We then look
at category bonuses to determine which card to use for our everyday purchases.
Not exact matches
Unlike other cards that only award
bonuses to specific
categories, card holders can earn unlimited 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, every day and unlimited 10x miles on hotels when you pay with your Venture card
at hotels.com/Venture.
If you don't anticipate earning many points
at Hyatt properties or with the Hyatt card's
bonus spending
categories, you can diversify your earnings by using shopping portals.
If you can keep track of these
bonus categories, and manage to fit
at least 6.25 % of your total spending into them, the Discover it ® for Students outperforms the Journey ® Student Rewards from Capital One ® rewards-wise.
The most common
categories for
bonus cash back, which can earn cash back
at rates from 2 % to more than 5 %, are listed below:
Tons of other perks are available as well, including
bonus -
category cash back of 3 % on gas and 2 %
at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (on the first $ 2,500 quarterly in combined
bonus category purchases), a 0 % intro APR offer, and your FICO ® Score for free.
To maximize earning rewards
at 5 %, you'll have to use the card just for the
bonus categories.
Bonuses are relatively rare in the world of cash back cards, so if you're looking to earn cash back and you don't want to have to worry about rotating cash back
categories, take a look
at the Chase Freedom Unlimited ® card.
With all of these cards, however, certain
bonus categories allow you to earn points
at a much faster rate.
Here
at SportsInsights.com we have broken down the sportsbook world into 4 major
categories: Loose Lines, Reduce Juice, Depositing
Bonus, Sharp Lines.
Use the card to earn the welcome
bonus and keep it around for those times when you'll be staying
at a Hilton resort, or can leverage any of the other
bonus spending
categories.
However,
at times in the past the Blue Cash cards have been offered with sign - up
bonuses as high as $ 250 with just a $ 1,000 spending requirement plus the possibility of earning 10 % cash back on up to $ 2,000 in spending in
categories like restaurants, wireless phone, and Amazon.
The cashback
bonus categories are home furnishing and home and garden purchases, as well as those made
at Home Depot.
For example, if your spending is pretty regular during the year and you spend
at least $ 2,500
at the supermarket, then the Blue Cash Preferred ® Card from American Express
bonus categories will reward you more.
Beyond these special
categories, the default case is that you will earn cash back
at a rate of.25 % on your first $ 3,000 in purchases, and up to 1 % in cashback
bonuses after you spend above that amount.
Whether that means a high interest rate, strong
bonus, or a way to save for your child's future, we've looked
at a range of the best savings account options in each
category.
There are also chances to earn
bonus points by making purchases
at «qualifying merchants» no matter what spending
category the stores fall into.
There are
at least nine different cards out there that could earn you 2 % on your purchases, and there are many more that could end up earning you
at least that from
bonus categories if you play your cards right.
Discover It ® and Discover It ® Cash Back Match cards earn 5 % cash back on quarterly
bonus category purchases that are doubled
at the first year card anniversary making these cards good savings tools to fund an annual vacation
at the end of year one.
Spending $ 1,500 on the 5 %
bonus category each month will result in a $ 300 match, plus whatever is spent
at 1 %.
While some of these merchants may seem like they fit a particular
category,
at the end of the day stores that qualify for
bonus cash back are left up to Chase's discretion.
It's worth applying for the Discover it ® — Cashback Match ™ over the Discover it ® Miles if you can manage to get
at least roughly 15 % of your total purchases into the 5 %
bonus categories.
So long as
at least 25 % of your annual purchases fall in these
bonus categories, you will be getting an amazing deal with the Chase Freedom ®.
However, if you manage to spend
at least 38 % of all your purchases within the 5 % -
bonus categories, we recommend the Chase Freedom ® as the better deal — assuming all those purchases don't exceed the $ 1,500
category limit.
With all of these cards, however, certain
bonus categories allow you to earn points
at a much faster rate.
On top of the rotating
category rewards, cardholders can also earn a $ 150
bonus for spending
at least $ 500 on their card within the first three months of account opening.
Tons of other perks are available as well, including
bonus -
category cash back of 3 % on gas and 2 %
at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (on the first $ 2,500 quarterly in combined
bonus category purchases), 1 % on all other purchases, and access to your FICO ® Score for free.
The only way we would recommend the Discover it ® chrome over the Discover it ® — 18 Month Balance Transfer Offer is if you don't shop
at any of the 5 % -
bonus categories.
First, look
at the rewards offered, including the sign - up
bonus, the standard rewards for spending and any
bonus categories.
Bonus category purchases include those made
at stores such as Nordstrom, Macy's and Sears.
To match that with the Discover it ® card, you'd need to make
at least $ 3,500 in purchases on the 5 %
bonus categories the first year.
Some only offer a sign - up
bonus after you spend a particular amount, while others give special rewards for transactions
at certain
categories of merchants.
Look
at the
bonus categories for each card and see which one aligns more with your business.
So, even if you hit $ 600 in spending in three
bonus categories every month (which is probably unlikely), you'd top out
at $ 480 total
bonus on the Chase.
The card's
bonus categories are capped
at $ 50,000 in combined spending per year, compared to the Ink Business Cash ℠ Credit Card's $ 25,000.
The two
bonus spending
categories (of 5 % and 2 %) are each capped
at the first $ 25,000 spent in combined purchases per year — after that your savings drops down to the 1 % camp.
As long as you manage to fit
at least 50 % of all your purchases in the
bonus categories, you will always come out ahead of the Capital One ® Savor ® Cash Rewards Credit Card — this is assuming you also fit within the $ 1,500
category limits.
As to how to use it best, I'd say you'd have to take a look
at the 15 Chase Freedom
bonus categories and see which three would get you the best benefit.
If you can only pick one card, here's a handy guide for when we think the Chase Freedom comes out ahead: based on our calculations, the Chase Freedom outperforms the Capital One ® Quicksilver ® Cash Rewards Credit Card's 1.5 % cash back if you spend
at least 12.5 % of all your spending in the
bonus categories.
Unfortunately, those
bonus categories are capped
at $ 1,500 in spending per quarter.
Using my Chase Cash Rewards for g / g / d (grandfathered
at 5 % for the time being), Costco Amex (3 % restaurants, 2 % travel), Chase Professional MC (3 % restaurants, office supply, home improvement / hardware), and Discover (5 % for whatever
bonus categories happen to be in effect), purchases on which I get back only 1 % are now the exception.
Every quarter, the 5 % cash back
bonus categories change and you have to remember to opt - in each time they do so in order to earn rewards
at that rate (you'll get a reminder from Chase).
If consumers are looking for less hassle and a flat rewards,
at the cost of losing a few
bonus categories, the Discover it ® chrome for Students may be a better option.
Earn 30,000
Bonus Points after your first use, redeemable for up to 4 free nights; plus receive 2 free night stay e-certificates upon account approval, that's enough up to 6 free nights
at a
category 1 hotel
However, you can get a really good 5 % cash back rate
at rotating
bonus categories every quarter.
Earn 5 % Cashback
Bonus on up to $ 1,500 in purchases
at Department Stores and on ALL online shopping through December, as well as in
categories that change throughout the year like gas, restaurants, and department stores up to the quarterly maximum.
The
bonus category on the Discover it ® chrome for Students is
at least more tailored towards student spending than some of the Discover's rotating
categories.
Starpoints ®
Bonus: 10K with your first purchase and another 15K when you spend $ 5k within 6 months — enough for up to 6 free nights
at a
Category 1 or 2 hotel
The sign - up
bonus is lucrative
at 80,000 points for $ 2,000 in spend (first 3 months) and it has
bonus categories for expenses other than hotel bookings (gas, grocery, restaurants).
To maximize earning rewards
at 5 %, you'll have to use the card just for the
bonus categories.