Rotating bonus category cards are an easy way to earn points or cash back.
Though they do require some effort since you have to remember the new categories every
quarter.
However, the payoff can be lucrative.
Hey, how’s it going everyone?
It’s Ernest from Trip Astute.
In this video, we’re covering the 2019 fourth quarter bonus categories for the Chase Freedom,
Discover It, US Bank Cash Plus, and Citi Dividend card.
I usually do these videos a few weeks before the new quarter begins, but as many of you
know, Fiona and I just got married and went on a two-week honeymoon to visit six national
parks.
We had an incredible time, and I can’t wait to share our experience at each national park.
Now that we’re back, it’s time to get back on schedule.
I wanted to make sure to review our new rotating bonus categories for some of our favorite
cash back cards.
Also, as always, I’ve got some free tools on our website that you can use to help you
remember the new bonus categories.
But first, if you’re new here, welcome to our channel.
Trip Astute is a travel channel that is focused on sharing ways to make travel easier, affordable,
and more enjoyable.
Traveling can be stressful and expensive, so we’re looking for ways to help you maximize
your experience through travel tips, points and miles, and innovative gear.
If that sounds interesting to you, please consider subscribing.
For the Chase Freedom card, we’re ending the third quarter bonus categories of gas
stations and streaming services.
Starting this quarter, you’ll earn 5% on Department stores, PayPal, and Chase Pay.
The 5% bonus applies for up to $1500 of qualified spending.
While I was initially disappointed by Chase’s offerings this quarter, I do really like the
PayPal bonus category.
Since my Discover Card had PayPal as a bonus category last quarter, I was surprised at
how easy it was to maximize the bonus when paying different online retailers.
Also, if you look at the fine print, it doesn’t exclude PayPal transfers to family and friends.
While you’ll pay around 3% to do a peer-to-peer transfer via PayPal, you’ll still come ahead
since you’re getting 5% back.
Also, for those of you that pay monthly or quarterly taxes like I do, you might consider
using your Chase Freedom to make the payments as well.
Like peer-to-peer transfers, you’ll pay a processing fee, but you should come out
ahead with the 5% bonus.
To be honest, I’m a little surprised that Chase is still trying to promote Chase Pay,
especially since they announced that it is going to be discontinued in early 2020.
As many of you know, I’ve never been a big fan of Chase Pay.
It’s always felt a bit clunky and confusing to use.
I’m not surprised that Chase is moving away from it.
I just wished they would include mobile payments as a bonus category instead.
That being said, I’ve heard that using Chase Pay for gas purchases at Shell stations is
a seamless process.
Despite these minor gripes, the Chase Freedom remains one of my favorite cards.
I’ve had this card since 2012, and I consider it a workhorse in my wallet.
It might look like any other 5% rotating bonus card, but if you value Chase Ultimate Reward
points at more than one cent, as I do, you’ll be earning a lot of value with this card.
In fact, I would argue that I earn an adjusted rate of 7.5% with this card since I value
Chase UR points at 1.5 cents.
For more information on how I measure point values and adjusted earning rates, check out
our video on the topic.
For the Discover It card, we’re ending the third quarter with the bonus category of restaurants
and PayPal.
Starting this quarter, you’ll earn 5% on purchases from Amazon.com, Target, and Walmart.com.
Like the Chase Freedom card, the bonus is valid for up to $1500 of qualified spending.
I feel like Discover is ending the year with a very strong set of bonus categories.
With the holiday season around the corner, I’m fairly certain that I’ll be able to
maximize these categories.
Keep in mind that the bonus covers both in-store and online purchases from Target.
For Walmart purchases, it includes those made at Walmart.com and when shopping through the
Walmart app.
The fine print says that Grocery Pick Up and Instore Pick Up are also included.
For those of you that also buy groceries from Walmart, this could be a great way to maximize
the category if you don’t anticipate spending $1500 at Amazon or Target.
The Discover It is a solid cash back card.
I’ve had mine since 2009.
While I use it regularly, I still prefer my Chase Freedom.
This is mostly due to the fact that I prefer to earn points over cash back.
With points, I’m generally able to redeem them for even more value.
Though depending on your credit card set-up and strategy, you might find more value in
earning cash back.
For the US Bank Cash Plus card, there are no new categories or changes this quarter.
If you’re not familiar with the card, US Bank allows you to pick your rotating 5% categories
every quarter and also has 2% categories where you can earn unlimited cashback.
They even let you earn the 5% bonus on up to $2000 of spend per quarter on the combined
selected bonus categories, which is even better than the Chase Freedom.
The card also includes some unique and rare bonus categories like home utilities and gym
memberships.
I got this card late last year, and I’ve used it as a backup for spending categories
that aren’t covered by my Chase Freedom or Discover It card.
I also like that I can put my gym membership on it and earn 5%.
For this quarter, I’ve selected the gyms and ground transportation.
Since I try to capture a bonus category on as much of my spending as possible, this card
helps me to get closer to that goal.
Lastly, Citi Dividend users are ending the third quarter bonus category on airlines and
car rental purchases, and for the fourth quarter of 2019, will be receiving 5% at Best Buy
and Department Stores.
Keep in mind that the Citi Dividend card has a yearly award bonus cap of $300 per calendar
year, which means that you’re not as restricted by a specific quarter’s bonus.
You just need to track how much bonus you earn over the entire calendar year.
While the Citi Dividend card is not available for new applicants, it is available through
a product change from another Citi card.
This is important to note since Citi seems to have a more open policy when it comes to
downgrading cards.
For example, I’ve seen people report online that they’ve been able to product change
from co-branded Citi cards like the ones associated with American Airlines and also their Thank
You Rewards program cards.
This means that if you have a Citi card that you want to cancel, it might be worthwhile
seeing if you can product change to the Citi Dividend.
It doesn’t have an annual fee, and you’ll likely find a few categories every year that
can earn you a bonus.
Plus, you’ll eliminate the credit score impact that would occur if you canceled the
card.
For example, I converted my Citi Double Cash to it last year since I prefer to put my non-bonus
spending on my Freedom Unlimited or Ink Business Unlimited.
Again, you might be wondering why I would prefer to do that when those cards only earn
1.5% instead of 2% on the Double Cash.
However, my adjusted earning rate is actually higher using my Chase cards since I’m able
to redeem at a higher value.
I’ll include a link to the video in case it’s quite clear why I earn more with my
Chase cards.
As always, we’ve put together some free tools that you can download to help you remember
these categories.
We have our popular wallet-sized cheat sheet and our smartphone lock screens.
I’ve got a few variations of the lock screen too in case you only want information for
only one of the cards and not the others.
And if you have any ideas for things that might be helpful for you to remember, let
me know.
I’m always trying to find new ways to help and provide some extra value.
I know that it takes me a while before the new categories get set in my brain.
So if you’re like me and need a little reminder, I’m hoping these tools come in handy.
Just head over to our website and click on Credit Cards, and then Free Credit Card Tools.
I’ll also include a link in the video description too.
As a reminder, make sure you log-in and activate the bonus for these cards.
While you can wait until December 14th to activate your Chase Freedom bonus category
since Chase will award the points retroactively, you’re better off doing it now before you
forget.
Unfortunately, Discover, US Bank, and Citi won’t award you a bonus until you activate
it, so do it now to avoid missing out.
And in case you’re interested in applying for any of these cards, I’ve included a
link to our Credit Card offers page.
Any sign-ups that go through our site or link helps to support the channel, especially when
it comes to buying new equipment and storage for these videos.
As of October 2019, the Chase Freedom and US Bank Cash Plus are offering a $150 welcome
bonus and Discover is offering a cashback match for an entire year, so it’s pretty
lucrative.
Lastly, I wanted to do a quick plug for our free card consultation service.
As of this video, we’ve done more than 150 consultations.
I really appreciate everyone signing up and taking the time to fill out the questionnaire.
I’ve enjoyed the sessions, and it’s helped me to not only refine my recommendations but
also inspired new topics for videos.
If you’re interested in signing up, just head over to our website or click on the link
in the video description.
You’ll get a 15-minute call with me and a personalized report with my recommendation.
What do you all think of the new quarterly bonus categories?
Are you excited or disappointed by them?
Let me know in the comment section below.
We hope you enjoyed this video and found it useful.
If so, please give us a thumbs up and consider sharing our video with others.
It really helps us to grow the channel and our community.
Until next time.
Travel safe and travel smart.