Discover quarterly rewards categories for Q1 2024

Written by
Maryalene Laponsie
Terms apply; see the online credit card application for full terms and conditions of offers and rewards.

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As the calendar turns to a new year, card_name cardholders have the opportunity to earn bonus cash back in new spending categories. For each quarter of 2024, the popular card issuer will update its 5% Bonus Cashback Calendar when you activate, allowing members to earn additional rewards on up to $1,500 in qualified spending.

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What are Discover’s cash-back categories for the first quarter of 2024?

From January-March 2024, card_name cardholders will earn 5% cash back on purchases from U.S. restaurants and drug stores up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. The bonus cash back is limited to $1,500 in purchases per quarter, equaling $75 in rewards.

Discover defines restaurants as merchants classified as the following:

  • Full-service restaurants
  • Cafes
  • Cafeterias
  • Fast-food locations
  • Restaurant delivery services

Meanwhile, drug stores include the following:

  • Stand-alone drug stores
  • Pharmacies
  • Online pharmacies
  • Some pharmacies located inside retail stores

Details of the Discover 5% cash back calendar

Discover reveals the 5% cash-back bonus category in the month before the start of the next quarter. That means we won’t know the other 2024 categories until later in the year. However, we can look back at the categories from previous years to get an idea of what they might be.

January-March

April-June

July-September

October-December

2023

Grocery stores, drug stores and select streaming services

Restaurants and wholesale clubs

Gas stations and digital wallets

Amazon.com and Target

2022

Grocery stores and fitness club and gym memberships

Gas stations and Target

Restaurants and PayPal

Amazon.com and digital wallets

2021

Grocery stores, Walgreens, CVS

Gas stations, wholesale clubs and select streaming services

Restaurants and PayPal

Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com

2020

Grocery stores, Walgreens, CVS

Gas stations, Uber, Lyft and wholesale clubs

Restaurants and PayPal

Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com

2019

Grocery stores

Gas stations, Uber and Lyft

Restaurants

Amazon.com

Each quarter, cardholders can receive 5% cash back on purchases in the bonus categories. The bonus is capped at $1,500 in spending which translates into $75 cash back. After that, all additional purchases earn an unlimited 1% cash back.

How to activate Discover’s cash-back categories

Bonus cash back isn’t automatically awarded, though. You’ll need to activate each quarter’s category to begin earning 5% cash back.

Activation is simple and can be done with the click of a button. Discover typically sends cardholders an email reminding them to activate the cash back category for the next quarter. These emails generally contain a link that can be clicked to activate the offer.

If you don’t get an email or lose it, you can also activate the bonus category online. You should see the option to activate on the main page for your credit card account. You can also go to the 5% Cashback Calendar within your account to activate the offer or call Discover’s customer service line.

You should be able to activate the category as soon as it is announced. Those announcements occur at the start of the month before a new quarter begins.

How to redeem Discover credit card rewards

Redeeming Discover cash back is almost as easy as activating the cash back categories. You have four options:

  • Cash: Redeem your cash back for a statement credit or deposit it into a bank account.
  • Pay with rewards: Cash back can be used to make purchases at Amazon.com or through PayPal.
  • Gift cards: You’ll get 5-20% added value when you redeem your cash back for gift cards. There are nearly 100 options including Walmart, Target, Land’s End and Grubhub.
  • Charity: You can donate your cash back to one of eight charities including the American Red Cross, Junior Achievement USA and the World Wildlife Fund.

You can choose from these options within the redemption page of your online Discover account.

Other cards with rotating bonus categories

Discover isn’t the only card with quarterly bonus categories. CardName and Chase Freedom® cardholders also need to activate their quarterly bonus category to begin earning extra cash back.

For the first quarter of 2024, Chase is offering 5% cash back on up to $1,500 worth of purchases at grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target), fitness clubs and gym memberships and self-care and spa services (those purchased at hotels may not qualify).

Other cards let you select your own bonus category and change it quarterly or monthly. These include the CardName and the card_name. If you haven’t reviewed your selection recently, the start of the year is a good time to reevaluate your choice.

Ready to ramp up your rewards for the new year? Check out the best credit cards to get right now.

author
Maryalene Laponsie
Cardratings Contributor

Maryalene is a freelance contributor to CardRatings.com and specializes in personal finance topics such as credit cards, budgeting, saving and investing. She has written professionally for nearly 25 years and is a regular contributor to U.S. News & World Report, Money Talks News,...Read more

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Disclaimer:

The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.

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