How to maximize the 5% cash-back Discover IT Q2 Bonus category

I’m assuming 95% of our readers have the Discover IT card as their first card and whether you use it a lot or little, you can make some extra cash back this upcoming quarter (1st April – 31st June). If you’re still not a card holder or have no credit cards, this is a great one to get you started and build credit.

You may read more about my experience with it here and apply here if interested.

Now 5% may not seem a whole lot but compared to the standard 1%, it sure is. With a bonus earn cap set at $1500/quarter (not to be confused with credit limit), the most you stand to make is $75 – four times which is $300 in the whole year.

Sounds good, how to I sign-up to get this bonus?

Of the two ways, you may either log into your Discover mobile app, enter Earn Rewards and activate the category or go onto the website, bonus category and activate it there.

What transactions are guaranteed to give me this 5% bonus?

As stated by Discover, the bonus categories include purchases made at-

1. Gas Stations

2. Uber

3. Lyft.

But I don’t own a car – how is this useful to me?

Addressing Gas stations, most sell gift cards to various places such as restaurants, music/video streaming services, shopping centers, etc… and hence this gives you the perfect chance to get them when you know for sure you’re going to make a purchase at one of those places.

Don’t have your preferred store card there ? Not a problem, you can generally buy visa/Amex/MasterCard preloaded cards with a $5 charge – and mathematically, spending that extra $5 still gets you $70 guaranteed. Just don’t lose that new card.

If you own a car, then the obvious choice is to use this card out of all the others that you may have.

Uber and Lyft are pretty straightforward so if you plan on utilizing those apps, make sure your default payment is set to the Discover IT card.

UberEats maybe?

I haven’t tested this out yet, but if you order food online often, make sure to put your default payment as the discover and see how it codes. Best is to call and confirm with Discover IT support – they’re really nice and easy to talk to about various doubts.

But wait, there’s more!

If you’re within 12 months of ownership of the Discover IT card, you’re eligible to receive a cash back match at the end of year one. Which potentially means, double the earned cash-back.

Ideal case:

If you maximize the 5% quarterly earn of $75 on the $1500 spend, you stand to get an additional $75 (cashback-match). Thus, $600 in the first year in cash back.

So for all our readers new to discover (<1year), you stand to make 10% cash-back effectively.

How do I get the 10% if I already have a card more than a year old?

You could apply for a second discover IT card after one year of ownership of your first discover card.

Alternative option as a second card?

If this potentially would be your second card, I would highly discourage it and instead would prompt you to apply for Chase cards. They have a strict 5/24 rule which automatically rejects card applicants with 5 or more personal credit card accounts opened in the past 24 months.

(Business cards are excluded from this rule)

If you’re interested in a Discover IT equivalent from Chase, you may check out our analysis of the Chase freedom here and how to maximize it’s Q2 bonus categories here.

Lastly, be mindful of your expenses and don’t overextend yourself for small short-term bonuses. We touch on how to properly use credit cards here and advise you to give it a read.