It’s now possible to activate/enroll all 5% category credit cards for the fourth quarter of 2020, including the Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Flex, Discover IT, Citi Dividend, and US Bank Cash+ and a few more. In this post we’ll provide the activation link for each card and links to track your spend, along with strategies to help increase spend in these categories.
Dates: October 1st – December 31, 2020. Store purchases can usually be done until the last minute. Online purchases should be given a buffer zone of a day or two.
Contents
Chase Freedom – PayPal & Walmart
Activation Link / FAQ / Sample Stores & Exclusions / Our original post
Earn 5% back this quarter at PayPal and Walmart, up to $1,500 maximum.
- PayPal – I love the PayPal category since you can use them almost anywhere. You can even do things like paying taxes with PayPal via PayUSATax. You can also send money to friends via PayPal for a 2.9% fee, just beware there could potentially be a cash advance issue there. (“Please note, Friends and Family or Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions made with your Chase Freedom card on PayPal may be prohibited.”)
- Walmart – Walmart doesn’t typically earn a bonus multiplier on any credit card which makes it a nice category too. Includes Walmart Discount Stores, Walmart SuperCenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets, walmart.com, Walmart branded gas stations operated by Walmart, Walmart Pay.
Tip: Click this link (login required) to check how far you are along the $1,500.
Discover – Amazon, Walmart.com, Target.com
Activation Link / Our original post
Earn 5% back this quarter at Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com, up to $1,500 maximum. They added Best Buy in the middle of the quarter as well.
A lot of people always get 5% back on Amazon.com with their Amazon Prime credit card, and get 5% back at Target with their Target REDcard. The category is thus mainly useful for:
- Walmart.com – doesn’t typically have a multiplier, so it’s a nice category. Remember, Chase Freedom/Flex also has Walmart available, and you might want to use that one first if you value Ultimate Rewards more than 1 penny each.
- Buying Target gift cards at target.com does not get the 5% discount with REDcard. Specifically, Target has been running an annual Target gift card sale for 10% off during holiday season, and using Discover to pay for that is a good idea.
- Those who don’t have REDcard and the Amazon Prime credit card, will find this category useful for Amazon purchases and Target purchases.
- Best Buy can be useful for holiday shopping. This option includes both in-store and online purchases.
Activate to earn 5% Cashback Bonus at Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com from 10/1/20 (or the date on which you activate 5%, whichever is later) through 12/31/20, on up to $1,500 in purchases. Amazon.com purchases include those made through the Amazon.com checkout, including digital downloads, Amazon.com gift cards, Amazon Fresh orders, Amazon Local Deals, Amazon Prime subscriptions and items sold by third party merchants through Amazon.com’s marketplace. Purchases also include those made in-store at Amazon Go, Amazon Bookstore, and Amazon 4-Star. The Amazon.com logo and the smile logo are trademarks of Amazon or its Affiliates. Walmart.com purchases include only those made at Walmart.com and when shopping through the Walmart app (including Grocery Pick Up and Instore Pick Up). Purchases made through affiliates of Walmart.com are not part of this promotion.
Citi Dividend – Best Buy & Warehouse Online
Landing Page | Our Original Post
Earn 5% back at Best Buy and for online purchases at Warehouse Clubs this quarter. Citi is different than the other cards in that you have a $6,000 annual cap rather than a $1,500 quarterly cap. Thus, you can get 5% back on up to $6,000 in this quarter, you can save the entire amount for a different quarter, or you can use part up each quarter.
- Best Buy – from memory, this works for both online and store purchases. Best Buy isn’t typically a bonused category, so this could be useful.
- Warehouse Clubs, only valid for online purchases – useful for online purchases at places like Costco, Sam’s, BJ’s, etc. Or for buying up gift cards online to places like Costco/Sam’s/etc and then spending them in-club.
A lot of people already maxed out 2020 on supermarkets in Q1 and drugstores in Q2.
US Bank Cash+ – Select your Categories
Activation link | Our Original Post
U.S. Bank Cash+ offers 5% cash back in two categories, up to $2,000 combined total per quarter. Keep in mind that Car Rentals was recently replaced with TV, Internet, and Streaming Services.
Here are the current options:
- TV, Internet, and Streaming Services
- Home utilities
- Select clothing stores
- Cell phone providers
- Electronic Stores
- Gyms/Fitness
- Fast food
- Ground Transportation
- Sporting goods
- Department Stores
- Furniture Stores
- Movie theaters
Tip: Login here, then scroll down and click on the red “View Your Cash+ History” button.
Bank of America Cash Rewards
The Cash Rewards card from Bank of America offers 3% back on one selected category, up to $2,500 per quarter. If you don’t select anything it defaults to gas. Once you selected a category for one quarter, that remains your category in the future unless you change it. Each calendar month you can change it if you’d like, but you’re always limited to $2,500 for the entire quarter.
- Gas (default)
- Online Shopping
- Dining
- Travel
- Drug Stores
- Home Improvement/Furnishings
This category is especially lucrative for those who have Preferred Rewards status with Bank of America which can get you 5.25% back on one of these categories at the higher relationship level.
Lots of useful categories here. Important note: the Cash Rewards card also offers 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs up to $2,500 per quarter, and that $2,500 limit combines with the Category Selection limit. After spending $2,500, you’ll earn 1% back on everything.
Other Cards with 5% Category
ABOC – Select Retailers
Registration Link | Our Original Post
- Earn 5x points on up to $1,500 in purchases at qualifying department and electronics stores, superstores, Amazon.com, and other major online retailers.
Nusenda FCU – Restaurants, Hotels, Airfare
Landing Page | Our Original Post
- Earn 5% this quarter on restaurants, hotels, and airfare on up to $1,500 in purchases.
Affinity FCU – Amazon, Popular Retailers
Landing Page | Our Original Post
- Earn 5% this quarter on purchases on Amazon and other popular retailers.
The 5x is on top of regular earn for a total of 6x or 7x, depending on the card. There also does not appear to be any limit.
Vantage West [AZ] – Select your Category
Landing Page | Our Original Post
Get 5x points on the category of your choice, up to $1,500 per quarter. Eligible categories:
- Travel
- Restaurants
- Utilities [water, cell, electric, etc.]
- In-Store Wholesale Purchases [Costco, Sam’s Club, etc.]
- Department Stores
- Hardware & Home Improvement Stores
- Charitable Organizations
- Pharmacies & Drug Stores
- Amazon.com
Can someone confirm that a PayPal transaction made on the 31st will count? There is a link to an old thread above warning to leave a day or two, but an old post there indicated that PP was safe up to the last day.
I doubt anyone can definitely answer that question. There’s certainly some element of risk it won’t fully process properly in time.
Well, I made a payment on Sunday, and it posted Tuesday with Sunday’s date. So hopefully that’s indicative of it working properly (as in, as expected).
Nice, thanks for the data point
So I ended up having to do some PayPal transactions on the 31st because i had problems with the site I was paying before that. Good news is that everything showed up with the date I made the payment. However, a payment I made at Payusatax (via PP) showed up with the following date (fortunately I did that on the 29th). Not sure if it was because I made the payment after 5pm or just how they work, but that one is probably not safe to do the last day.
Got a bit scared because transactions on two of my Freedom cards are not showing any points when I view the transaction (not even the single points). But I think that’s just a matter of the transaction just posting today. Had to check my emails to make sure that I had activated the 5% off on all three of my cards!!
I’m in a pickle. Here’s my scenario:
I’m 5/24 and will fall to 4/24 on Dec. 13. I’m getting Chase Freedom Flex for sure but don’t know whether to apply on Dec. 13 or 14th. My 5/24 card was opened exactly on December 13, 2018. The latest day to activate Q4 5% category is Dec. 14th.
Should I apply for CFF on Dec. 13 or 14th and hope 5/24 doesn’t affect me and if I can activate the quarterly category on time? Or should I just play it safe, forget the quarterly category and just apply on the 15th?
Cross posted on multiple threads to see opinions. Thanks.
Best Buy added for Discover Q4 2020 5% category.
Posted, thanks https://www.doctorofcredit.com/discover-adds-best-buy-to-their-5-categories-for-q4-2020/
Will post the same here as I did on the PayPal Key page. I paid my taxes using pay1040.com. I entered the PayPal Key linked to my freedom card and it processed as a debit card. Fee was only $2.58 for $1500 total transaction.
Has this worked for others? Wish I’d seen it before paying my taxes today without using this trick.
Not that I had any reason to doubt they would, but I can verify that Costco Shop cards purchased at Costco.com code as 5% on the Dividend card.
I forgot to load my amazon balance in Q3 with the freedom amazon bonus. Any methods to buy AMZN GCs using PayPal online to get 5x? Trying to avoid going into store with my ink cards to buy physical GCs. Thanks!
Maybe PayPal Key or eGifter swap to AGC?
Can you buy a VGC at Walmart in-store and pay with your Chase Freedom?
I tried, but got declined. Wondering if it was just because of the cashier or if the system is actually hard coded to not allow it.
Any recent datapoints?
I successfully purchased two Green Dot VGC in Walmart store using my Chase Freedom. I was declined for the second time not by Walmart but by Chase because Chase thought it was a fault transaction. I then contacted Chase and told them that it was not a fault transaction. I finally tried the card again and was approved. I hope that those purchases count for the 5% category, otherwise, I will be losing money.
Did you mean to write “fraud” instead of “fault”?
If we buy any gift cards (Like BestBuy, etc…) from Amazon using discover, does it trigger a 5% cashback?
Yes
For apps/sites that don’t accept PayPal I try to use the Paypal Key, but not all accept it and say to contact the bank. Plus the goal is also to stack with the Paypal 5% for Chase Freedom.
I tried Paypal Key on the Burger King app yesterday and it wouldn’t work/take. Kept saying to contact the bank etc. A few other places won’t accept it either.
I wonder if it would be more successful if I put the Paypal Key card number in the Privacy and then use the Privacy card number in the sites/apps where Paypal Key doesn’t work. Then maybe I can stack with the Paypal quarterly cashback 5%. Privacy card>Paypal Key>Chase Freedom? Otherwise, I lose out on the Paypal cashback and don’t have an idea of how/why Paypal Key isn’t working on some sites/apps.
Any ideas if this would work?
weird i saw a datapoint of it working in the burger king app https://old.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/j4qhar/huge_news_chase_freedom_flex_7/
I saw that too, but it wouldn’t accept it and said to try again and contact the bank.
Does Walmart e-gift card trigger Discover 5%?
No
Why not?