Chase 5x Bonus Categories

As usual, the bonus earnings rates only apply to the first $1,500 in spending in those categories. If you max out your bonus category spending for the quarter, you’ll earn 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.

While 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points are worth $75 in cash, you can get way more value by transferring those points to any of the following cards:

Chase Sapphire Preferred – #1 travel card for beginners
Chase Sapphire Reserve – great for frequent travelers
Chase Ink Business Preferred – highest Chase sign-up bonus for business customers

Once your points have been transferred to one of the above cards, the value of those points are amplified even more! If you transfer the points to Chase’s travel partners like United Airlines, Southwest or Hyatt, you can get so much more value than the original $75. For example, 7,500 Chase UR points could be enough for a one-way flight to lots of great destinations!

For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Key Things to Remember

You need to activate the 5x earnings rate by December 14, 2024
The promotion runs from October 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024
The promotion is valid on online purchases made with PayPal, and at McDonald’s, Pet Shops, Vet Services and select charities
The bonus earnings rate only applies to the first $1,500 in spending across all categories, after which the earnings rate is 1x

Note: As always, there are some exclusions to be aware of. For “PayPal”, payments made through the Xoom transfer service and Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions are not eligible for the bonus. With the “pets” category, purchases of the following pet-related services are excluded: boarding, grooming, walking, training, daycare and pet insurance. Finally in the “Select Charities” category, there is a defined list of charities that qualify, so you’ll want to review those on the Chase Merchant List.

How to Activate

Unfortunately Chase doesn’t automatically enroll you into the bonus category earning promotion each quarter. To activate, go to the Chase Activation website and enter your last name, zip code and the last four digits of your credit card.

Alternatively you can log into your Chase account and activate from there. Chase sprinkles links in lots of different places on their website, making it very easy to activate. In just a few minutes, I found a few different places to activate my cards for the upcoming quarter.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

You can also request to receive a reminder email from Chase prior to each quarter. Upon receipt of the email each quarter, you can activate via an easy 1-click activation button.

Discover 5% Bonus Categories

Discover also limits the bonus earnings to the first $1,500 in spending in those categories. However, unlike Chase, there’s no option to earn points instead of cash. So maxing out your bonus category spending for the quarter will earn you $75.

That money can be redeemed as a statement credit, a direct deposit to a checking account or used to purchase 3rd party gift cards. Gift cards are often available with 5% to 20% added value, depending on the merchant.

You can also donate your cash back to charity or to pay for purchases on Amazon.com or with PayPal.

Key Things to Remember

The promotion runs from October 1, 2024 (or the date on which you activate the 5%, whichever is later) through December 31, 2024
The promotion is valid on purchases made at Amazon.com and Target
The 5% earnings rate only applies to the first $1,500 in spending across all categories, after which the earnings rate is 1%

Note: “Amazon.com” purchases include those made through the Amazon.com checkout, like digital downloads, Amazon Fresh orders, Amazon Local Deals, Amazon Prime subscriptions, and items sold by third party merchants through the Amazon.com marketplace. This also includes purchases in-store at Amazon Go. “Target” purchases include those made in store at Target, Target.com, or through the Target app. Purchases from individual merchants and stand-alone stores within physical Target locations may not be eligible for this promotion. Purchases made online or through the Target app from Target affiliates, individual merchants or stand-alone stores may not be eligible for this promotion, including, but not limited to, targetoptical.com and targetphoto.com.

How to Activate

You won’t earn the 5% cash back bonus unless you activate this feature on your card each quarter. To do so, go to the Discover Online account page and click on “Log In to Activate.”

Discover also automatically emails you about 15 days prior to the start of the next quarter with a reminder. Upon receipt of the email, you can activate via an easy 1-click activation button.

Bottom Line

As has been the case for many years, both Chase and Discover chose their fourth quarter categories with holiday shopping in mind.

From a Chase perspective, having PayPal as a bonus category opens the door to earn 5x on virtually all online shopping. With PayPal, you can essentially turn every shopping category into a bonus category! Remember to set your Chase Freedom or Freedom Flex card as the default card in PayPal.

With Discover, having a retailer like Amazon as a bonus category gets you 5% cash back on literally millions of items. If there are things you regularly buy from Amazon, consider buying in bulk this quarter. It’s also worth noting that purchases of Amazon.com gift cards, Prime subscriptions and Amazon Fresh orders will also qualify for 5% cash back.

Finally with Target, you have a brick and mortar version of Amazon.com. Consider buying groceries at Target during the quarter or doing holiday shopping at Target or online at Target.com.

Happy holidays, happy spending and most of all happy bonus earning!