What is a category bonus?

How the bonus changes earning

American Express. The Membership Rewards terms set a base rate of one point for each unit of spend on an eligible purchase with an enrolled card. [1] Additional points for certain purchases are handled at product level: the terms tell cardholders to check the “Compare Products” section to see whether their card earns them, and to look at their online account to see which recent purchases earned additional points. [1] The same terms say American Express may change the number of points earned for eligible purchases. [1] The terms checked are dated last updated October 2026. [1]

Chase. The Ultimate Rewards agreement for Ink Business Preferred pays 1 point for each $1 spent, plus 3 points total for each $1 of combined purchases in shipping; social media and search engine advertising; travel; internet, cable, and phone services, up to an annual threshold each account anniversary year. [2] The agreement describes this as two additional points on top of the 1 point per $1, and notes that marketing materials may refer to it as “3X”. [2] Points are earned at the close of each monthly billing cycle, including any bonus points posted in that cycle, and the statement shows the additional category points separately from points earned on other purchases. [2]

One balance. A category bonus does not create a second currency. Eligible American Express customers can transfer Membership Rewards points to participating frequent flyer or hotel loyalty programmes once the accounts are linked, and transfers are final and cannot be reversed. [1] [5] The Chase agreement checked here allows transfers in 1,000-point increments to participating frequent travel programmes, after which the receiving programme’s terms apply. [2] See flexible points for how transferable currencies work.

Caps, thresholds and resets

For the Chase card checked here, the 3-point rate covers combined category purchases up to an annual threshold each account anniversary year; after that the card goes back to 1 point for each $1 spent, with no maximum. [2] An account anniversary year is the year beginning with the account open date through the first statement after the anniversary of that date, and each 12 billing cycles after that. [2] Because the threshold is measured on combined purchases across the listed categories, the categories share one ceiling instead of each carrying its own. [2]

On the American Express side, the programme terms say the issuer may change the number of points earned for eligible purchases and may impose caps and/or fees on earning and/or using points. [1] Card-level rates and any card-level cap are not set out in the programme terms checked: they sit in the product comparison section the terms point to, so the figure that applies depends on the enrolled product. [1]

Category spend caps belong to the programme agreement, while promotional bonus-point offers such as referrals, shopping portals or special promotions are announced separately, with their number of points, duration and expiry, if any, disclosed at the time of the offer. [2] Compare welcome bonus and minimum spend, which work from an offer’s spending requirement rather than from purchase categories.

Merchant coding and where bonuses fall away

American Express. Merchants are assigned codes based on what they primarily sell, and American Express groups certain merchant codes into categories eligible for additional points. [1] A purchase will not earn additional points if the merchant’s code is not included in an additional points category. [1] Additional points may also fail to post where American Express receives inaccurate information or cannot identify a purchase as eligible, for example when a merchant uses a third party to sell its products, when a merchant uses a third party to process or submit the transaction such as mobile or wireless card readers, or when the purchase is made through a third-party payment account or a mobile or digital wallet. [1]

Chase. Merchants that accept Visa/Mastercard credit cards are assigned a merchant code by the merchant or its processor under Visa/Mastercard procedures, and Chase groups similar merchant codes into categories. [2] Even where a merchant, or some of the items it sells, appears to fit a rewards category, it may not carry a merchant code in that category, and purchases with it then do not qualify. [2] Purchases submitted through third-party payment accounts, mobile or wireless card readers, or online or mobile digital wallets do not qualify in a rewards category if the technology is not set up to process the purchase in that category. [2]

Both issuers maintain their own category information pages for cardholders checking a specific merchant, and both state that the coding outcome depends on the merchant rather than on the cardholder’s description of the purchase. [1] [2]

Exceptions and limits

• Purchases that never earn at American Express. Eligible purchases exclude cash advances and cash equivalents including gift cards, person-to-person transactions, balance transfers, Express Cash or Corporate Express Cash, traveller’s checks, American Express Gift Cards bought online, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, fees and interest charges, foreign exchange and account service fees, fees for card member services, rewards programme fees and charges, and purchases covered by points or other rewards at point of sale. [1] The list is determined by American Express at its sole discretion and is subject to change without notice, and points it determines were earned on ineligible purchases may be removed. [1]
• Timely payment condition. American Express points are earned only if payment of the minimum amount due reaches the issuer by the payment due date; points accrued in a billing period where that did not happen are not earned and do not post, and can later be requested for a fee per billing period and per card account within 12 months. [1]
• Returns reduce earn. When a purchase paid with an enrolled American Express product is returned, the statement credit causes a corresponding deduction of the points earned on it. [1]
• Transactions that are not purchases at Chase. The agreement excludes balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like transactions such as traveller’s checks, foreign currency, money orders, wire transfers and cryptocurrency, betting transactions, checks that access the account, interest, unauthorised or fraudulent charges, and fees of any kind including an annual fee. [2] If returns and refunds exceed purchases in a cycle, the points deducted may leave a negative point balance. [2]
• Category lists are card-specific. The categories and rates above apply to the specific products and agreements described, in the United States, as checked on 18 October 2026; they do not describe every card issued by either bank, and the programme terms may be added to or changed. [1] [2]

Related pages

Terms: earning rate, loyalty currency, welcome bonus, minimum spend. Guides: card selection framework. Programmes: Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards. All entries: glossary.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. The sources cover American Express Membership Rewards terms for the United States and one Chase Ultimate Rewards programme agreement for Ink Business Preferred; Citi ThankYou Rewards terms, other Chase cards, other American Express products and versions of these terms for other countries are not covered here.

1. American Express Membership Rewards Program Terms and Conditions, checked 18 October 2026
2. Chase Ink Business Preferred with Ultimate Rewards Program Agreement (PDF), checked 18 October 2026
3. American Express customer service: How do I transfer Membership Rewards points?, checked 18 October 2026