The 2024 Discover cash-back calendar provides excellent opportunities to earn elevated rewards rates throughout the year. Since the available rotating categories always tend to align with everyday expenses — including restaurants, grocery stores, and more — it’s an easy way to earn 5% cash back on purchases.

Few cash-back credit cards offer up to 5% back on purchases, making the Discover rotating categories especially valuable.

Discover rotating cash-back calendar for 2024

These are the Discover rotating cash-back categories for 2023 and 2024:

Previous Discover cash-back categories include:

• PayPal (Q3 2022)

• Fitness clubs (Q1 2022)

• Gym memberships (Q1 2022)

• Walgreens and CVS (Q1 2021)

• Uber and Lyft (Q2 2020)

How Discover rotating cash-back categories work

Discover rotating categories are cash-back bonus categories available on certain Discover cash-back credit cards. These categories offer up to 5% cash back (up to $1,500 per quarter after activation) and rotate quarterly.

Maximizing your earnings with the Discover rotating categories (spending $1,500 per quarter) could earn you $75 in cash back quarterly or $300 annually. That’s not bad for purchases you might already be making anyway.

How to activate Discover rotating categories

You can activate your 5% rotating categories for the quarter through the Discover mobile app, your online account, or by calling the Discover customer service number on the back of your credit card. You can also activate through a Discover email if you’ve received one.

You won’t earn 5% on applicable purchases unless you activate each quarter. You can typically activate after the quarter has already started, but you won’t earn 5% retroactively on any purchases you’ve already made.

How to make the most of Discover rotating categories

I've had a Discover credit card for many years and noticed that the quarterly bonus categories tend to follow similar patterns yearly.

For example, you might see grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations announced in any of the first three quarters of the year. However, Q4 is often reserved for categories related to holiday shopping, which could include Amazon.com.

Knowing this, you could better align your spending with the 5% rotating categories and pad your cash-back rewards. That’s especially true with Q4, where you can take advantage of seasonal deals and pricing.

Of course, you can’t know for sure which categories will be announced ahead of time.

Fortunately, Discover typically announces rotating categories a month before they go live. That gives you a buffer to make some adjustments to upcoming spending. For example, if gas stations were just announced for the next quarter, maybe that’s an opportunity to take that road trip you’ve been planning.

Tip: Purchasing gift cards can be an easy way to maximize hitting the $1,500 spending limit each quarter. Many grocery stores, gas stations, drug stores, and other locations sell gift cards you can use later for other expenses. That could include buying Amazon, Home Depot, or other types of gift cards, depending on your upcoming purchases.

Discover credit cards with rotating categories

Discover has three cash-back credit cards with rotating categories:

• Discover it? Cash Back Credit Card

• Discover it? Student Cash Back Credit Card

• NHL? Discover it? Credit Card

All three cards use the same rewards program and have the same bonus rewards rate. However, the Discover it Cash Back Credit Card makes the most sense if you’re not a student or a big NHL fan.

Discover it? Cash Back

• Annual fee
  $0
• Welcome offer
  Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year, with no minimum spending requirement or maximum rewards cap
• Card type(s)
  Cash-back
• Purchase APR
  18.24% - 28.24% variable
• Introductory APR
  0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months (18.24% to 28.24% variable APR after that; 3% intro balance transfer fee until until Dec. 10, 2024, then up to 5%)
• Recommended credit score
  Good to Excellent

• Rewards rate
  • 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter — including grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more —?up to the quarterly maximum
  • 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases

• Benefits
  • Redeem your rewards for cash at any time
  • Generous intro APR for purchases and balance transfers

Learn more

More details:

Earning 5% cash back is near the best return you can expect from a rewards credit card. Just be aware that there are a few rules about earning 5% back with the Discover it Cash Back Credit Card.

You have to activate each quarter to earn 5% on rotating categories, which you can do through your online account or by calling 1-800-DISCOVER. You can earn 5% back after activation each quarter on up to $1,500, then your rate becomes 1% back.

Any cash back you earn with this card will never expire.

Learn more about the Discover it Cash Back Credit Card

Alternative credit cards to consider

Blue Cash Everyday? Card from American Express

Rates & fees, terms apply

• Annual fee
  $0
• Welcome offer
  Earn a $200 statement credit after spending $2,000 within the first 6 months
• Card type(s)
  Cash-back
• Introductory Purchases APR
  0% on purchases for 15 months
• Ongoing Purchases APR
  19.24% - 29.99% Variable
• Introductory Balance Transfer APR
  0% on balance transfers for 15 months
• Ongoing Balance Transfer APR
  19.24% - 29.99% Variable
• Recommended credit score
  Excellent, Good

• Rewards rate
  • 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%)
  • 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%)
  • 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%)
  • 1% cash back on all other purchases
  • Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or on Amazon.com at checkout

• Benefits
  • 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months
  • Get a $7 monthly statement credit after spending $9.99 or more on a streaming subscription to the Disney Bundle, plus earn up to $15 in monthly statement credits after purchasing a Home Chef subscription

Learn more

The Amex Blue Cash Everyday is excellent for earning elevated daily rewards, especially if you don’t want to worry about rotating categories.

It has a $0 annual fee (see rates and fees) and earns 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and on U.S. online retail purchases on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%. It also earns 1% cash back on other eligible purchases (cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or on Amazon.com at checkout).

Read our full review of the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card

Wells Fargo Active Cash? Credit Card

• Annual fee
  $0
• Welcome offer
  Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 within the first 3 months
• Card type(s)
  Cash-back
• Introductory APR
  0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months, after which the standard APR applies
• Purchase APR
  20.24% - 29.99% variable

• Rewards rate
  2% cash rewards on purchases

• Benefits
  • Get up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft
  • 0% introductory APR is useful to finance large purchases or transfer a balance from another card

Learn more

For simple cash-back earning without bonus categories, consider the Wells Fargo Active Cash.

This card provides unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases and a $200 cash rewards bonus to new cardholders who spend $500 in the first three months.

With its flat rewards rate, $0 annual fee, and cell phone protection perk, the Wells Fargo Active Cash might be the only card you need in your wallet.

Learn more about the Wells Fargo Active Cash

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Annual fee
  $95
• Welcome offer
  Earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
• Card type(s)
  Travel
• Purchase APR
  19.99% - 29.99% variable
• Recommended credit score
  Good, Excellent

• Rewards rate
  • 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • 2x miles on all other purchases

• Benefits
  • Receive up to a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fees
  • Receive a $50 experience credit, room upgrades, and early check-in at eligible hotels
  • Access Hertz's Five Star membership tier, offering free upgrades, a wider selection of vehicles, and more

Learn more

The Capital One Venture Rewards provides a straightforward rewards rate for earning miles on everyday purchases. You can earn unlimited 2x miles on every eligible purchase and 5x miles on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel.

That means there aren’t any complicated rotating categories to track, and your purchases earn valuable Capital One miles that you can redeem for travel.

Read our full review of the Capital One Venture Rewards

Chase Freedom Flex? Card

• Annual fee
  $0
• Welcome offer
  Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months
• Card type(s)
  Rewards, Cash-back
• Introductory APR
  0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months
• Purchase APR
  20.49% - 29.49% variable

• Rewards rate
  • 5% cash back on up to $1,500 on combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate
  • 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel?
  • 3% on dining, including takeout and drug stores
  • 1% on all other purchases

• Benefits
  • Get 5% cash back on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025, plus select DoorDash discounts
  • Enjoy perks like extended warranty protection, trip cancellation insurance, cell phone protection, and auto rental collision damage waiver
  • Redeem your cash back rewards as a statement credit, direct deposit, gift card, on Amazon purchases, or to book travel through Chase
  • Use the introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months, after which the standard APR will apply

Learn more

The Chase Freedom Flex is another cash-back credit card focusing on rotating categories.

It has a $0 annual fee and provides 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in rotating bonus categories each quarter you activate. You can also earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel?, 3% on dining and at drug stores, and 1% on all other purchases.

The Freedom Flex is one of our favorite Chase credit cards because of its elevated rewards rate and low annual fee.

Learn more about the Chase Freedom Flex

All information about Chase Freedom Flex? has been collected independently by Yahoo Finance. Chase Freedom Flex? is no longer available through Yahoo Finance.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Discover cash-back calendar

What are rotating categories?

Credit card rotating categories provide increased earning potential and typically change every quarter. For example, you might have Amazon.com and select streaming services one quarter, while the next quarter is grocery stores and Target. It’s common for rotating categories to offer up to 5% cash back.

What is the quarterly maximum for Discover cash back?

The Discover it Cash Back Credit Card offers 5% back on rotating categories of up to $1,500 (then 1%) each quarter. This requires a free quarterly activation.

If you activate and spend $1,500 each quarter, you could earn $75 in cash back every three months, or $300 annually.

What are the current Discover cash-back categories?

Amazon.com and Target are the current Discover cash-back categories for Q4 (October to December) 2024. The Q1 (January to March) 2025 categories will be announced in December 2024.

This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken

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