While there are some great sign-up bonus miles and points cards you should always pay attention to the 5% back on bonus categories that rotate quarterly. This is true especially with Chase and Discover. If you are a Chase Freedom, Discover It, Citi Dividend, or US Bank Cash+ cardholder, make sure to activate your 2017 Q4 bonus categories.
1. Discover it: 10x Back at Amazon.com & Target
The Discover it has a quarterly cap of $1500 in spend on 5x categories. Remember that all new Discover IT cardholders will earn a 2x bonus on cash back earned in the first 12 months of card membership, You can learn more about that here and apply here for an additional spend bonus. including on cash back earned in bonus categories, making quarterly category spend worth 10% cash back in the first year!
2. Chase Freedom: 5% Back at Walmart & Department Stores
Now is a great time to apply for the Chase Freedom card and get $150 bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. You will also get the Holiday spending 5% cash back bonus at Walmart and Department Stores. The Chase Freedom has a quarterly cap of $1500 in spend on 5x categories per account.
Here are some cards that are worth nothing with 5% cash back for the Holiday spending months ahead. We do not recommend these cards any longer but we feel we should mention them.
3. Citi Dividend: 5% Back at Best Buy & Department Stores
The Citi Dividend earns 5% cash back on a cumulative total of $6,000 in quarterly 5x spend per year rather than on $1500 spend per quarter. The Citi Dividend is no longer available for signups, but you can product change other Citi accounts to it once those accounts are at least one year old.
4. US Bank Cash+ – “Choose” your categories
This card has fell down from what used to be an amazing card to almost junk status. The US Bank Cash+ card allows you to earn 5% cash back in two categories of a very limited choice every quarter, up to $2000 in combined spend. The Cash+ also allows you to choose a 2% cash back category every quarter, but most likely places you will never walk into.
