It’s now possible to activate/enroll your 5% credit cards for first quarter of 2017. In this post we will provide the activation link for each card and also list what categories that card has along with any strategies we suggest for helping to increase spend on that category (without just making friviolous purchases).
Contents
Chase Freedom – Gas Stations, Local Commuter Transportation
Chase gives you a helpful list of merchant inclusions and exclusions here. Keep in mind that local commuter transportation includes things like Uber & Lyft. Some gas stations sell gift cards, but it’s hard to find ones that accept payment with a credit card. Most people will be stuck with day to day expenses for this quarter. Previous discussion here.
Tip: Click ‘See Details’ in your Chase Freedom login to see how far along the $1,500 you are.
Discover it –Â Gas Stations, Ground Transportation & Wholesale Clubs
Unfortunately there is a lot of overlap here with Chase Freedom categories. On the bright side Wholesale Clubs are included and they do sell gift cards of all varieties so using this up shouldn’t be too difficult for most people. New Discover cardholders will also get that 5% cashback doubled at year’s end for a total of 10% back. Previous discussion here.
Tip: Click this link to see you how far along the $1,500 you are.
Citi Dividend – Home Depot & Home Furnishing Stores
Citi is slightly different to the other cards in that you have a $6,000 annual cap rather than a quarterly cap. You can view the full calendar for next year here. Personally I don’t think Q1 categories are that exciting, so I’ll probably wait until Q2. Previous discussion here & here.
Citi give the following examples of home furnishing stores:
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Crate & Barrel
- Empire Today
- Ethan Allen
- IKEA
- La-Z-Boy
- PC Richard & Son
- Pottery Barn
- West Elm
- Williams-Sonoma
- And many more
Cash+ – Select your Categories
U.S. Bank Cash+ offers 5% cash back in two categories, up to $2,000 combined total per quarter. Here are the current options:
- Select clothing stores
- Cell phones
- Electronic Stores
- Car rental
- Gyms/Fitness
- Bookstores
- Fastfood
- Charity
- Sports goods
- Department Stores
- Furniture Stores
- Movie theaters
This really varies person by person, gym & fitness can be useful if you pay for a full year in early 2017 (although obviously don’t do this unless your a gym rat and will actually need the full year membership).
Our Thoughts
These categories are all pretty bland in my opinion, best is probably Wholesale Clubs and I think a lot of people are getting sick of them.
Related: What Counts as Gas & Transportation for 5x with Freedom and Discover?Â
