【Updated 2021.9】Q4 is here, so it’s time to switch cards. See the breakdown and activation links below:
- Discover it: Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com. These categories can cover most holiday-season spending, so it should be fairly easy to max out the bonus. All three sites sell a large selection of third-party gift cards, so if you can’t use up the spending naturally, buying some gift cards is an option. All three also sell $200 Visa gift cards, which may also be worth considering.（Activation link）
- Chase Freedom series: PayPal, Walmart. These are two excellent categories. PayPal can cover most online purchases, and Walmart sells a large number of third-party gift cards.（Activation link）
- Citi Dividend: restaurant, Best Buy. If you still haven’t completed this year’s $300 cash back cap, Best Buy has some $200 Visa gift cards available for purchase, though the selection of third-party gift cards is relatively limited.（Activation link）
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2021 Quarterly 5x Cash Back Summary
Some credit cards offer not only the standard 1% cash back on everyday purchases, but also rotating 5x quarterly bonuses, which effectively means 1% x 5 = 5% cash back. Using the right bonus-category card for the right spending category helps maximize your savings. And with a little creativity, these quarterly bonus categories can sometimes be used to cover many other types of spending as well. Today we’ll summarize the most common credit cards with quarterly 5x bonuses, their bonus categories, and how to make the most of them. This article mainly covers several of the most common credit cards with rotating quarterly bonus categories:
- Discover it（no annual fee, $50 welcome bonus, first-year cash back match）
- Chase Freedom（discontinued, same categories as Flex）
- Chase Freedom Flex（no annual fee, $200 welcome bonus, quarterly 5x UR）
- US Bank Cash+（no annual fee, $200 welcome bonus, choose 2 categories for quarterly 5% cash back and 1 category for 2%）
- Citi Dividend（no annual fee, no longer available for new applications, product change only）
- ABOC Platinum Rewards credit card（discontinued, 5x cash back will be discontinued）
Discover it
- Q1: Grocery Stores, Walgreens, CVS: Grocery stores and drugstores are familiar categories for everyone. If your everyday spending isn’t enough, third-party gift cards can help fill the gap.
- Q2: Gas Stations, Wholesale Clubs, Streaming Services: This should include Costco and Sam's Club. These stores carry a large selection of third-party gift cards, so it’s easy to max out.
- Q3: Restaurants, PayPal: PayPal covers a very wide range of purchases. You could also link your Discover card to PayPal Key, then use the PayPal Key debit card for purchases to earn 5% cash back on almost everything（full details）
- Q4: Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com: Not much to say here—these categories line up perfectly with holiday shopping season. If needed, you can also buy third-party gift cards online from Amazon, Walmart, or Target.
- Quarterly 5x activation link: Log in to your Discover account to activate, or sign in here: Activation link
- Latest activation deadline: You only start earning 5% cash back after activation
- 5x cash back cap: 5% on the first $1,500 each quarter, then 1% after that
- When cash back posts: After each statement closes
- Tracking link: Track how much of the $1,500 you’ve used（login required）
- Card review: Discover it credit card review
- Pros: No annual fee. For newly approved cardholders, the 5% quarterly cash back is also matched in the first year, effectively making it 10% quarterly cash back.
Chase Freedom/Flex
- Q1: Wholesale club, Selected Streaming Service, Internet Cable, Phone Service. Cell phone bills and TV bills are everyday essentials for many people, so these are pretty solid categories. For groceries, Costco and Sam's Club are also very practical. If you really can’t use up the category naturally, consider buying some third-party gift cards at a wholesale club.
- Q2: Gas, Home Improvement. Gas stations are a bit harder to maximize, but home improvement stores such as Home Depot sell a large number of third-party gift cards, including ones for Amazon and others, as well as $100 and $200 Visa gift cards. You can buy according to your own needs.
- Q3: Grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target), select streaming services. Grocery stores alone should be enough for most people to use up the full $1,500 this quarter. If not, it’s also easy to buy some third-party gift cards at grocery stores.
- Q4: PayPal, Walmart. These are two excellent categories. PayPal can cover most online purchases, and Walmart sells a large number of third-party gift cards.
- Quarterly 5x activation link: Chase Freedom official site
- Latest activation deadline: Activate by the 14th of the last month of each quarter, and all eligible purchases from that quarter will still earn 5x
- 5x earning cap: 5x on the first $1,500 each quarter, then 1x after that
- When rewards post: After each statement closes
- Usage tracker: Track quarterly 5x usage here（login required）
- Card review: Chase Freedom Flex
- Pros: No annual fee. The 5x actually earns UR points. If you also have a premium Chase card, the points can be transferred to airline miles and hotel points, and can be redeemed for about 1.6c per point in value. That means quarterly 5x UR can be worth about 8% back.
Citi Dividend
- Q1: Amazon, Select Streaming Services. Starting the year with Amazon—Citi is really going for it! If you can’t use it all, consider the Visa gift cards and third-party gift cards mentioned above. Citi uses a total annual cap, so if you have a lot of spending needs, once you max out this card, you can just sock-drawer it.
- Q2: Supermarkets, Drugstores. These two categories should be very familiar to everyone. If you plan to buy Visa gift cards, the $500 denomination usually has the lowest cost. Drugstores carry all kinds of gift cards, so be prepared to show ID if needed.
- Q3: Gas Stations, Home Improvement Stores. These two categories are not especially compelling, but anyone still holding this card has probably already maxed out the $300 annual cash back during the drugstore quarter.
- Q4: Restaurants, Best Buy. If you still have not finished this year’s $300 cash back, Best Buy has some $200 Visa gift cards available for purchase, though the selection of third-party gift cards is relatively limited.
- Quarterly 5x activation link: Citi official activation link
- Latest activation deadline: You only start earning 5% cash back after activation
- 5x cash back cap: $300 total cash back per calendar year, then 1%
- When rewards post: After each statement closes
- Card review: Citi Dividend (no longer available for direct application, but you may still be able to product change into it)
- Pros: No annual fee. There is no per-quarter cap, so if one quarter has especially useful 5% categories, you can potentially earn the full year’s $300 cash back in that quarter alone.
ABOC Platinum Credit Card (discontinued)
- Q1: groceries, fitness clubs, hospitals, pharmacies. With supermarkets and drugstores, you can buy just about anything you need.
- Q2: qualifying home improvement, gardening, Amazon.com, and other major online retailers. Looking at the MCCs, this also appears to include Costco, Target, and Walmart, so it is quite broadly useful. Amazon is also a nice option.
- Q3: Travel-related purchases, including airfare, car rentals, dining, hotels, and gas. Hopefully travel will be easy again by then.
- Q4: Dining, supermarkets, Amazon. These are basically everyday spending categories, so it is easy to max out.
- Quarterly 5x activation link: You must register at https://www.abocrewards.com/. Here are the latest 2021 5x categories; you can use the MCC list to see what qualifies for 5x.
- Latest activation deadline: Unknown
- 5x cash back cap: 5x points on the first $1,500 each quarter, then 1x
- When rewards post: Unknown
- Card review: ABOC Platinum Rewards
- Pros: No annual fee. It sometimes has unusual bonus categories, which can complement some of the other cards above.
US Bank Cash+
- Quarterly 5% category choice: If you have other 5x credit cards, then for Q1, categories like cell phone (you can overpay), Bookstore (for back-to-school book purchases), and fast food are good choices because they can cover part of your dining spend. Of course, it depends on your spending habits.
- Quarterly 5x activation link: US Bank official website
- Latest activation deadline: Unknown (readers who have this card are welcome to share data points)
- 5x cash back cap: 5x on the first $2,000 each quarter, then 1x
- When rewards post: Unknown (readers who have this card are welcome to share data points)
- Card review: US Bank Cash+ Credit Card (no annual fee, $125 welcome bonus, choose 2 quarterly 5% cash back categories and 1 category for 2%)
- Pros: No annual fee. Flexible category selection lets you do category swapping.
How to make the best use of these quarterly 5x categories
Casual credit card users
For casual credit card users, it is enough to know the 5x categories and carry the right card during the corresponding quarter.
Advanced credit card users
Because each quarterly 5x category is only valid for that quarter, even if you have all of the cards above, you still cannot cover all spending year-round, such as gas and supermarket purchases. In that case, you can use category swapping to turn one bonus category into effective 5% cash back in another category. For example, when supermarkets earn 5x, you can stock up on gas gift cards for use in later quarters, so your gas purchases in the remaining quarters effectively earn 5x too. Drugstores also sell gift cards for many other merchants, such as Amazon and eBay. Department stores like Sears also sell many third-party gift cards, and Best Buy does as well. Use gift cards as the bridge so all of your spending can earn 5% cash back. For more details, see:
MS users
- Gas stations: 7-Eleven may have Vanilla cards, and the store may code as gas station
- Drugstores (CVS, walgreen): PayPal My Cash, various Vanilla cards
- Sears, Bedbathbeyond, Best Buy: $200 Visa gift cards with PIN
For Dividend, drugstores are the best choice because the fee is 1%.