【2020.10 Update】 2020 Q4 is here. In this special period, it's still a good idea to go out less. Make good use of your quarterly 5x cards and stock up more in one trip. Here's the breakdown:

  • Discover it: Amazon.com, Target and Walmart.com are crowd favorites and basically cover the main online and offline shopping-season spending. If I remember correctly, some merchants' pay with Amazon can also trigger 5%. (activation link)
  • Chase Freedom (Flex): Walmart and PayPal WM stores have plenty of third-party gift cards and Visa gift cards, both in store and online. As for PayPal, Kuku previously shared a method that routes any online purchase through PayPal, turning purchases at Amazon, Google Shopping, and other merchants that don't originally support PayPal into PayPal purchases. You can refer to this article. (activation link)
  • US Bank Cash+: The other categories aren't great for staying at home, so choose cell phone bill; electrical store is okay too, and Best Buy has plenty of third-party gift cards
  • Citi Dividend: Best Buy & Warehouse Online are decent categories. But I guess everyone's $300 cap was already maxed out in Q1 grocery and Q2 drugstore. (activation link)
  • ABOC Platinum Rewards Credit Card: department store purchases, including Amazon, Target, Walmart, Costco, and department stores. This category is very broad; I trust you can all spend it all this time. (Must register at https://www.abocrewards.com/)

Overall, the Q4 categories on all these cards are centered around shopping, which is still pretty solid!

2020 Quarterly 5x Cash Back Summary

Some credit cards offer not only the usual 1% cash back on everyday spending, but also different 5x bonus categories each quarter, i.e. 1% x 5 = 5% cash back. Using the right multiplier card for the right category lets us save as much as possible. Of course, with a little flexibility, these quarterly bonuses can even cover all spending categories. Today I'll summarize the quarterly 5x cash back cards and their corresponding categories, as well as how to make the most of this 5x cash back. This post mainly covers a few of the most common cards with quarterly multiplier categories:

Discover it

  • First quarter: Grocery Store, CVS, Walgreens: crowd favorites. These stores usually have third-party gift cards such as Amazon, eBay, etc., plus Visa gift cards. Easy to max out.
  • Second quarter: gas, Uber, Lyft. Very considerate: drivers use gas, riders use Uber. You can test whether gift cards bought in the convenience store attached to a gas station also earn 5%. Wholesale Club stores also have third-party gift cards such as Amazon, eBay, etc.; Sam's Club has Visa gift cards.
  • Third quarter: restaurants. Discover may not be accepted at some small restaurants, so it's safer to bring another card. If you have a restaurant you visit often, you can consider stocking up on gift cards in Q3 (not too many). PayPal: very broad acceptance; most online merchants support PayPal, and eBay and Staples also sell lots of third-party gift cards.
  • Fourth quarter: Amazon.com, Target and Walmart.com are crowd favorites and basically cover the main online and offline shopping-season spending. If I remember correctly, some merchants' pay with Amazon can also trigger 5%.
  • Quarterly 5x activation link: log in to your Discover account to activate, or log in here: activation link
  • Latest activation deadline: the 5% cash back starts counting only after activation
  • 5x cash back limit: 5% on the first $1,500 each quarter, then 1%
  • When cash back posts: after each statement
  • Query link: link to check how much of the $1,500 has been used (login required)
  • Card intro: 【$50 bonus, double cash back】 Discover IT
  • Benefits: no annual fee. If you're a new applicant, the 5% quarterly cash back can also be doubled, effectively making it 10% quarterly cash back

Chase Freedom/Flex

  • First quarter: gas, internet, phone services, streaming services. Seems like a good time to Prepay various mobile and internet bills. For gas, you can try gift cards or Visa gift cards at gas station convenience stores to see whether you can get 5x.
  • Second quarter: Selected Streaming Service, Grocery Stores, Gym Membership, Fitness Clubs. Groceries are still very good, and many of them sell various third-party gift cards, such as Amazon and Visa gift cards. Note that this Grocery category generally does not include wholesale clubs, or Walmart and Target. As for streaming, various subscriptions should work.
  • Third quarter: Amazon, Whole Foods. During this special period, shopping online is still safer. Whole Foods is just a bit more expensive, but the stores are less crowded.
  • Fourth quarter: Walmart and PayPal WM stores have plenty of third-party gift cards and Visa gift cards, both in store and online. As for PayPal, Kuku previously shared a method that routes any online purchase through PayPal, turning purchases at Amazon, Google Shopping, and other merchants that don't originally support PayPal into PayPal purchases. You can refer to this article.
  • Quarterly 5x activation link: Chase Freedom official site
  • Latest activation deadline: Activate by the 14th of the last month of each quarter; all eligible spending from that quarter made before then can earn 5x
  • 5x cash back limit: The first $1,500 in the quarter can earn 5x, and the rest earns 1x
  • Cash back posting time: After each statement is issued
  • Usage lookup: Link to check quarterly 5x usage (login required)
  • Card intro:[Limited-time 20,000 signup bonus] Chase Freedom
  • Pros: No annual fee. The 5x earns UR points, and if you have a premium Chase card, those points can be transferred to airline miles and hotel points, which can be redeemed at about 1.6 cents per point. That works out to quarterly 5x UR = 8% cash back.

Citi Dividend

  • Q1: Fitness clubs, supermarkets, 5%. A very welcome supermarket category, good for both groceries and third-party gift cards.
  • Q2: Drugstores. Everyone’s favorite drugstore category is here; most people will probably use it to buy VGC/PayPal My Cash and max out this year’s $300. Drugstores also sell plenty of other third-party gift cards like Amazon and eBay, so it’s one of the easiest categories to spend in. In addition, Amazon.com is also a popular category. Having it in Q2 is pretty interesting and serves as a nice complement to other cards.
  • Q3: Home improvement stores, streaming services. Not especially easy to max out. Home Depot and Lowe’s both sell Visa gift cards and lots of third-party gift cards
  • Q4: Best Buy & warehouse online, which is still a decent category. Best Buy has $200 VGC.
  • Quarterly 5x activation link: Citi official activation link
  • Latest activation deadline: 5% cash back starts only after activation
  • 5x cash back limit: Up to $300 cash back per year, then 1%
  • Cash back posting time: After each statement is issued
  • Card intro: Citi Dividend  (no longer available for direct application, but you can product change)
  • Pros: No annual fee. No quarterly cap, so if one quarter has especially good 5% categories, you can easily earn the full $300 for the year

ABOC Platinum Credit Card (2019)

  • Q1: All kinds of bills, including utilities, phone, TV, Amazon Prime, and various subscription services;
  • Q2: Dining and transportation, including grocery spending, restaurants, gas, and rideshare;
  • Q3: Travel spending (including airfare, gas, car rentals, hotels, and third-party bookings);
  • Q4: Department store shopping, including Amazon, Target, Walmart, Costco, and department stores.
  • Quarterly 5x activation link: You must register at https://www.abocrewards.com/, and check this year’s latest 5x categories. You can tell which transactions qualify as 5x from the MCC.
  • Latest activation deadline: Unknown
  • 5x cash back limit: The first $1,500 per quarter can earn 5x points, then 1x
  • Cash back posting time: Unknown
  • Card intro: ABOC Platinum Rewards
  • Pros: No annual fee. Some unusual categories appear, so it can complement your other cards

US Bank Cash+

  • Quarterly 5% category choice: If you have other 5x credit cards, for Q1 it’s better to choose cell phone (can overpay), Bookstore (back-to-school books), or fast food (covers part of dining spend). Of course, it depends on your spending habits
  • Quarterly 5x activation link: US Bank official site
  • Latest activation deadline: Unknown (readers who have this card are welcome to share)
  • 5x cash back limit: The first $2,000 per quarter can earn 5x, then 1x
  • Cash back posting time: Unknown (readers who have this card are welcome to share)
  • Card intro: US Bank Cash+ credit card (no annual fee, $125 signup bonus, choose 2 categories for 5% quarterly cash back, choose 1 category for 2%)
  • Pros: No annual fee. Flexible category selection, so you can play the category-change game

How to make the best use of these quarterly 5x offers

Everyday credit card users

For the average credit card user, just learn the 5x categories and use the right card during the right quarter.

Advanced credit card users

Since quarterly 5x cash back is only valid in a given quarter, even if you have the cards above, you still may not be able to cover all spending throughout the year, such as gas and supermarket shopping. In that case, you can use category conversion to get 5% cash back in other categories. For example, when supermarkets have 5x, you can buy gas gift cards and stock up for later, so your gas purchases in the remaining quarters can also earn 5x. Drugstores also sell all kinds of gift cards from other merchants (for example, Amazon and eBay). Department stores such as Sears also sell many other merchants’ gift cards, and Best Buy does too. Use gift cards as the bridge and get 5% cash back on all your spending! For a more detailed analysis, see:

MS users

  • Gas stations: 7-Eleven may have Vanilla cards, and in-store coding may also code as gas stations
  • Drugstores (CVS, walgreen): PayPal My Cash, various Vanilla cards
  • Sears, Bedbathbeyond, Best Buy: $200 Visa gift cards, with PIN

For Dividend, the best choice is the drugstore category because the fee is 1%.

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