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Each quarter, Discover it® Cash Back and Discover® More® Card cardmembers can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 of purchases in select categories. And now you can start planning your purchases for January-March, as Discover's 5% cash back bonus categories were just unveiled for the first quarter of 2026. Plus, you can still earn 5% cash back on the current Q4 categories through December 31, 2025.
By maximizing your Discover quarterly bonus, you'd earn $300 cash back on $6,000 in purchases over the calendar year. That's a solid return. Here's a look at the current quarter's offerings (plus the coming quarter) and how to ensure you're earning 5% back.
Page Contents
Discover 5% Cash Back Overview
- You need to activate your 5% cash-back earnings before making purchases.
- Earn 5% back on up to $1,500 of purchases in select categories each quarter. That's a max of $75 cash back per quarter.
- Earn 1% on all spending after that.
- Allow up to two billing periods for the rewards to post to your account.
- Payments made using digital wallets and certain third-party payment accounts may also be ineligible if “the technology does not provide sufficient transaction details or a qualifying MCC.”
Related: Does Your Discover Cash Back Bonus Expire?
Discover cash back categories for Q4 2025
- Activation opened on September 1, 2025.
- Q4 runs from October 1 through December 31, 2025.
- Next quarter's Discover cash back bonus categories are:
- Amazon.com
- Drug stores
Here are some additional details on how Discover defines each category:
- 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. Amazon, the Amazon.com logo, the smile logo, and all related marks are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Listed merchants are in no way sponsoring or affiliated with this program.
- Drug Store purchases include those made at stand-alone drug stores, pharmacies, and online pharmacies. Pharmacies inside of other retail stores may not qualify.
Discover cash back categories for Q1 2026
- Activation opened on December 1, 2025.
- Q1 runs from January 1 through March 31, 2026.
- Next quarter's Discover cash back bonus categories are:
- Grocery Stores
- Wholesale Clubs
- Select Streaming Services
Here's a shortened version of how Discover defines each category:
- Grocery Store purchases include those made at supermarkets, meat lockers, bakeries, smaller grocery stores, and grocery delivery services. All purchases made from Walmart or Target are not eligible. Purchases from convenience stores and discount stores may not qualify.
- Wholesale Clubs: Check with your Wholesale Clubs to make sure your Discover Card is accepted. Purchases of affiliated Wholesale Club services, such as delivery services, travel, and cell phone purchases, may not be eligible in this category. Individual merchants and stand-alone stores within physical Wholesale Club locations, or online, may not be eligible in this category.
- Select Streaming Service purchases include Amazon Music, Amazon Prime Video, AMC+, Apple Music, Apple TV, Audible, DirecTV Stream, Fandango at Home, Google Play Music and Video, Max, iHeartRadio, MLB.TV, Netflix, Pandora, Paramount Plus, Peacock, SiriusXM, Sling TV, Spotify, Starz, YouTube Music, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV.
- Other popular streaming services may be included. If your subscription is bundled with another product or service or billed by a third party (such as a digital platform, a cable or satellite provider, telecommunications, internet provider, or a car manufacturer), the purchase may not be eligible in this category. Add-ons associated with Select Streaming Services may not qualify for this promotion if they are not listed, billed in a bundle, billed separately, or billed through a third party. Listed merchants are in no way sponsoring or affiliated with this program.
Caution: Discover Cash Back Activation Isn't Retroactive
Unlike Chase's 5% cash back bonus categories, Discover's bonus activation is not retroactive.
Chase requires cardholders to activate the rotating 5% cash back quarterly bonus on the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom®. However, members can activate their bonus as late as the 14th day of the last month of the quarter (e.g., December 14 for Q4 2025). Doing so earns them 5% cash back from day one of the quarter.
However, this is not the case with Discover; you only start earning your 5% cash back from the day you activate. So that's something you should do now — if you haven't already.
Related: Credit Cards Featuring Rotating Bonus Categories
How To Figure Out if Your Purchase Will Be Eligible for 5% Cash Back
To trigger the 5% cash back, you need to make a purchase at a merchant that qualifies. This will be based on the merchant's Merchant Category Code (MCC). If the MCC doesn't match the bonus category, your purchase will be ineligible.
This can be an issue because some larger stores that sell home improvement-related items may not reflect a home improvement MCC, making purchases ineligible. Likewise, some food vendors may not have an MCC to indicate that either, again making your purchases ineligible.
Finding the MCC for a nearby merchant typically requires some trial and error. You can make a purchase and then check your credit card statement to see how it earned.
AwardWallet has a tool that can help shortcut your research. The AwardWallet Merchant Category Code Lookup tool shows you how purchases code at any store you want based on anonymized AwardWallet user data.
Discover 5% Cash Back History
Curious about what might be offered next quarter? Us too. That's why we put together a full history of Discover 5% cash back categories since 2017. As you can see, Discover can be rather predictable about what categories it offers:
| Year | First Quarter (Jan–March) | Second Quarter (April–June) | Third Quarter (July–Sep) | Fourth Quarter (Oct–Dec) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | • Grocery Stores • Wholesale Clubs • Select Streaming Services | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 2025 | • Restaurants • Home improvement stores • Select streaming services | • Grocery stores • Wholesale clubs | • Gas stations & EV Charging • Public Transit • Utilities | • Amazon.com • Drug stores |
| 2024 | • Restaurants • Drugstores | • Gas stations & EV charging stations • Home improvement stores • Public transit | • Walmart • Grocery stores | • Amazon.com • Target |
| 2023 | • Grocery stores • Drugstores • Select streaming services | • Restaurants • Wholesale clubs | • Gas stations • Digital wallets | • Amazon.com • Target |
| 2022 | • Grocery stores • Fitness club & gym memberships | • Gas stations • Target | • Restaurants • PayPal | • Amazon.com • Digital wallets |
| 2021 | • Grocery stores • Walgreens & CVS | • Gas stations • Wholesale clubs • Select streaming services | • Restaurants • PayPal | • Amazon.com • Walmart.com • Target.com |
| 2020 | • Grocery stores • Walgreens & CVS | • Gas stations • Uber & Lyft • Wholesale clubs | • Restaurants • PayPal | • Amazon.com • Walmart.com • Target.com |
| 2019 | • Grocery stores | • Gas stations • Uber & Lyft | • Restaurants • PayPal | • Amazon.com • Target • Walmart.com |
| 2018 | • Gas stations • Wholesale clubs | • Grocery stores | • Restaurants | • Amazon.com • Wholesale clubs |
| 2017 | • Gas stations • Ground transportation • Wholesale clubs | • Home improvement stores • Wholesale clubs | • Restaurants | • Amazon.com • Target |
Our Take
The 5% Discover cash-back bonus is the main reason for holding these cards. Failing to activate your bonus in a timely manner can negate the entire reason for holding these cards. You can miss out on some substantial earnings over the year.
Fans of cash back can get even more bonus categories by also signing up for the Freedom Flex. In addition to a rotating 5% bonus cash back category, the Freedom Flex also earns 5% on travel purchased through Chase and 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores. You can take things up to another level by combining the cash back with the points earned from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to further boost the value of your cash-back earnings.
However, these cards aren't exclusive. Utilizing the Freedom Flex and Discover card duo would earn you 5% cash back on up to $3,000 in purchases each quarter! Read our Discover it Cash Back Card review to learn more.
- 5% cash back at different places each quarter like gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, Amazon.com, or wholesale clubs up to the quarterly maximum each time you activate.
- Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases - automatically.
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