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Discover Announces 5% Bonus Categories for First Quarter of 2024
With 2024 sneaking up on us, Discover has announced its rotating 5% bonus categories for the first quarter of next year.
About the Q1 2024 bonus categories:
From January through March 2024, Discover It customers will be able to earn up to 5% back in two categories: restaurants and drugstores. According to the company, the Restaurants category includes full-service establishments, cafes, cafeterias, fast-food locations, and dining delivery services. For the Drug Stores category, purchases made at stand-alone drug stores, pharmacies, online pharmacies, and some pharmacies located inside of retail stores are included.
Per usual, Discover customers will need to activate the offer in order to take advantage of these bonuses. Additionally, the 5% is limited to $1,500 in combined bonus category spending (so $1,500 in restaurant and drug store purchases) per quarter. This means that, at most, cardholders can earn $75 cashback from this offer.
These bonus categories will go into effect on January 1st, 2024 and will last through March 31st. Discover is expected to reveal category selections for Q2 2024 around March 1st of next year (with subsequent announcements arriving one month before the current quarter’s end).
In context:
Next quarter’s categories follow a rather “classic” Q4, which featured Amazon and Target purchases. As for when Discover last featured restaurants as a quarterly pick, that would be Q2 of this year (where it was paired with wholesale clubs). Meanwhile, drug stores were included in the Q1 2023 picks alongside grocery stores and select streaming services.
What they’re saying:
Sharing a peek at the logic behind these two bonus category picks, Discover’s VP of Rewards and Product Strategy Geeta Chandan explained, “Our focus is on offering added value through 5% Cashback Bonus where our cardmembers are already spending. We believe Restaurants and Drug Stores are a strong way to kick off the year. Cardmembers won’t just earn 5% cash back on eating out but also on takeout and select delivery apps as well. And with cold and flu season around the corner, cardmembers can get rewarded for stocking up on supplies.”
My thoughts:
For me, dining is always going to be a winner in terms of a bonus category (even if I already get 4x with my Amex Gold card). That said, maxing out the $1,500 cap on dining alone would be quite difficult given my spending habits. Unfortunately, the drug store category won’t be picking up much slack for me either.
Of course, my situation definitely isn’t indicative of others. For some, the drug store category could be a huge win. Similarly, those who dine out more than I do could easily rack up cashback with the dining category. So, while this may not be the best Discover bonus category quarter I’ve ever seen, it’s still pretty strong overall.
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