Don’t Forget! New 5% Cash Back Categories This Quarter With These Cards

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It’s a new quarter which means new 5% cash back bonus categories with cards like the Chase Freedom, Discover it® Cash Back, and more!

If you haven’t already, be sure to activate these bonuses to earn extra cash back and points on your everyday spending.

I’ll remind you of this quarter’s categories and how to register for these bonuses!

Earn More This Quarter From These Cards!

1.   Chase Freedom

Link:   Chase Freedom

Link:   My Review of the Chase Freedom

Link:   Activate the Chase Freedom Bonus

Through March 31, 2016, you’ll earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (5% cash back) on up to $1,500 in spending at gas stations and on commuter transportation (including taxis, subways, local commuter buses, and trains) with the Chase Freedom card.

You must activate the bonus by March 14, 2016.

This is my favorite no-annual-fee card because you can easily earn lots of Chase Ultimate Rewards points or cash back in categories most folks spend a lot in anyway!

You can currently 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($150 in cash back) when you sign-up for the Chase Freedom card and spend $500 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account.

And if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold (no longer available), or the Chase Ink Plus, you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to airline and hotel partners like United Airlines and Hyatt for Big Travel!

Here’s my full review of the Chase Freedom card.

2.   Discover it Cash Back

Link:   Discover it Cash Back

You’ll also save this quarter at gas stations and on ground transportation (which includes commuter trains and buses, taxis, Uber, rental cars, and more) with the Discover it Cash Back card.

And because the Discover Cash Back card has no foreign transaction fees, it’s ideal for your Uber rides while outside the US.

You’ll earn 5% cash back in these categories on up to $1,500 in spending from when you activate the bonus until March 31, 2016.

Keep in mind, you will NOT earn the extra 5% back if you book ground transportation (like rental cars or train tickets) through travel agencies or 3rd party sites like Orbitz.

Don’t forget, new Discover it cardholders (or folks who previously registered) can have their cash back doubled at the end of their 1st 12 billing cycles.  So you can effectively earn 10% cash back on rotating bonus categories!  That’s a great deal!

3.   Citi Dividend

Link:   Citi Dividend 2016 Calendar

Link:   Activate the Citi Dividend Bonus

The Citi Dividend card is no longer open to new applicants.  But if you’re an existing cardholders, you can earn 5% cash back at Home Depot and home furnishing stores through March 31, 2016.

You can earn a total of $300 cash back each year with the Citi Dividend card.  Whether you make the most of 1 category or spread your earnings throughout the year is up to you!

4.   US Bank Cash+

Link:   US Bank Cash+

Link:   US Bank Cash+ Categories

Each quarter with the US Bank Cash+ card, you can choose new bonus spending categories.

You can pick two 5% cash back categories and one 2% cash back category (gas stations, groceries, or restaurants).

There are a lot of 5% cash back categories!  Here are a few ideas, but check the merchant examples for more details:

• Bookstores – Barnes & Noble, Amazon Kindle Books, and some University Bookstores.  Note:  Some folks say they’ve received 5% back on many Amazon purchases besides books with this category.

• Car Rental – Avis, Budget, National Car Rental

• Cell Phone – AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon

• Charity – American Cancer Society, Kiva, The Salvation Army

• Department Stores – Bloomingdales, JCPenney, Nordstrom Rack

• Electronics Stores – Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, TigerDirect

• Fast Food – Chipotle, Panera Bread, Starbucks, and Cold Stone Creamery!

• Furniture Stores – American Furniture, Ethan Allen, IKEA

• Gyms – 24 Hour Fitness, Gold’s Gym, LA Fitness

• Movie Theaters – AMC Theatres, Fandango.com, Regal Cinemas

• Select Clothing Stores – Ann Taylor, Eddie Bauer, Old Navy

• Sporting Good Stores – Big 5 Sporting Goods, REI, Sports Authority

If you don’t pick your categories, you’ll only earn 1% cash back on all spending until next quarter!  So don’t forget!

Don’t Want to Fuss With Categories?

Some cards have terrific cash back bonuses all the time at stores where you can pick up a variety of items!

For example:

• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express – 6% cash back at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year); then 1%. Terms apply.
• SimplyCash® Business Card from American Express – 5% cash back at US office supply stores. Terms apply.

Or consider cards which offer bonus miles, points, or cash back on all spending, like:

• Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard – 2X Arrival miles on everything

• Discover it® Miles – 1.5 miles per $1 you spend (worth 1.5% back), doubled at the end of the 1st year, for an effective 3% back on everything

The information for the Discover it  Miles card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer

Bottom Line

It’s a brand new year, so it’s time to start earning 5% cash back in new bonus categories for Chase Freedom, Discover it Cash Back, US Bank Cash+, and Citi Dividend cards.

Remember, you have to activate the new bonus categories to earn the extra cash back!

My favorite category this quarter is gas stations (with the Chase Freedom and Discover it Cash Back).  It’s easy to make the most of the bonus when you’d be buying gas and other items anyway!