Several credit cards in the U.S. market pay 5% back in selected categories. Some issuers rotate those categories.
One card lets the cardholder choose the categories. Another applies 5% to the category with the highest spend.
The selection rule, the spending cap, and the foreign transaction fee differ by card. Figures below are as of October 2026.
This comparison covers the Chase Freedom Flex, U.S. Bank Cash+, Citi Custom Cash, and Discover it Cash Back.
Category Selection Mechanisms
The main difference is who picks the 5% category.
Issuer-Determined Rotating Categories
The Chase Freedom Flex and Discover it Cash Back use categories the issuer sets. The categories change each calendar quarter. The cardholder does not choose them.
Both cards require activation each quarter for the rotating 5%. On Freedom Flex, that 5% applies only after activation, and only on the first $1,500 in combined category purchases that quarter.
Dining, drugstores, and Chase Travel keep their separate rates without that activation. On Discover it Cash Back, purchases earn 1% when the quarter is not activated.
As of October 2026, Chase lists the October-December 2026 categories as grocery stores excluding Walmart and Target, dining, and the American Red Cross. Activation for that quarter opened on September 15, 2026.
User-Selected Categories
The U.S. Bank Cash+ lets the cardholder pick categories from a set list. Each quarter, the cardholder selects two categories for 5% and one everyday category for 2%.
The 2% choices are gas stations and EV charging stations, grocery stores, or restaurants. Grocery and gas purchases at discount stores, supercenters, and wholesale clubs earn 1%.
The selection has to be in place before the quarter starts. U.S. Bank’s selection rules state that a prior quarter’s categories do not carry forward.
If no categories are chosen, eligible purchases earn 1%.
Automatic Selection
The Citi Custom Cash assigns 5 ThankYou Points per dollar to the eligible category with the highest spend in that billing cycle. The cardholder does not activate or pick the category.
Citi stopped accepting new applications on May 28, 2026. Existing cardmembers keep the card and the same earning rules.
The Custom Cash terms list restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment.
The cardholder does not control which of those categories earns 5 points per dollar. The highest posted spend in the cycle does.
Spending Caps
All four cards cap the 5% rate.
| Card | Cap Amount | Cap Period | 5% Back at the Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Freedom Flex | $1,500 | Quarterly | $75 |
| U.S. Bank Cash+ | $2,000 | Quarterly | $100 |
| Citi Custom Cash | $500 | Billing cycle | $25 |
| Discover it Cash Back | $1,500 | Quarterly | $75 |
The $1,500 and $2,000 figures are combined spending in the 5% categories, not a separate cap for each category. After the cap, those purchases earn 1%.
U.S. Bank’s program rules put no spending cap on the 2% everyday category. The $100 figure is 5% of the $2,000 quarterly cap only.
The Custom Cash cap resets each billing cycle, not each calendar quarter. Twelve cycles at $500 is $6,000 of spending at the 5% rate in a year.
Four quarters at $1,500 on Freedom Flex or Discover it is also $6,000. Cash+ allows $2,000 per quarter, or $8,000 a year, in the combined 5% categories.
Discover’s rewards calendar states the quarterly 5% maximum as $75. That is 5% of $1,500. Chase uses the same $75 figure for the Freedom Flex quarterly cap.
Activation Requirements
Three of the four cards require a quarterly step before the 5% rate applies. Custom Cash does not.
| Card | Activation Required |
|---|---|
| Chase Freedom Flex | Yes, each quarter, for the rotating 5% |
| U.S. Bank Cash+ | Yes, category selection each quarter |
| Citi Custom Cash | No |
| Discover it Cash Back | Yes, each quarter |
Freedom Flex still pays 3% at dining and drugstores, and 5% on Chase Travel, if the rotating categories are not activated. Discover it Cash Back pays 1% when a quarter is not activated.
Cash+ pays 1% on eligible purchases when categories are not selected. Custom Cash has no selection step.
Fixed Bonus Categories
Some cards also pay a rate that does not follow the rotating list.
Chase Freedom Flex
- 5% on purchases through Chase Travel
- 3% on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery, and on drugstores
- 1% on all other purchases
The $1,500 quarterly cap applies to the rotating categories. Chase’s earning terms do not apply that cap to dining, drugstores, or Chase Travel.
U.S. Bank Cash+
- 5% on prepaid air, hotel, and car reservations booked in the U.S. Bank Travel Center
- 2% on one everyday category chosen each quarter, from gas stations and EV charging stations, grocery stores, or restaurants
- 1% on all other eligible purchases
The 2% category is chosen again each quarter. It is not a standing merchant bonus.
Citi Custom Cash
- No separate fixed bonus category
- 1 ThankYou Point per dollar outside the highest-spend category, and on highest-spend purchases above $500 in the billing cycle
Discover it Cash Back
- No fixed bonus categories
- 1% on purchases outside the activated quarterly categories
Fee Structures
All four cards have a $0 annual fee. Foreign transaction fees are not the same.
As of October 2026, the Chase Freedom Flex lists no foreign transaction fee. Chase’s September 21, 2026 announcement dates that change.
Discover it Cash Back has no foreign transaction fee. The U.S. Bank Cash+ lists a 3% foreign transaction fee.
| Card | Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Freedom Flex | $0 | 0% |
| U.S. Bank Cash+ | $0 | 3% |
| Citi Custom Cash | $0 | 3% |
| Discover it Cash Back | $0 | 0% |
Citi’s 2021 Custom Cash launch terms listed a 3% fee on foreign purchase transactions. After applications closed, the public product page no longer shows a pricing table.
Reward Point Systems
Freedom Flex tracks rewards as Ultimate Rewards points. Custom Cash tracks them as ThankYou Points. Cash+ and Discover it track cash back.
Chase Freedom Flex
Cash back is tracked as Ultimate Rewards points. One dollar of cash back equals 100 points.
Points can move between a cardholder’s own Ultimate Rewards cards. Transfer to airline and hotel partners requires a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred card.
U.S. Bank Cash+
Cash back can be redeemed as a statement credit, a rewards card, or a deposit to a U.S. Bank checking or savings account. The card has no points-transfer program.
Citi Custom Cash
The card earns Citi ThankYou Points. The Custom Cash terms pay 5 points per dollar on the first $500 in the highest-spend eligible category each billing cycle, and 1 point per dollar on other purchases.
Discover it Cash Back
The card earns cash back only. It has no points-transfer partners.
First-Year Promotions
New Discover it Cash Back cardholders receive a Cashback Match. Discover matches cash back earned from account approval through the first 365 days, and adds that match within two billing periods.
There is no cap on the match. Redeeming cash back during the year does not reduce the match.
A purchase that earned 5% is matched with another 5% later. A purchase that earned 1% is matched with another 1%. The match is not a higher rate on the purchase date.
As of October 2026, the Chase Freedom Flex lists a $250 bonus after $500 in purchases in the first three months. Chase described that bonus as a limited-time offer.
The U.S. Bank Cash+ lists a $200 bonus after $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first 90 days. Custom Cash is closed to new applications.
Network and Acceptance
Freedom Flex and Cash+ run on Visa. Custom Cash runs on Mastercard. Discover it Cash Back runs on the Discover network.
| Card | Payment Network |
|---|---|
| Chase Freedom Flex | Visa |
| U.S. Bank Cash+ | Visa |
| Citi Custom Cash | Mastercard |
| Discover it Cash Back | Discover |
Discover it Cash Back states that its network is accepted at 99% of U.S. places that take credit cards, citing the February 2026 Nilson Report.
How do the cap and the selection rule differ?
The cap and the selection rule are the constraints that differ.
Consistent Category Spending
Cash+ pays 5% in two categories the cardholder selects, on a combined $2,000 each quarter. The published 5% list includes home utilities, cell phone providers, and TV, internet, and streaming. The choice has to be made again each quarter.
Variable Spending Aligned with Issuer Categories
Freedom Flex and Discover it Cash Back pay 5% only in the categories the issuer publishes for that quarter, after activation, and only up to $1,500 combined. In the October-December 2026 Freedom Flex quarter, grocery stores excluding Walmart and Target are on that list.
Dominant Single-Category Spending
Custom Cash pays 5 points per dollar on the eligible category with the highest spend, on the first $500 each billing cycle. There is no activation. New applications stopped on May 28, 2026.
International Use
As of September 21, 2026, Freedom Flex charges no foreign transaction fee. Discover it Cash Back also has no foreign transaction fee.
Cash+ charges 3%. Custom Cash’s published pricing has listed the same 3% foreign purchase fee.
Tradeoffs Summary
Each row names one structural feature and one constraint.
| Card | Structural feature | Constraint |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Freedom Flex | Fixed 3% on dining and drugstores | Rotating 5% requires quarterly activation |
| U.S. Bank Cash+ | Cardholder picks the 5% categories | Selection required each quarter, and a 3% foreign fee |
| Citi Custom Cash | No activation step | $500 cap per billing cycle, and closed to new applicants |
| Discover it Cash Back | First-year Cashback Match | Discover network, separate from Visa and Mastercard |
Regulatory Note
All four cards are U.S. consumer credit products subject to federal regulations including the CARD Act and Truth in Lending Act. Terms, rates, and category structures are set by the issuing banks and can change.
