Discover has added a few new retailers with whom you can earn 5% during Q3 and Q4 of 2019. It should now be much easier for everyone to max out the $1,500 limit each quarter.
Q3 – PayPal Added
Restaurants was previously the only Q3 category due to earn 5%. For many people, having that as the sole category would’ve been hard to max out as it would require spending an average of $500 per month on eating out.
Adding PayPal makes maxing out the $1,500 of quarterly spend significantly easier. Here are the key terms:
PayPal qualifying purchases are those made through the PayPal wallet online, when you send money to Friends and Family via PayPal using your Discover Card, and point-of-sale transactions using PayPal Here. Payments made through the Xoom transfer service are not eligible for 5%. Any restaurant purchase made using PayPal will only be awarded a total of 5% Cashback Bonus. Certain other digital wallet transactions qualify for 5%, for more information see Discover.com/digitalwallets. Purchases made using tap-and-pay, mobile or wireless card readers, virtual wallets or similar technology will not be eligible if the technology does not provide sufficient transaction details for rewards qualification.
If you’re a gift card reseller, it should be fairly easy to spend $1,500 over the course of three months with PayPal Digital Gifts. If nothing else, simply send money to friends or family; you’ll lose a fair bit in fees, but it’ll still make you ~$25 from the comfort of your couch.
As the terms explicitly state, you can’t double up your cashback by paying for a meal with PayPal.
Q4 – Target & Walmart.com Added
Given that Q4 includes Black Friday and the holiday season, having Target and Walmart.com added is helpful for maxing out Q4, especially seeing as Amazon was already included as a 5% retailer. Here are the key terms for these added retailers:
Target purchases include any purchase made online at Target.com, through the Target app, or in-store at Target. Individual merchants and stand-alone stores within physical Target locations or on Target.com may not be eligible in this category. Walmart.com purchases include those made at Walmart.com and when shopping through the Walmart app (including Grocery Pick Up and Instore Pick Up). Purchases made in store at Walmart Stores, Walmart Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Walmart Pay are excluded from this promotion. Individual merchants and stand-alone stores within physical Walmart locations may not eligible in this category.
The key thing to note with Walmart is that it’s specifically for online purchases only and not in-store purchases. However, you can do a grocery order online and pick it up in-store to earn 5%. Check the options on your other credit cards though as there are frequently Amex Offers, Chase Offers, BankAmeriDeals, etc. for Walmart Grocery offering 10% off or more, so those would represent better savings.
Overall, the addition of these retailers is an extremely positive development that’ll help many of us to earn the full $75 cashback each quarter.
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