Maximizing 5% Cash Back with Discovers 2025 Rotating Rewards Calendar: Strategies for Earning More

The 2025 Discover cash-back calendar offers excellent opportunities to earn elevated rewards rates throughout the year. With rotating categories that align with everyday expenses such as restaurants, grocery stores, and more, it's an easy way to earn 5% cash back on purchases. Few cash-back credit cards offer up to 5% back on purchases, making the Discover rotating categories especially valuable.

Discover Rotating Cash-Back Calendar for 2025

Here are the Discover rotating cash-back categories from 2023 to Q3 2025:

• Q3 2025: Gas and EV charging, public transit, and utilities. To earn 5% back, you must activate the offer and then make purchases in the applicable categories.
• Previous Categories: PayPal (Q3 2022), Fitness clubs (Q1 2022), Gym memberships (Q1 2022), Walgreens and CVS (Q1 2021), Uber and Lyft (Q2 2020).

How Discover Rotating Cash-Back Categories Work

Discover rotating categories are cash-back bonus categories available on certain Discover cash-back credit cards. These categories offer up to 5% cash back (up to $1,500 per quarter after activation) and rotate quarterly. Maximizing your earnings with the Discover rotating categories (spending $1,500 per quarter) could earn you $75 in cash back quarterly or $300 annually.

How to Activate Discover Rotating Categories

You can activate your 5% rotating categories for the quarter through the Discover mobile app, your online account, or by calling the Discover customer service number on the back of your credit card. You can also activate through a Discover email if you've received one. You won't earn 5% on applicable purchases unless you activate each quarter. You can typically activate after the quarter has already started, but you won't earn 5% retroactively on any purchases you've already made.

How to Make the Most of Discover Rotating Categories

I've had a Discover credit card for many years and noticed that the quarterly bonus categories tend to follow similar patterns yearly. For example, you might see grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations announced in any of the first three quarters of the year. However, Q4 is often reserved for categories related to holiday shopping, which could include Amazon.com. Knowing this, you can better align your spending with the 5% rotating categories and pad your cash-back rewards. That's especially true with Q4, where you can take advantage of seasonal deals and pricing.

Fortunately, Discover typically announces rotating categories a month before they go live. That gives you a buffer to make some adjustments to upcoming spending. For example, if gas stations were just announced for the next quarter, maybe that's an opportunity to take that road trip you've been planning.

Tip: Purchasing gift cards can be an easy way to maximize hitting the $1,500 spending limit each quarter. Many grocery stores, gas stations, drug stores, and other locations sell gift cards you can use later for other expenses. That could include buying Amazon, Home Depot, or other types of gift cards, depending on your upcoming purchases.