2019 Discover Cashback Calendar

Discover revealed the entire list of 5% cashback categories that you can take advantage of in 2019, so you can plan your spending for the year. That’s great news for Discover it® Cash Back and other eligible Discover cardholders Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases - automatically.

Here, we’ll review the 2019 cashback calendar, what you need to know to earn 5% cashback and how the Discover cashback calendar compares with the Chase Freedom® cashback calendar.

Here’s what you need to know:

• You need to activate the bonus categories to earn 5% cash back. Login to the Account Center or call 1-800-DISCOVER (1-800-347-2683) to activate.
• Each quarter, 5% cash back is limited to $1,500 in spending. After you hit that ceiling, you’ll earn 1% cash back.
• All purchases outside the bonus categories automatically earn 1% cash back.
• Eligible cards include:

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Discover it^® Cash Back

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(1,816) Over the Past 60 Days!

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on Discover's secure site

Rates & Fees

• 0% Intro APR

  0% for 14 months on purchases and Balance Transfers, then 11.99% - 22.99% Variable.

• Rewards

  Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases - automatically. *

• Cashback Match™

  Get a dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year, automatically*

Highlights

• INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
• Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.
• Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases - automatically.
• Redeem cash back any amount, any time. Rewards never expire.

• Use your rewards at Amazon.com checkout.
• Get an alert if we find your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites.* Activate for free.
• No annual fee.
• See Rates & Fees

See additional details for Discover it^® Cash Back

More Info

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Discover it^® Student Cash Back

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(56) Over the Past 60 Days!

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on Discover's secure site

Rates & Fees

• Intro Purchase APR

  0% intro for 6 Months*

• Rewards Rate

  Earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter up to the quarterly maximum, when you activate*

• Ongoing APR

  12.99% - 21.99% Variable*

Highlights

• INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
• Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
• Good Grades Rewards: $20 statement credit each school year your GPA is 3.0 or higher for up to the next 5 years.
• No annual fee. No late fee on first late payment. No APR change for paying late.
• Get 100% U.S. based customer service & get your free Credit Scorecard with your FICO® Credit Score, number of recent inquiries and more.

• Freeze It® on/off switch for your account that prevents new purchases, cash advances & balance transfers in seconds.
• Get an alert if we find your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites.* Activate for free.
• 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months, then the standard variable purchase APR of 12.99% - 21.99% applies.
• See Rates & Fees

See additional details for Discover it^® Student Cash Back

More Info

How the 2019 calendar compares with 2018

The 2019 cashback calendar is very similar to 2018’s calendar, with the addition of PalPal, Target and Walmart. What’s missing is the absence of wholesale clubs in 2019. Last year, Discover cardholders benefitted from wholesale clubs as a bonus category twice — during the first and last quarters of 2018. Without wholesale clubs as a bonus category in 2019, you can’t earn 5% cash back on purchases at popular Costco and Sam’s Club outlets.

There is also another new addition for 2019 as rideshare services Uber and Lyft are now included with gas stations from April to June.

Discover cashback calendar vs. Chase cashback calendar

While Discover released its entire 2019 cashback calendar, Chase has only released the categories for the first quarter of the year for the Chase Freedom®. Chase tends to build the anticipation and reveal categories throughout the year. However, looking at past years, grocery stores and department stores will most likely be included.

Here’s what we know so far:

Which cashback program is better?

It’s hard to choose the best cashback program for two reasons. First, Chase hasn’t released the full cashback calendar, so we don’t know which categories will be included for the rest of the year. Second, everyone has different spending habits. Depending on where you shop most should help you determine which card is a better fit.

If you’re in the market for a new cashback card, you should also take a close look at the Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card, which will provide cardholders a flexible rewards program beginning Jan. 14. Existing and new Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card holders will be able to earn 3% cash back in one of six categories: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores or home improvement and furnishings; 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs; and unlimited 1% on all other purchases. Cardholders can choose which category they want to earn 3% in every month.

The information related to the Chase Freedom® has been independently collected by CompareCards and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.