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June is a month full of festivities. Whether you’re celebrating Dad, showing your Pride, attending a summer wedding, or simply enjoying the outdoors with family and friends, it’s a time to savor summer fun. Without careful planning, though, all that celebrating can quickly bust your budget.
To help you avoid overspending, we’ve gathered our best credit card tips to help you maximize your budget this month.
» SEE: Best credit cards right now
Delight your Dad without debt
Don't let a tight budget stop you from celebrating Dad on Father's Day — a special meal at his favorite restaurant, a cookout at home, maybe a nice gift (hint: not another tie!). Whatever you choose, there's likely a way to defray the cost.
If it's an afternoon on the town, for example, try the American Express® Green Card and earn 3 points per dollar spent at restaurants, including takeout and delivery. The card carries an annual fee of $150, but also features this attractive welcome offer: Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms apply.
Or if it's the perfect gift you're after, see whether your credit card has any money-saving coupons at participating retailers. Most cards have offers you can add to your card with just a click. And don’t forget, you may be able to stack those with cash-back offers from a shopping website like Ibotta or Rakuten.
Earn rewards on Pride celebrations
June is also Pride month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, remember the hard-fought battles for equality that have been won and recommit to the challenges that still lie ahead.
However you’re honoring Pride month, the $0-annual-fee Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card can serve as an ally for your wallet.
Planning to celebrate at your local Pride festival or parade? Follow that with a visit to an LGBTQ+ -friendly bar or restaurant. Your Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card earns 3% cash back on dining and entertainment, including bars.
If you prefer a quieter celebration at home, this card also has you covered. It earns 3% back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target).
That’s all in addition to the card's impressive sign-up bonus: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Snag a sign-up bonus for off-season travel
If you’ve got your eye on an off-season vacation later in the year, now's a good time to earn a sign-up bonus of hotel points or miles to use toward future travel. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, for instance, currently features this offer: Earn 3 Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card!
That's in addition to the card's ongoing rewards, including:
6 points per $1 spent on eligible purchases with a hotel or resort within the Marriott portfolio.
3 points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on gas stations, grocery stores and dining.
2 points per $1 spent on other eligible purchases.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card has an annual fee of $95. Terms apply.
Max out your Q2 rotating bonus categories
It’s the last month of the quarter, meaning now is the time to max out bonus rewards earnings on any rotating category cards in your wallet. Can’t remember what those bonus categories are for Q2 2024? Here’s a quick refresher:
Discover it® Cash Back and the Discover it® Student Cash Back
From April 1 to June 30, 2024: Earn 5% back on up to $1,500 in combined spending at gas stations, EV charging stations, home improvement stores and public transit. (1% back after that; enrollment required.)
Activation is required before earning at the elevated rate, so hopefully you took that step earlier this quarter. If not, you can still do so by logging into your account on the Discover website or mobile app. The bonus rate isn’t retroactive on previous purchases, but you can still rack up some decent rewards on this month’s purchases.
Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom®
From April 1 to June 30, 2024: Earn 5% back on up to $1,500 spent on dining, Amazon and eligible hotel bookings. (1% back on non-bonus-category spending after that.)
If you haven’t already, activate the bonus categories online or in the Chase mobile app by June 14, 2023, to receive your 5% rewards for all eligible purchases during the quarter. That includes purchases made before activating.
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ also features the following rewards:
5% back on travel booked through Chase.
3% back on dining, including takeout and delivery services.
3% back on drugstore purchases.
For all cardholders, through March 31, 2025, 5% back on qualifying Lyft services purchased through the Lyft app.
1% on all other purchases.
Citi Dividend
Earn 5% back at drugstores and grocery stores.
Enrollment is required before the elevated earnings rate takes effect
The Citi Dividend comes with a total annual cash-back cap of $300, including both elevated earnings and the card’s regular rate of 1% back on all purchases.
Neither the Chase Freedom® nor the Citi Dividend are open for applications anymore. However, existing users are still eligible to earn the 5% back in bonus categories after activation.
All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The American Express® Green Card is no longer available through NerdWallet.
The information related to the Chase Freedom® credit card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.
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