What are the Discover categories for credit card rewards?

The Discover calendar shows what purchases qualify for Discover’s 5% cash back bonus rewards categories. Eligible cardholders can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent per quarter in the purchase categories listed on Discover’s bonus rewards calendar, when they activate.

2022 Discover Calendar for 5% Rewards Categories:

Discover’s 5% cash back calendar applies to three Discover credit cards: Discover it® Cash Back, Discover it® Student Cash Back and NHL® Discover it® (this offer is not currently available on WalletHub and may be out of date). Cardholders must activate new bonus categories by the end of each quarter for purchases to qualify for the 5% rewards rate. And the bonus rate will apply only from the date of activation through the last day of the quarter. To activate a category, click the blue “Activate Now” link on the calendar.

Just bear in mind that there are exceptions to Discover’s calendar categories. For example, purchases at restaurants inside other locations – like hotels, convenience stores and grocery stores – are not eligible. Neither are restaurant delivery purchases. PayPal purchases using tap-and-pay, virtual wallets or similar technology may not qualify, either. Each category has a bit of fine print. Be sure to read it.

The Discover cash back bonus pays you back a certain percentage of the money you spend as a reward. The Discover cash back bonus can be redeemed either at select merchants or for cash. More specifically, there are three types of Discover cashback bonuses:

• 5% bonus rate: You earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent per quarter in bonus categories (which change every quarter and require activation), and 1% back on all other purchases. The Discover credit cards that offer this deal are the Discover it® Cash Back, the NHL® Discover it®, and the Discover it® Student Cash Back.… read full answer
• Cash back in categories that don’t change: Other Discover cards offer a cashback bonus in certain categories that never change. Discover it® chrome, Discover it® Student chrome and Discover it® Secured Credit Card offer 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 spent each quarter combined), and 1% back on all other purchases.
• Cashback Match: There’s a final Discover cashback bonus that all Discover cards have. With Cashback Match, Discover will match all the rewards you earn the first year your account is open. So, if you rack up $500 in rewards during the first 12 months, for example, Discover will tack on another $500 as an anniversary present.

Discover’s 2% cash back bonus and Cashback Match are fairly simple, but there are several other details you’ll need to know about the 5% bonus. To start, Discover has a cash back calendar showing when the categories rotate. And to get the 5% Discover cashback bonus, you need to “activate” it every quarter. You can easily do so by logging in to your Discover account from their cash back bonus page. You can activate the new categories on the first day of the quarter.