Rotating-category cards like Chase Freedom Flex and Discover it occasionally feature Walmart.com, wholesale clubs, or grocery stores as a bonus category — typically 5% back for one quarter of the year. Outside the bonus quarter these cards earn 1%, so they're a supplemental tool rather than a primary Walmart card.
Check each card issuer's quarterly bonus calendar every three months.
When Walmart.com or grocery is a bonus category, activate the quarter through the issuer's site.
Charge Walmart purchases to that card until you hit the spending cap (usually $1,500), then switch back to your default cashback card.
Cardholders who already carry a rotating-category card for other bonuses — activating a Walmart or grocery quarter is a free 5% boost.
Activation is required each quarter and the cap is real. Miss the activation and the bonus quarter earns 1% like everything else.