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Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
Ashley Maready is a former history museum professional who made the leap to digital content writing and editing in 2021. She has a BA in History and Philosophy from Hood College and an MA in Applied History from Shippensburg University. Ashley loves creating content for the public and learning new things so she can teach others, whether it's information about salt mining, canal mules, or personal finance.
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Discover® is known for offering rotating bonus categories on its most popular credit cards. These categories allow you to earn one of the highest rewards rates on the market, if you stay on top of the Discover cash back calendar.
Eligible Discover credit cards offer 5% back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases across a range of rotating bonus categories every quarter. To earn that rate on each eligible purchase, you just need to have one of those cards and activate the bonus categories quarterly.
Here's the Discover cash back calendar for 2024, as well as how to activate bonus categories and which Discover credit cards offer them.
Discover's 5% Cashback Bonus® calendar for 2024
These are Discover's rotating bonus categories for 2024:
Quarter
Bonus categories
Approximate starting activation date
January through March
Restaurants and Drug Stores
Jan. 1, 2024
April through June
Gas Stations & Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Home Improvement Stores, and Public Transit
March 1, 2024
July through September
Coming soon -- Announcing on June 1
June 1, 2024
October through December
Coming soon -- Announcing on Sept. 1
Sept. 1, 2024
Data source: Discover.com
Discover's calendar always includes a mix of some new categories and old favorites that have been there for years. However, it only reveals one quarter's categories at a time. Gone are the days of revealing a full year's worth of categories at once.
The good news is that every quarter includes categories where cardmembers often have high spending, such as Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Amazon.com, and Target purchases. That makes it easier to hit the $1,500 spending cap each quarter using your everyday spending. If you do, you'll earn $75 in cash back per quarter and $300 per year just from bonus categories.
The starting activation date is the earliest date you can activate a quarter's bonus categories. It's best to activate as soon as possible, because the Discover Cashback Bonus® only applies to bonus category purchases made after you activate. If you forget to activate for the first month of the quarter, you won't receive bonus rewards on eligible purchases.
How to activate Discover bonus categories
Here's how to sign up for Discover's 5% Cashback Bonus® program:
Log in to your Account Center.
Go to the Cashback Bonus® option.
Click the "Activate" button.
If you haven't registered for Discover's online Account Center, you'll need to do that first. Alternatively, you can activate rotating bonus categories over the phone by calling 1-800-DISCOVER (1-800-347-2683).
Since bonus categories must be activated every quarter, you may want to set up email reminders.
Which Discover credit cards offer 5% Cashback Bonus® categories?
The following Discover credit cards earn 5% back in rotating bonus categories:
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
300-579
580-669
670-739
740-850
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Fair/New to Credit Under(669)
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
300-579
580-669
670-739
740-850
Fair/New to Credit Under(669)
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
300-579
580-669
670-739
740-850
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Welcome Offer:
N/A
Discover will match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year.
Welcome Offer:
N/A
Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year.
Welcome Offer:
Get an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year, automatically.
Unlimited cashback match
Rewards Program:
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.
1% - 5% Cashback
Rewards Program:
5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically
1% - 5% Cashback
Rewards Program:
5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically
1% - 5% Cashback
Intro APR:
Purchases: 0%, 15 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months
Intro APR:
Purchases: 0%, 6 months
Balance Transfers: 10.99%, 6 months
Intro APR:
Purchases: 0%, 15 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months
Regular APR:
18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR
Regular APR:
18.24% - 27.24% Variable APR
Regular APR:
17.24% to 28.24%, variable
Annual Fee:
$0
Annual Fee:
$0
Annual Fee:
$0
Highlights:
INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers–only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300.
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.
Redeem your rewards for cash at any time.
Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It's free, activate with the mobile app.
Get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 18.24% to 28.24% Standard Variable Purchase APR applies, based on credit worthiness.
No annual fee.
Terms and conditions apply.
Highlights:
INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 cash back into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.
Redeem your rewards for cash at any time.
No credit score required to apply.
Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app.
No annual fee and build your credit with responsible use.
0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months, then the standard variable purchase APR of 18.24% - 27.24% applies.
Terms and conditions apply.
Highlights:
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
Unlimited Cashback Match: There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers.
Get 100% U.S. based customer service & get your free Credit Scorecard with your FICO® Credit Score, number of recent inquiries and more.
Get an alert if Discover finds your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites.* Activate for free.
You must activate bonus categories each quarter to earn 5% back on up to $1,500 in purchases across those categories with any of these credit cards. Other purchases earn 1% cash back.
In addition, all Discover credit cards offer an Unlimited cashback match welcome bonus. Discover automatically gives you a dollar-for-dollar match on all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year as a new cardholder (or your Miles, if you get the Discover it® Miles). If you earn $500 in cash back in the first year using your card, Discover will give you another $500 in bonus cash. It's like earning double rewards that entire year.
You can redeem your Discover cash back at any time with no redemption minimums. Another nice thing about Discover credit cards is that they don't charge unnecessary fees. They all have no annual fee and charge no foreign transaction fees.
How to maximize Discover's Cashback Bonus®
A 5% cash back rate is extremely competitive. To make the most of it, aim to max out credit card rewards in your Discover card's rotating bonus categories every quarter. That means you should try to get as close to the $1,500 quarterly spending cap as possible with your regular expenses.
Here are a few tips that can help with this in 2024:
Set up a reminder email with Discover to ensure you always activate your 5% Cashback Bonus® as soon as possible.
Make a note of the new quarterly bonus categories so that you start using your Discover credit card for those types of purchases.
Look for simple ways to adjust your shopping habits based on the quarter's bonus categories.
If you do that, you could earn up to $300 across those Discover Cashback Bonus® categories in 2024.
The Discover 5% Cashback Bonus® categories for 2024 are:
Restaurants and Drug Stores from January through March
The categories for remaining quarters have not yet been announced.
Discover matches the cash back you've earned one time after the end of your first year as a cardholder. If you earn $300 in cash back the first year, then Discover will add another $300.
To get the most cash back on your Discover card, use it for all your regular purchases. If your Discover card offers 5% back categories each quarter, make sure to activate them as soon as activation is available.
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We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Discover Financial Services is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Lyle Daly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, PayPal, and Target. The Motley Fool recommends Discover Financial Services and recommends the following options: short June 2024 $67.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters.
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Ashley Maready
