Looking for the 5 percent categories for the Discover card? Here are the 2026 5% bonus categories for the Discover card.

Discover Cashback Calendar 2026 5% Bonus Categories

The Discover card 5% bonus categories for 2026 are as follows:

Discover Cashback Calendar 2026 5% Bonus Categories

1st quarter (January 1 – March 31, 2026) –  Grocery Stores, Wholesale Clubs, and Select Streaming Services. Activate Now.
2nd quarter (April 1 – June 30, 2026) – Coming Soon. Announcing on March 1, 2026.
3rd quarter (July 1 – September 30, 2026) – Coming Soon. Announcing on June 1, 2026.
4th quarter (October 1 – December 31, 2026) – Coming Soon. Announcing on September 1, 2026.

As you can see Discover has not yet released the full 2026 5% bonus categories but they will likely be similar to the Discover 5% bonus categories for 2025 which were as follows:

1st quarter (January 1 – March 31, 2025) –  Restaurants, Home Improvement Stores, and Select Streaming Services.
2nd quarter (April 1 – June 30, 2025) – Grocery Stores and Wholesale Clubs.
3rd quarter (July 1 – September 30, 2025) – Gas Stations & EV Charging, Public Transit, and Utilities.
4th quarter (October 1 – December 31, 2025) – Amazon.com and Drug Stores.

The 5% only applies to the first $1,500 spent on combined purchases each quarter.

Here is the link to the Discover 5% calendar for 2026 on discover.com.

Don’t Forget to Activate!

Please note, that in order to earn the 5% you must activate the offer each quarter. If you have signed up for email reminders you should have already received an email asking you to activate this quarter’s categories. Unlike the Chase Freedom card, activation is not retroactive so you need to activate the bonus in order to start earning the 5% cashback.

(See also related post: How to Earn a Discover Refer a Friend Bonus)