Registration is now open to activate your 5x/5% category bonus earnings on your Chase Freedom Flex℠, Chase Freedom® and Discover it® Cash Back cards. For the third quarter of 2026, the bonus categories are:

• Chase: purchases made at gas stations, EV charging, public transit, select live entertainment and donations to United Way
• Discover: purchases made at gas stations, transportation and drug stores

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 September 14, 2026
• The promotion runs from July 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026
• The promotion is valid on purchases made at gas stations, EV charging, public transit, select live entertainment and donations to United Way
• The 5x earnings rate only applies to the first $1,500 in spending across all categories, after which the earnings rate is 1x

Note: As usual, there are various inclusions and exclusions for each category. Public transit merchants include operators of passenger trains, buses, ferries, toll bridges, parking lots and garages. Select live entertainment merchants are those who sell tickets for live in-person entertainment such as major professional sporting events, concerts, theatrical productions, museums, and amusement parks. Some examples of merchants that are excluded from this category are bowling alleys, horse racing tracks, casinos, and dance clubs. Finally, for United Way, users should directly through United Way’s official channels via www.Unitedway.org. It’s always best to check the Chase Merchant List to confirm everything that’s included and excluded in each category.

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

Email Reminder

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 July 1, 2026 (or the date on which you activate the 5%, whichever is later) through September 30, 2026
• The promotion is valid on purchases made at gas stations, transportation and drug stores
• The 5% earnings rate only applies to the first $1,500 in spending across all categories, after which the earnings rate is 1%

Note: Gas stations & EV charging affiliated with supermarkets, supercenters, and wholesale clubs may not be eligible. Certain parking garages where public EV charging is offered or included may not be eligible. Transportation purchases include airlines, and local commuter passenger transport such as bus, rail and ferry services. Car rentals, cruise lines, taxi & rideshare services, limousines, parking garages and toll-related purchases are not included. Visit the Discover Cashback Calendar page to confirm.

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 3 weeks 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

For the second year in a row, Chase and Discover are rolling out several categories that land in the same places. Personally, I’m not a huge fan when that happens. I rarely max out multiple rotating cards in a single quarter, so I’d much rather see the big everyday categories like gas spread out across different quarters instead of stacked on top of each other. But that’s not how Q3 is shaping up, and once again we’re looking at a lineup where the two issuers overlap more than I’d prefer.

Both issuers are featuring gas stations and EV charging, which is useful but not necessarily a game‑changer. If you’re already spending in this area, you’ll earn elevated rewards no matter which card you pull out. But the real story is what each card does beyond that shared category.

Chase leans into local transportation and live entertainment, which makes it the stronger pick for day‑to‑day movement and summer outings. Think parking, tolls, buses, trains, concerts, sporting events, amusement parks, basically the entire spectrum of “getting around and having fun.” These are categories that naturally spike in the summer, and Chase captures them well.

Discover takes a different angle with airfare, long‑distance travel, and drugstores. That combination is surprisingly practical. Drugstores are easy to use without planning, and airfare or long‑range travel can deliver big bursts of bonus rewards if you have trips to book. It’s a set of categories that doesn’t overlap as much with Chase, so you’re not duplicating the same spend across two cards.

Instead of trying to maximize a single category twice, Q3 is about broad coverage. Between the two cards, you’re hitting everyday errands, local transit, big travel purchases, entertainment, and fuel. That’s a wide slice of typical summer spending, and it means most people can earn strong rewards simply by matching the right purchase to the right card.

As always, happy spending and more importantly, happy 5x earning!