The 2016 Citi Dividend categories will have drugstores again in 2016!
2016 Dividend Categories
In previous years, drugstores were always the Q1 category, but in 2015 Citi scrapped that. In fact, many people have already product changed their Dividend cards for lack of usefulness.
The good people on Reddit found a picture of what the 2016 categories will look like and drugstores is showing as Q2.
- Q1 – Home Depot and other home furnishing stores
- Q2 – Drugstores and fitness clubs
- Q3 – Hilton and car rentals
- Q4 – Best Buy  and department store
Why this is Awesome
We’ve mentioned numerous times in the past that the beauty of the Dividend card versus the Freedom or Discover cards is that you can max out the full 5% spend in a single quarter. For example, you can charge $6,000 at the drugstore during Q2-2016 and get $300 cashback.
The only limitation with Dividend is that there is a max of $300 per year. Technically, there is no category max at all; in practice, the max will be $6,000 which is when you hit the $300 limit.
The max of $300 in total cashback includes any non-bonus spend as well which earns 1%. In this regard, Freedom and Discover IT are better as their 1% spend is not included in the limits.
Calculating the Year
One final – very important – note: Citi likes to count most annual things based on the billing cycle. The billing statement that is sent out in January is considered to be completely part of 2016. For example, if you spend $1,000 at Best Buy during December and your statement closes on January 1, 2016, those 5% rewards from Best Buy will count toward the $300 limit of 2016, not 2015.
Someone who prefers to max out the 2016 category completely at drugstores should make sure not to put any spend on the Dividend card from after their December statement closes – even if it’s on December 3, for example. This way, you’ll be able to get in a full $6,000 of spend at the drugstore with the 5% rate.
Note that only the $300 max will depend on the statement close date as to which year it belongs, but the 5% category will still be based on the exact date. Q2-2016 will be from April 1 until June 30.
