Q4 2018 5% Quarterly Categories: Activate, Offers & Suggestions (Freedom, Discover, Dividend, Cash+)

It’s now possible to activate/enroll your 5% credit cards for the fourth quarter of 2018 on Chase Freedom, Discover IT, Citi Dividend, and US Bank Cash+. In this post we’ll provide the activation link for each card and link to track your spend, along with strategies to help increase spend on these categories.

Dates: October 1st – December 31st, 2018. Store purchases can usually be done until the last minute. Online purchases should be given a buffer zone of a day or two.

Chase Freedom – Wholesale Clubs, Department Stores & Chase Pay

Activation Link / Our original post

• Earn 5% back at Wholesale Clubs, Department Stores & Chase Pay during the months of October, November, December, up to $1,500 maximum. Some tips:
  • Chase Pay. You can use Chase Pay at select merchants online and in-store, here’s a partial list of partners. Keep in mind you can now link Chase Pay & Samsung Pay together, Samsung Pay is basically accepted everywhere so should make it much easier to make out this category. The fine print specifically states purchases through Samsung Pay when linked qualify for 5% as well.
  • Department Stores. includes places like Sears, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, and Neiman Marcus. Full list can be found here.  It does not include discount stores or super-centers such as Target, Costco, BJ’s, or Sam’s Club.
  • Wholesale Clubs. includes include Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s

Most people will probably max this out either via Chase Pay for regular purchases (especially if you have access to Samsung Pay) or by purchasing gift cards at Wholesale Clubs.

Tip: Click this link (login required) to check how far you are along the $1,500.

Discover – Amazon.com & Wholesaleclubs

Activation Link / Our original post

• 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.
• Wholesale Clubs. includes include Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s

Lots of people will just max this out at Amazon, although keep in mind some cards earn 5% cash back at Amazon year round. Also don’t forget to stack Amazon with other deals (more on that here). Another option is gift cards at Wholesale Clubs as mentioned above.

Tip: Login, then click this link to see you how far along the $1,500 you are.

 

Citi Dividend – Best Buy & Department Stores

Activation Link | Our Original Post

• Department stores.
• Best buy. Best buy stores can be useful for regular purchases and also for resellers, they also sell a number of third party gift cards.

Citi is slightly different to the other cards in that you have a $6,000 annual cap rather than a quarterly cap. So 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. A lot of people have been saving their spend for this quarter, feel free to share how you’ll max it out in the comments below.

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. Here are the current options.

Keep in mind that the Bookstores category has been  replaced with Home Utilities since April 1. Prepaying your gas and electric can help max this out.

• Home utilites
• Select clothing stores
• Cell phones
• Electronic Stores
• Car rentals
• 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.