Activation reminder for 2022 First Quarter. The credit cards below offer up to 5% cash back on specific categories that rotate each quarter. It takes a little extra attention, but it can add up to hundreds of dollars in additional rewards per year without changing your spending habits. You can also buy gift cards at places with 5% back now but spend the gift cards later. (* Reminder that you can buy gift cards from lots of places at grocery stores…) New cardmembers may also get an upfront sign-up bonus.
Chase Freedom Flex CardFrom January 1st through March 31st, 2022, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the following categories:
- Grocery Stores (not including Walmart and Target).
- eBay
(The categories are also the same for the old Chase Freedom card, which is no longer available to new applicants.)
Enroll each quarter online in your Chase account or at ChaseBonus.com. As long as you activate by December 14th, the rewards are retroactive. Technically, you earn Ultimate Rewards points which can also be converted to airline miles or hotel points instead of cash if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve card. You could also use the Pay Yourself Back tool to get 25% to 50% more than 1 cent/point value. Currently, the Chase Freedom Flex card is offering new applicants a $200 bonus if you sign up and make $500 in purchases in your first three months. No annual fee.
Discover it CardFrom January 1st through March 31st, 2022 , you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the following categories:
- Grocery Stores (not including Walmart and Target).
- Fitness Club and Gym memberships
Enroll after logging into your online account (look on the right-hand side). 5% rewards won’t apply until after you activate your rewards, so it is best to activate now before you forget. No annual fee.
Discover it $100 bonus details. If you are a new applicant and sign up via my Discover Card referral link, you will get a $50 improved $100 Cashback Bonus after your first purchase within 3 months of being account opening. You will also get Cashback Match for an entire year – a dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year, automatically. During those 12 months, your 5% cash back rewards becomes 10% cash back, and your 1% cash back rewards become 2% cash back. You can verify this on the application by looking under “Terms and Conditions” or searching for “cashback match” and “statement credit offer”:
Cashback Match: We’ll match all the cash back rewards you’ve earned on your credit card from the day your new account is approved through your first 12 consecutive billing periods or 365 days, whichever is longer, and add it to your rewards account within two billing periods.
* You will receive a $100 Statement Credit after making a purchase within three months of account opening. You must apply through your friend’s referral link and be approved by December 31, 2022 in order to be eligible for the $100 Statement Credit offer. Offer may not be combined with any other introductory offer. Promotional award will be applied within 8 weeks.
American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card.
- 6% cash back at US supermarkets all year long (on up to $6,000 per year)
- 6% cash back at select US streaming subscriptions (includes Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube TV, and more).
- 3% cash back at US gas stations and transit (taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more).
I use this card all year long for groceries and put all my streaming services on it, and then in December use up the $6k annual limit on gift cards bought in the supermarket aisle. New cardholders are also eligible for a generous welcome offer. See details in link.
U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card. You must choose the two 5% cash back categories every quarter, out of a preset selection of specific categories:
- Fast Food
- Cell Phone Providers
- Home Utilities
- Ground Transportation
- Select Clothing Stores
- Electronics Stores
- Car Rentals
- Gyms/Fitness Centers
- Sporting Goods Stores
- Department Stores
- Furniture Stores
- Movie Theaters
- TV, Internet, and Streaming Services
Unfortunately, you can’t pick a broad category like gas stations, restaurants, or grocery stores. Make sure to choose your categories each and every quarter, even if you want them to stay the same. If you do not choose your categories, all purchases revert to only earning 1% cash back for that quarter. No annual fee.
Amazon Prime Rewards Card. Earn 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods all year long. Prime membership required. New cardholder bonus varies by person. No annual fee.
Citi Custom Cash Card. This new card offers 5% cash back on your top eligible spending category up to $500 spent each monthly billing cycle. Eligible categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, or select travel, but you only get 5% for the top category that month and 1% on everything else. To simplify things you could, for example, elect to only use this card for gas all year long.
Citi Dividend Card. This card has not been available to new applicants for years now, but if you still have the grandfathered card you can view and activate your quarterly 5% category here. Limit of $300 cash back for the calendar year.
Don’t settle for the “1% on everything else” that these cards offer. Get 2% cash back or higher. There are multiple options out there, here are the ones I’ve had for years. Check out the card-specific reviews for details.
- Citi Double Cash Card Review. 2% cash back. No annual fee.
- Fidelity Rewards Visa Card Review. 2% cash back. Fidelity account required, but there is no minimum balance requirement. No annual fee.
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The Chase/Apple pay option on the freedom card seems very useful. A lot of merchants across different categories like grocery, restaurants etc get covered in it.
For discover, wholesale clubs like costco do not take anything but VISA, but costco.com allows discover as a payment option – though i am not sure if that would count toward the 5% cashback. It will be nice to know if someone has tried and knows. If it does, it could be worthwhile to buy costco cash cards online with discover and use them to pay in store for purchases and gas.
Yes it does work.
I just placed an online Costco order for a $100 card and will see if it triggers the 5% then possibly buy the rest of the 1500$. Although this defeats the 2% back from the Costco Visa card. A smarter strategy might be to use this exclusively for gas then buy gift cards at the end of the quarter for the balance.
Actually it doesn’t have to defeat the purpose. You can get real cash from Costco in exchange for those gift cards. They might not do all $1500 at one time but $100 at a time I have done that.
Thanks! I think I’ll do 15 x $100 and liquidate 1 per week, I’m always there.
Congratulations on becoming a money launderer 🙂
In case anyone still listening, my Costco is doing away with this by year end (but getting conflicting stories about in effect now.) I agree the above is money laundering but we often get gift card as rebates from promoted merchants (floor install) and refunds and prefer the cash.
What kind of giftcard you talking about ? From Costco?
FWIW, I emailed Discover and they confirmed the 5% works at costco & bj’s online – so no fee, no shipping gift cards from either should work. Got my $100 costco card. Easily will blow 1500 per Q between the 2 so a no hassle way to max out without keeping track of purchases.
Thanks, may be worth a shot, especially since my wife’s Discover card is still within the first bonus year so that 5% becomes 10%…
And this card gets you 2.5 back on everything: https://www.mymoneyblog.com/alliant-credit-union-visa-signature-card-review.html
Thanks, I added that one to the list. It does have a $59 annual fee after the first year, though.
Why no mention of the Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card?
– 3% cash back in year one & 2.5% cash back after
https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/bank/visa-signature-card#features
Does the chase Costco 5% work at Costco for Gas?
I got an offer in Feb. for 5% cash back on any utility or insurance payment made with my Amazon Prime Visa card. I prepaid a few months of electric bills to make sure it worked, and it did. I plan on prepaying all of my utilities and insurance policies before this crazy offer expires. Talk about things you’re going to be buying anyway…
P.S.~~~My gas company charges $2.95 for a credit card payment, with a $1500 limit, so at 5% you’re spending $2.95 to make $75. Some utilities do charge, but you can still easily make money by making a big enough payment. Folks who read this blog are bright enough to do the math.
Talking about expenses/spending, Jonathan what are your expenses like ? Also, if anyone would like to share.
I’m looking for ways to reduce.
Expenses
Home Expenses Jan
Home Insurance $67.00
Maintenance
Property Taxes $233.00
Other
Total $718.00
Transportation Jan
Car Payments
License & Registration
Car Insurance $146.00
Fuel $202.00
Maintenance
Bus/Transit Pass
Taxi & Ride Shares
Other
Total $348.00
Utilities Jan
Electricity $250.00
Gas/Heating Oil
Cell Phones $60.00
Garbage $35.00
Internet $35.00
Television
Water $90.00
Other
Total $470.00
About $1,200 for everyday expenses. Taxes are spread out over a year.
I know I can shop online using Paypal and point it to the Discover Card to get the Q3 2019 cashback. I was googling around trying to figure out if there’s some way to pay with Discover on Paypal at physical stores, and what I found was confusing. I *think* they used to offer this feature on both iPhone and Android but now only Android, is that right? And I know you can add Paypal to Apple Pay, but will that charge to the Discover card getting you your cashback, or will it charge your bank account? Anybody familiar with this?
any luck with this. I’m interested in this too.
I don’t see the option to use PayPal for pay1040.com (Chase Freedom, 4th quarter, 2019)
You’re right, the lowest option is 1.96% with PayUSATax, will fix.
I think the dates for the Amalgamated 5x offer is wrong … just sayin’
Fixed, thanks!
Wondering what card to use to pay medical bills. The provider has given 12 – 24 months at 0% rate to pay the bills. Payment can be made monthly via credit card. Currently have Citi and get 2% back. Wondering if there is another card that could be used for this purpose. Since its medical bill wondering if it will fall under health category. Any suggestion?
@Frugal Mom, many drugstores and supermarkets sell prepaid VISA or American Express-branded gift cards. Buy one on a credit card offering 5% off drugstore or supermarket purchases. Then use the prepaid gift card to pay your medical bill (the provider should process the gift card like any credit card). You’ll save 5% off what you paid for the gift card, less a $5.95 fee per gift card, so put the maximum amount on as few gift cards as you need to pay the bills.
Hi Jonathan. Thanks for the quarterly reminder. You might still list “Chase Freedom” with the “Chase Freedom Flex” for the quarterly categories.
I think existing cardholders are grandfathered and not automatically converted to the Flex product. I’m keeping my Freedom and will apply for the Flex separately since they are different products. That way, I can effectively double the total potential spend eligible for a quarterly bonus.
Does the Chase 5% back at Walmart include Walmart Neighborhood groceries?
DB, here’s the specifics on the Chase 5% cashback at Walmart offer:
Purchases in the Walmart category include purchases at Walmart Discount Stores, Walmart SuperCenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets, http://www.walmart.com, Walmart branded gas stations operated by Walmart, any other Walmart branded retail stores operated by Walmart, and purchases made with Walmart Pay. Please note that merchants operating within or on Walmart premises such as merchants that sell fast food, beauty services, and gas stations that are not Walmart branded are not included in this category. Walmart affiliate businesses such as Sam’s Club are also not included in this category.
Does use of PayPal’s Bill Pay service (linked to the Chase Freedom) qualify for the 5%? This service has my utility companies listed, which otherwise have to be paid via eft.
I would imagine that as long as the source of PayPal is your Chase Freedom card, it should count.
Follow-up: I paid my electric bill using PayPal (not “PayPal Credit”) with Chase Freedom as my source of funds (not bank or PayPal balance). The site seemed to confirm that I’d get 5% back on the first $1,500 this quarter at the checkout page. I did have to pay a flat fee of $1.85, but I decided to pay extra ($200) so as long as I get my 5x Ultimate Rewards/5% back, then I should be safely ahead. Thanks for the question.
But you used your utility to kick off the PayPal transaction? I’m talking about using PayPal’s own bill pay service to start the transaction.
If you are on the PayPal app, click on the $ sign, then “pay” then “bills.” It brings up eligible institutions. This is seemingly akin to a bank’s bill pay service.
Ah, thanks, at first I couldn’t see that option as it is not available in PayPal Business accounts. I asked to be downgraded to a Personal account, and saw that option. Initiating within the PayPal app, I was able to pay the same electric bill with no fee and with the same Chase Freedom card as the source. My water company was not available. I guess we’ll see if it works! Did you try it?
Hi Erik, I’ve been using PayPal since your tip here in October to pay my gas and electric. The Chase 5% is gone now, but I still can earn 2% with my Citi Doublecash via PayPal. I had a crazy idea – would PayPal’s bill pay service pay my Rocket Mortgage? I did a search on the PayPal website for the fun of it, and Rocket Mortgage shows up as a “credit card” payment option.
Before I try it out, I thought I’d check to see if you or anybody else here has tried PayPal’s bill pay for a mortgage payment? If it works, the 2% cashback would be great. But I know there are services that exist for allowing credit card payment of mortgages and charge a hefty fee, so I wondered if it would truly be fee-free on PayPal?
Erik, thank you for bringing this up, as I was not aware of PayPal’s Bill Pay service. I tested from PayPal’s website with my electric company using Chase. My electric company has credited me the bill payment, and I was not charged a convenience fee for using credit like I would have if I paid on the website. The Chase website is already reflecting the bonus Q4 cashback for using PayPal for this transaction. So, yes, it works! Thanks again!
Thanks Eric as well. I too was not aware PayPal had a Bill Pay service.
Dan…I am unable to locate the PayPal Bill Pay service on the web site. Can you walk me through the steps from the main page?
Thanks
Disregard Dan. I found it.
Is the Friends and Family or Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions exclusion new for Chase? I recall using it last year, and I know it worked last quarter for Discover.