2nd quarter cash back is here! It’s time for 2nd quarter cash back.
2nd quarter cash back is focused on grocery stores. In addition, we have a new option for cashback on Paypal and on your home utilities!
Organize, activate and put your credit cards into a regular rotation.
Quarterly Cash Rewards
It’s our quarterly check-in to reevaluate the cards we are carrying to take advantage of the best 2nd quarter 2018 cash rewards credit card [1] bonuses. Every quarter we reevaluate the cash back cards to make sure we get the highest cash back on each purchase including the credit cards that offer cash back on a rotating quarterly schedule.
As you switch out your cards, don’t forget to follow up on all your rewards and make sure you are earning the right cash back and maximizing all of your purchases.
We do the same swap every quarter, so you know exactly how it works: take out the old 1st Quarter 5% Rotating Cash Rewards Credit Cards [2] and maximize your cash rewards [3] for 2nd quarter 2018 to make sure you have the right cards, you are signed up for the 5% promotions and you know where to use them.
2nd Quarter 2018 5% Cash Rewards Credit Cards
Chase Freedom. The Chase Freedom card will feature 5% cash back on grocery stores. A new addition is the cashback on Paypal purchases. In addition, they are continuing the Chase Pay cash back… have you used Chase Pay yet? The 2nd quarter 2018 Chase Freedom 5% categories are:
- Grocery Stores (Excluding Target and Walmart)
- Paypal
- Chase Pay
Chase Freedom 5% cash back is on up to $1,500 in purchases. Here’s the place to activate your 2nd quarter Chase Freedom [4] rewards. See the entire Chase Freedom Rewards Calendar [5]. Also see the Best Way to Maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards Points [6].
Discover it. The Discover 5% cash back for 2nd quarter 2018 will also focus on grocery store purchases this quarter.
Don’t forget to look up the end date for your double cash back if you are a new cardholder or signed up last year! During the double your 5% cash back becomes 10% cash back. Here’s more information on the Discover it 10% Double Cashback [7].
The 2nd quarter 2018 Discover it 5% categories are:
- Grocery Stores
Discover 5% cash back is on up to $1,500 in purchases. Here’s the place to activate your 2nd quarter Discover [8] rewards. See the entire Discover Rewards Calendar [9] for 2018.
Citi Dividend. Citi 5% cash back this quarter has you covered for spring household maintenance. The 2nd quarter 2018 Citi Dividend 5% categories are:
- Home Depot
- Home Furnishing Stores
Citi 5% cash back is on up to $300 cash back per calendar year ($6,000 in purchases). Here’s the place to activate your 2nd quarter Citi Dividend [10] rewards. See the entire 2018 Citi Dividend Rewards Calendar [11].
US Bank Cash +. Don’t forget you need to pick your 5% categories each quarter for the US Bank Cash + card. New this quarter is the addition of 5% cash back on utilities. Here are some of the 5% cash back choices:
- Household Utilities
- Cell Phone
- Various Stores (Bookstores, Clothing, Department, Sporting Goods, Electronics, Furniture and More)
US Bank 5% cash back is earned on your first $2,000 in combined net purchases (purchases minus returns or credits) in your chosen 5% categories. Here’s the place to activate your 2nd quarter Cash Plus [12] rewards.
No Sign Up Needed
And as always, here are the easier cash back categories, since you don’t need to sign up:
| Category | Card | Cash Back |
|---|---|---|
| *Grocery Stores | Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express [13] American Express Old Blue Cash Card [14] |
6% cash back (up to $6,000 per year) 5% |
| Gas | American Express Old Blue Cash Card [14] New Costco Anywhere Card Amex Business Gold Rewards [15] |
5% 4% 3% |
| Restaurants (New cards!) | New Capital One Savor [16] Chase AARP Visa [17] |
3% 3% |
| Target | Target credit card [18] | 5% discount |
| Amazon | Amazon Visa [19] | 5% cash back |
| *Wireless | SimplyCash Business Card from American Express [20] | 5% cash back |
| Office Supplies | SimplyCash Business Card from American Express [20] | 5% cash back |
| Internet and Cable | Chase Ink Plus [21] | 5x rewards points |
| Costco | Fidelity Credit Card [22] New Costco Anywhere Visa BankAmericard Cash Rewards [23] Capital One Venture [24] |
2% cash back 2% cash back 2% cash back 2% cash back |
| Travel | Citi Prestige [25] Barclaycard Arrival [26] Chase Sapphire Reserve [27] |
Various |
| Charitable Donations | US Bank FlexPerks Card [28] | 2x points (was 3x) |
| Choose Your Own Categories | SimplyCash American Express [20] | 3% |
| Everything Else | New USAA Limitless Cash Back Card [29] Fidelity Credit Card [22] Citi Double Cash [30] Barclaycard Arrival [26] |
2.5% 2% 2% 2.1% |
*I left the categories on the grid for those currently in rotation. Readers requested that I leave them on as a backup for which card to use once they’ve exhausted their rotating rewards.
How to Get Your 5% Cash Back
Here’s my checklist for rotating cash back programs:
- Sign up for all of the new quarterly cash back programs, even if you don’t know if you’ll use that card. To sign up, just log in to your account online and select the 2nd quarter 2018 5% cash back information. In order to earn the 5%, you have to enroll in each program quarterly.
- Write which categories to use each card for using a marker on the front of the card. It works really well to keep the cards straight!
- To keep the list of cards straight, I also began printing out a quick cheat sheet to slip in each of our wallets.
Sign Up Bonuses
All of the links for current sign up bonuses are now listed in our credit card directory [31].
Are you using different cards for any of these categories?