1st Quarter 2013 5% Rotating Cash Rewards Credit Cards

1st quarter cash back is here! It’s time to get ready for 2013 by reassigning the cards you are carrying to take advantage of 1st quarter 2013 cash rewards credit cards 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.

You know how it works: swap out the 2012 4th Quarter 5% Rewards and maximize your cash rewards for 1st quarter 2013 to make sure you have the right cards, you are signed up for the 5% promotions, and you know where to use them.

1st Quarter 2013 5% Cash Rewards Credit Cards

Chase Freedom. The Chase Freedom card will be the card of choice for gas this quarter. The 1st quarter 2013 Chase Freedom 5% categories are:

• Gas Stations
• Drugstores
• Starbucks

See the entire 2013 Chase Freedom Rewards Calendar and the Best Way to Maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.

Citi Dividend. Citi is bringing back one of my favorite 1st quarter rewards: fitness clubs. If your gym lets you prepay for the whole year, you might as well do so to earn the 5% cash back! The 1st quarter 2013 Citi Dividend 5% categories are:

• Fitness clubs
• Drug stores
• Zappos.com

Discover More. The Discover 5% cash back is going to be the card of choice for restaurants during 1st quarter 2013! The 1st quarter 2013 Discover More 5% categories are:

• Restaurants
• Movies

See the entire 2013 Discover More Rewards Calendar.

No Sign Up Needed

And as always, here are the easier cash back categories, since you don’t need to sign up… in a new simplified format:

Category	Card	Cash Back
Grocery Stores	American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card	6% cash back
Gas Stations	Pen Fed Platinum VISA	5% cash back at the pump
Restaurants	Citi Forward	5 ThankYou Points for every $1
Target	Target credit card	5% discount
Amazon	Citi Forward Card or Amazon Visa	5% cash back 3 points per dollar
Wireless and Office Supplies	Ink Bold	5% cash back
Costco	Fidelity Credit Card	2% cash back
Travel	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Various
Bill Pay	US Bank Cash Plus	Testing 5% cash back
Everything Else	Gift cards purchased on American Express or Gift cards purchased on Ink Bold or Fidelity Credit Card	6% 5% 2%

How to Get Your 5% Cash Back

As a reminder, here’s my checklist for rotating cash back programs:

1. 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 1st quarter 2013 5% cash back information. In order to earn the 5%, you have to enroll in each program quarterly.
2. 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!

Sign Up Bonus Offers

If you don’t have the 5% cash rewards cards I’m using, here are the ones currently offering sign up bonus offers:

• Ink Bold $500 Sign Up Bonus
• Chase Sapphire Preferred $400 Sign Up Bonus
• American Express Blue Cash $150 Sign Up Bonus
• Chase Freedom $100 Sign Up Bonus
• Citi $100 Sign Up Bonus
• Citi Forward $100 Sign Up Bonus

If you're looking for a new credit card, be sure to check out our credit card directory!

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