49 fee), AMEX gift cards (up to $100.00 + 5.49 fee), and Mastercard gift cards (up to $100.00 + 5.49 fee). You can check your local store to see what they have.
- An even better option is sears.com. There are DPs confirming that it codes in the 5x category. sears.com sells lots and lots of gift cards, and you can also earn 10% cashback through Discover Deal before December 31 this year. That adds up to 15% total (or 30% after the first-year match)! If you can find gift cards you actually want, jump on it—this is probably the best use of Discover Q4 this quarter.
- Kohl's is another gift-card-heavy option. It is not as good as Sears, but it may still be worth checking out in person.
Citi Dividend: 5% cashback
Citi Dividend is a card that is often overlooked. On one hand, it is no longer available for new applications (though you can still get it via product change). On the other hand, its 5% categories are more limited than those on Chase Freedom and Discover it. The Q4 5% cashback categories are Best Buy and Department Stores.
We already covered Department Stores in the Discover section. At Best Buy, you can also buy $200 Visa gift cards with a $5.95 fee, as well as Amazon Kindle gift cards (which can actually be used like Amazon gift cards). In addition, there are gift cards for Facebook, iTunes, Kindle, Napster, Playstation Network, and more. However, since Best Buy has started accepting Apple Pay, we do not recommend using Dividend at Best Buy for regular purchases. Do you have any better ideas for maximizing the Q4 5x cashback categories? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know. If we missed anything, please add it below.