September 13, 2024: Today Discover announced its fourth quarter 2024 cash back categories for the Discover it Cash Back Credit Card and the Discover More card: Amazon.com and Target purchases.
Both of these are highly usable categories, making the Discover 5% cards among the best cards for holiday shopping this year since you’ll get 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined spending across the bonus categories when you activate.
To earn 5% in these categories, you must activate online. Current Discover cardmembers can activate their categories today at Discover.com.
Here’s what you need to know about Discover’s cash back categories.
In this article…
Q4 2024 categories: Amazon.com and Target
The Discover 5% cash back categories in Q4 2024 are Amazon.com and Target. This means that the Discover It® Cash Back Card becomes one of the best cards to use at Amazon and one of the best cards to use at Target in Q4 2024.
Amazon.com. Discover includes purchases made through Amazon.com’s checkout in its 5% category. This also includes Amazon go and Amazon Fresh. Whole Foods purchases are not included in this quarter’s promotion.
Target purchases include most purchases at Target and Target.com, though purchases from standalone stores within Target won’t earn 5%.
Discover’s terms: What counts and what’s excluded
Here’s the exact terms that Discover has published regarding what counts and what doesn’t count in this quarter’s 5% bonus categories.
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 Amazon.com’s marketplace. This also includes purchases in-store at Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh. Purchases made online and in-store with Whole Foods Market are not included in the promotion.
Discover Q4 2024 5% category terms
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.
Discover Q4 2024 5% category terms
Discover it® Cash Back welcome offer: $100 statement credit + double cash back in your first year. (Annual fee: $0)
Get a $100 statement credit when you’re approved and use the card within the first three months. Plus, get all of your cash back doubled in your first year of having the card. Get this welcome bonus.
The $100 statement credit after approval is an easy welcome bonus, even if it is smaller than other easy welcome bonuses. More interesting is the doubled cash back in the first year of having the card which turns the cards 5% rotating categories into 10% rotating categories.
5% cash back in rotating categories. (More in our card review.)
This is a referral link. All information about Discover it® Cash Back has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
How to activate: On Discover.com or via email
If you have a Discover IT cash back card, you must activate your Cashback Bonus categories before you’ll receive 5% on the quarter’s categories. There are two ways to activate your categories: Through the website or through an email you receive.
Activating through the website: Simply log into your account at Discover.com and look toward the left-hand side of the page for the link to active.
Activating through email: You may also receive an email with a one-click link to activate your cash back categories.
When do I need to activate?
The best time to activate your Discover cash back categories is as soon as they are announced. You’ll earn 5% back on bonus category purchases made only after you activate them. If you spend in Discover’s bonus categories after the quarter starts, but before you activate a cash back category, you’ll earn only 1% on purchases until you activate. Discover does not retroactively award bonus cash back to purchases you make before you activate.
Getting more rewards: Get up to 10% total with a new Discover card
Discover matches your cash back dollar-for-dollar at the end of your first year of card membership. This means that the card’s 5% categories effectively become 10% categories during your first year. Discover will allow you to have up to two cards—and both of those cards can be cards like the Discover It®, which earn 5% in bonus categories.
Discover it® Cash Back welcome offer: $100 statement credit + double cash back in your first year. (Annual fee: $0)
Get a $100 statement credit when you’re approved and use the card within the first three months. Plus, get all of your cash back doubled in your first year of having the card. Get this welcome bonus.
The $100 statement credit after approval is an easy welcome bonus, even if it is smaller than other easy welcome bonuses. More interesting is the doubled cash back in the first year of having the card which turns the cards 5% rotating categories into 10% rotating categories.
5% cash back in rotating categories. (More in our card review.)
This is a referral link. All information about Discover it® Cash Back has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
About the card: More on the Discover it® Cash Back card
Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee
All information about the Discover it® Cash Back card has been collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
The Discover it® Cash Back card offers 5% cash back in Discover’s rotating quarterly categories and a dollar-for-dollar cash back match in your first year.
Sign-up bonus
Earn a $100 statement credit after you apply through a referral link and make your first purchase within 3 months of getting approved. Referral link.
Rewards
- 5% on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in Discover’s rotating 5% categories each calendar quarter.
- 1% on all other purchases.
Rewards are earned as cash back, but can also be redeemed for gift cards. When you redeem for select gift cards, you’ll get better-than-cash-back value for your rewards.
Benefits
The Discover it® Cash Back card offers no substantive benefits.
2024 categories at a glance: All 2024 Discover 5% categories
| Q1 2024 January – March | Q2 2024 April – June | Q3 2024 July – September | Q4 2024 October – December |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drugstores and Restaurants | Gas stations, electric vehicle charging stations, home improvement stores, and public transit | Grocery stores and Walmart | Amazon.com and Target |
Third quarter, 2024 category bonus details
Here are some additional details on the bonus categories offered in Q3 2024:
Grocery stores include purchases made at supermarkets, meat lockers, bakeries, smaller grocery stores, and grocery delivery services. Target is not an eligible grocery store. Convenience stores, wholesale clubs, and discount stores are also not included in the grocery category.
Walmart purchases include purchases made online as well in-store, such as those made at Walmart.com, through the Walmart app, in-store at Walmart Discount Stores, Walmart Supercenter Stores, Walmart Neighborhood Market Stores, Curbside Pickup, Walmart +, and Walmart Gas Stations. Purchases using Walmart Pay with your Discover Card will also be included. If they are not processed by Walmart, purchases from individual merchants and stand-alone stores within physical Walmart locations may not be eligible for 5% cash back. Sam’s Club purchases are not eligible.
Historical categories: Every category offered since 2020
Knowing previous bonus categories can help you determine how much value you might get from a card with rotating categories in the future. While there is no guarantee that Discover will offer 5% rewards on any particular spending category until it announces its cash back categories, typically spending categories don’t change much year-to-year.
Here is what the Discover it Cash Back Credit Card has offered 5% rewards on in the past.
Discover cash back calendar for 2023
- January-March: Grocery, Drugstores, Streaming
- April-June: Restaurants and Wholesale Clubs
- July-September: Gas and Digital Wallets
- October-December: Target and Amazon.com
Discover cash back calendar for 2022
- January-March: Grocery stores, fitness clubs and gym memberships
- April-June: Gas stations and Target
- July-September: Restaurants and PayPal
- October-December: Amazon.com and digital wallets
Discover cash back calendar for 2021
- January-March: Grocery stores, Walgreens and CVS
- April-June: Gas stations, wholesale clubs and select streaming services
- July-September: Restaurants and PayPal
- October-December: Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com
Discover cash back calendar for 2020
- January-March: Grocery stores, Walgreens and CVS
- April-June: Gas stations, Uber, Lyft and wholesale clubs
- July-September: Restaurants and PayPal
- October-December: Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Target.com
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Frequently asked questions
Does Discover double cash back?
Discover doubles the cash back that you earn as a new cardmember within the first year of cardmembership. For Discover It cardmembers, this includes the cash back you earn in the card’s 5% bonus categories.
Can you transfer Discover cashback awards to airlines and hotels?
No. Unlike other transferable points currencies, you cannot transfer your Discover Cashback awards to airline and hotel loyalty programs.
How much can I earn from the 5% quarterly cashback?
You can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of category spending each quarter. This means you can earn a maximum of $75 per quarter or $300 per year from the 5% bonus categories. All purchases in bonus categories beyond $1,500 in a quarter earn 1% cash back.
