Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator
@m_adams
The Discover categories for bonus credit card rewards are restaurants and gas stations, along with various rotating quarterly categories. When cardholders make purchases that qualify for their Discover card’s bonus categories, they earn extra rewards compared to the card’s base rewards rate. It is also worth noting that the bonus categories have quarterly limits, depending on the card.
Discover Credit Card Categories for Bonus Rewards
- Discover it® Cash Back: Rotating quarterly categories
- Discover it® Student Cash Back: Rotating quarterly categories
- NHL® Discover it®: Rotating quarterly categories (this offer is not currently available on WalletHub and may be out of date)
- Discover it® Chrome: Restaurants and gas stations
- Discover it® Secured Credit Card: Restaurants and gas stations
- Discover it® Student Chrome: Restaurants and gas stations
Discover rotating quarterly categories:
| Dates | Bonus Categories |
| January - March 2025 | Restaurants, Home Improvement Stores, and Select Streaming Services |
| April - June 2025 | Grocery Stores and Wholesale Clubs |
| July- September 2025 | Gas Stations & EV Charging, Public Transit, and Utilities |
| October – December 2025 | Amazon.com and Drug Stores |
Discover it Cash Back, Discover it Student Cash Back, and NHL Discover it earn 5% cash back on the first $1,500 spent in the quarterly categories combined (1% cash back on other purchases). Unlike regular bonus categories, you need to activate rotating categories to earn rewards.
On the other hand, Discover it® Chrome, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, and Discover it® Student Chrome offer 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 spent each quarter combined), and 1% back on all other purchases.
Whether a purchase falls into a card’s bonus categories depends on "Merchant Category Codes," which are assigned by the major credit card networks to merchants based on what kind of business they conduct. So, if a merchant has the MCC for "Restaurants,” for example, purchases made at that merchant with cards that include "Restaurants" as a bonus category will earn bonus rewards.
If you’re looking to get a rewards credit card from Discover, it’s a good idea to pick a card that offers the opportunity to earn bonus rewards in your most frequent purchase categories. Alternatively, you might want to get a card that offers a flat rewards rate on all purchases, like the Discover it® Miles (1.5 miles per $1 spent on all purchases).
The NHL® Discover it® is not currently available on WalletHub and may be out of date.
Popular Credit Cards from Discover, Our Partner
People also ask
How many types of Discover cards are there?
There are several types of Discover cards spanning a wide range of categories; cash back, travel, low interest, student, bad credit, and more. All Discover cards have $0 annual fees and 0% foreign transaction fees. Plus, Discover matches all rewards earned during the first year for all their cards.
Discover is a card network, yet it also issues its own credit cards. All Discover cards offer a minimum of 1% back in rewards on...
read full answer by Maria Adams, Credit Cards ModeratorWhat are the different types of credit card rewards?
There are three different types of credit card rewards: points, miles and cash back. With each type, you’ll earn rewards for every purchase you charge to the card – sometimes at a flat rate on all purchases, and other times with earning rates that vary by spending category. It’s also possible to earn rewards for doing things like spending a certain amount in the first few months, referring a friend or adding an authorized user.
... read full answer by John S Kiernan, Managing EditorDid we answer your question?
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