Question -- Discover Q3 Rotating 5% category: Apple Pay & Gas Stations

[jnw]

So I found out few weeks back that the rotating 5% categories for Q3 Discover It Cashback card are gas stations and Mobile Wallets, including Apple Pay for both in store and online purchases.   (I use Apple Pay myself and read that Google Wallet only works for in store purchases and not online purchases.)

For those who also have this card what's your strategy to maximize $1500 in purchases this coming quarter on the card?

This is my first year with Discover It Cashback card so I am actually getting back 10% the first year, for $600 total in rewards -- along with the $100 referral sign up bonus makes it $700 total.  It's been great for Q2 (10% cash back at wholesale clubs): spent $1500 on Sam's Club gift cards which I have been using at Walmart, inside the Sam's Club store as well as Sam's Club gas station.

For Q3, the first thing that comes to mind are grocery store gift cards.  Both Aldi and my other discount grocer accept Apple Pay as well as Discover -- I usually pay with Apple Pay at these stores anyways.  So I'll use it to purchase my groceries there as well as grocery store gift cards. (I typically use my Citi Custom Cash card to get 5% back at grocers -- excluding Walmart and Sam's Club; but 10% cash back is better.)

I'll probably use the card at gas stations as well to get the 10% cash back, but Sam's Club is already 20-30 cents cheaper per gallon compared to all the local competition and I have like $500 balance left on the Sam's Club gift card.

If I could somehow use Apple Pay (in store or online) to buy Sam's Club or Walmart gift cards, that would be ideal, because I could use them for those stores as well as for Sam's Gas.   Any ideas on how I can purchase gift cards online with Apple Pay.. Or perhpas I can pay utility bills with Apple Pay? I haven't used it all that much online to be honest.  Just wondering if anyone else has come up with some strategies.  Another thing is that gas stations sell gift cards inside the store for various places, so I might get a few they have any useful ones.  I'll have to check out Staples, they often offer fee free Visa gift cards .. maybe they accept Apple Pay.  Another useful gift card would be the Amazon gift card if I could purchase at gas station or with apple pay.

Anyways enough of my rambling. Just thought I'd ask.  It's kinda fun to maximize all this stuff. 

For the next credit card churn it's going to be Chase Sapphire Preferred, which comes to about a $800 reward -- easier. (Btw, I don't travel due to disability so it's all about the cash for me.)  But hacking this Discover It cashback card to its full potential is fun.  Btw, there is no opportunity cost with the Discover card acquiring these gift cards since I have 15 months 0% APR on purchases -- the cards will be used up within a few months.  (I don't mind carrying a few thousand dollars of revolving credit utilization on my credit report as it goes right back up after you pay them off before the 15 months end -- interest free loan which I get to invest in money market at 5%.)

[jnw]

Ran across the following resource with a google search just now.  It's allegedly a complete list of stores which accept Apple Pay in 2023. (The article was created just a little over the month ago on May 11, 2023.)

Staples is among them.  So if they accept Apple Pay using Discover, to buy fee free visa gift card, that will be ideal.

https://www.igeeksblog.com/stores-that-accept-apple-pay/

EDIT: another idea.  After using Apple Pay to buy the fee free VISA gift cards from Staples, I can then take them to Walmart and buy a money order to pay my mortgage payment.  I never get any cash back on my mortgage payments.. not ever.  But I could get 10% cash back on it if this is possible (minus the $1 or so for the money order).

[jnw]

So I see Staples is offering the $200 ViSA reward cards now with no purchase fee -- normally $7.95 purchase fee.  You can buy up to 8 cards in a single trip.  I've never done this before.  I guess it'd be suspicious if I bought 7 cards at $1400?  $1500 is the number I need to reach.  (I can achieve the extra $100 easily between gas and Aldi.)

Maybe I should just purchase four of the cards so it's under $1000, along with perhaps an item under $2.  That way the grand total on the receipt, which Discover sees, will be a perfect rounded number in the hundreds.  I do this when I buy Sam's club gift cards.. I buy a few groceries along with the same club gift card so it isn't the only thing on the receipt and not an even number.

[lifeisshort123]

I find this quarter the most organic spend to find... I struggled in the January quarter because we tend not to buy from grocery stores, as the grocers in our area are extremely expensive and not that different in quality from the big box stores that you can't use the promotion.

The 5% at wholesale clubs and restaurants worked - we got there with gift cards that are paying for our upcoming travel.  We are very happy about that, but it did mean paying for something earlier than we would have had to otherwise.

I find ApplePay to be accepted in so many places.  The question is, does Discover consider WalmartPay to be a digital Wallet.  I will use it wherever I need to spend money on Apple Pay.

[jnw]

The 5% at wholesale clubs and restaurants worked - we got there with gift cards that are paying for our upcoming travel.  We are very happy about that, but it did mean paying for something earlier than we would have had to otherwise.

I just pay the minimum payment with Discover It Cashback card, since it's my first year.  I am borrowing all that money from Discover interest free for 15 months.  I have a $8000 credit limit.  My overall revolving credit utilization will be under 20% at all times, so it's fine.  Using all their cash to churn bank/savings/brokerage accounts at about a 20-25% APR.  Heh, instead of paying credit card company 20%-25% APR to borrow their money, I am borrowing it for free and making 20-25% off of it :)  I'll use up the gift cards I bought within a couple months or so, so well before the 15 months are up.

[jnw]

At first I was disappointed because I didn't see Apple Pay as an option for Ebay checkout.  But this is only with the web browser on the mac.  I checked my ebay app on my iPhone and they allow to pay via Apple Pay.  This is very nice because I already get great deals on used stuff on ebay, the extra 10% off is sweet.

On eBay just now, I bought a pre-owned 2023 Mac Mini M2 Pro 16gb 512gb for $1049 plus tax (free shipping).  New at Apple it's $1299.  Out the door from Apple w/ tax it's $1409.   I just paid $1138 out the door w/ eBay.  But since I used Discover It Cashback via Apple Pay (10% rebate) I am getting it out the door for 0.9 x $1138 = $1024.  $1024 vs $1409 from Apple, for a $385 savings (27.25% discount).  I'm thrilled, this computer will last me 4 years before I upgrade it in 2027 for a preowned 2025 Mac Mini M3 Pro.   I should be able to get at least $600 for it in 2027.. so only about $100 per year to use it, which is within my budget for a Mac computer.  (Computer expenses are non-discretionary for me if they aren't related to gaming -- I'm on the computer so often it doesn't make any sense to think of it as a discretionary expense; it's a utility.)  EDIT: I'll be selling my late 2020 Mac Mini M1 for $375 -- paid $600 for it two years ago.

[jnw]

On eBay just now, I bought a pre-owned 2023 Mac Mini M2 Pro 16gb 512gb for $1049 plus tax (free shipping).  New at Apple it's $1299.  Out the door from Apple w/ tax it's $1409.   I just paid $1138 out the door w/ eBay.  But since I used Discover It Cashback via Apple Pay (10% rebate) I am getting it out the door for 0.9 x $1138 = $1024.  $1024 vs $1409 from Apple, for a $385 savings (27.25% discount).  I'm thrilled, this computer will last me 4 years before I upgrade it in 2027 for a preowned 2025 Mac Mini M3 Pro.   I should be able to get at least $600 for it in 2027.. so only about $100 per year to use it, which is within my budget for a Mac computer.  (Computer expenses are non-discretionary for me if they aren't related to gaming -- I'm on the computer so often it doesn't make any sense to think of it as a discretionary expense; it's a utility.)  EDIT: I'll be selling my late 2020 Mac Mini M1 for $375 -- paid $600 for it two years ago.

Just an update. I want to say that the ebay purchase of this $1138 mac was applied to the 5% category in the Rewards section of the Discover app.  I'm getting 10% back on that, so $114.