Current Bonus Categories for Discover, Chase Freedom, Citi Dividend & More

Current 5% Bonus Categories

With many credit cards in your wallet, keeping track of the best earning rates for each category is vital. Besides limited time spending promotions, earning 5% with a credit card is usually as good as it gets. There are several credit cards out there that offer 5% on quarterly rotating categories, or monthly. So let’s take a look at the current 5% bonus categories for Q2 2023, plus details on how each card’s earning is structured.

5% Bonus Categories Q2 2023

Here are the categories where you can earn 5% with each one of these cards.

• Chase Freedom & Freedom Flex

• Discover It

  • Restaurants.
  • Wholesale Clubs.

• Citi Custom Cash

  earns 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent. Eligible categories include:

  • Restaurants.
  • Gas stations.
  • Grocery stores.
  • Select travel.
  • Select transit.
  • Select streaming services.
  • Drugstores.
  • Home improvement stores.
  • Fitness clubs.
  • Live entertainment.

• Citi Dividend

  • Grocery stores.
  • Drugstores.

• US Bank Cash+

   lets you choose 2 of the following categories:

  • 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.

• Vantage West Visa Card

   lets you choose 1 of the following 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 (affiliate link).

The ABOC Platinum card no longer offers 5% categories.

How 5% Categories Works

Here are the details about the earning structure of each of the cards listed above. Plus you can find the activation link when applicable.

Maximize Your Rewards

Citi Dividend has the best categories this quarter in my opinion. Grocery stores is always a popular category because grocery spend is considerable for most families. Plus supermarket chains often sell gift cards, giving you more options to maximize your spending. Drugstores also sell gift cards and are popular stores. So you can easily maximize your Citi Dividend spending, possibly for the full year. The Citi Custom Cash card also has grocery stores as one of the options, so that gives another $500 per month in spending.

If you do your grocery shopping at wholesale clubs, then Discover it is your go to card this quarter. Additionally, you earn 5% cash back at restaurants.

Chase Freedom cards have Amazon and Lowe’s this quarter. If you don’t have an Amazon card that earns 5% back, then this is a good category for most people. Lowe’s can also be useful if you have any home improvement projects coming up for the summer.

Then we have the US Bank Cash+ card and Vantage West Visa Card that let you choose two and one category respectively from a list of options. This gives you flexibility to choose a category that works best for you. Citi Custom Cash also has more categories available for 5% cash back on up to $500 spending each billing cycle.

Guru’s Wrap-up

Some good bonus categories are included in the current quarter, such Grocery Stores, Drugstores, Amazon, Wholesale Clubs and more. Let me know what cards you have and how you plan on tackling this quarter’s 5% categories.

If you don’t have these credit cards, there are also some good welcome bonuses available. You can get $200 and 5% on groceries for one year when you apply for the Chase Freedom Flex card. U.S. Bank Cash+ is offering a $200 bonus when you spend $500 in eligible purchases within the first 90 days. Citi Custom Cash offers $200 in the form of 20,000 bonus ThankYou points when you spend $1,500 within 6 months. Discover it currently has an increased $100 bonus and double cash back for the first year. Chase Freedom and Citi Dividend are no longer available for applications.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. You should always check shopping portals such as Rakuten, TopCashback, RebatesMe and more for possible cashback.