How To Maximize the Rotating 5X Categories on the Chase Freedom Flex℠ How To Maximize the Rotating 5X Categories on the Chase Freedom Flex℠

How To Maximize the Rotating 5X Categories on the Chase Freedom Flex℠

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In September 2020, Chase launched a brand new credit card that effectively replaced the Chase Freedom®. The Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers the same quarterly rotating 5X bonus categories as the Freedom Card. However, the Freedom Flex also offers three additional bonus categories for daily spending:

  • 5X on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • 3X on dining purchases — including dining in, takeout, and eligible delivery services
  • 3X on drugstore purchases

Plus, between July and September 2024, you can get 5% on select purchases through this quarter's rotating categories — which include gas stations, EV charging, select live entertainment, and movie theaters.

Chase Freedom Flex℠
Chase Freedom Flex℠
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Bonus Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
  • Earn 5% on up to $1,500 on combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate
  • Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • Earn 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
  • Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
  • Earn 1% on all other purchases

Maximizing the Return on the Freedom Flex

If you’re willing to do a little extra work to maximize the rotating bonus categories, the Freedom Flex is a boon. It's one of the only cards that can net you 30,000 points a year on only $500 per month in spending.

In the worst-case scenario, that’s $300 cash back. However, you can potentially get a lot more value through Chase Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel transfer partners — but you need to also hold a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

For example, when you pair your Freedom Flex with a premium Ultimate Rewards-earning card and transfer points to United MileagePlus, 30,000 Ultimate Rewards can land you a one-way economy award to Europe or even the South Pacific.

a customer pays by mobile wallet inside a small shop
Credit: Christiann Koepke/Unsplash

Related: Freedom Flex Full Review

Leverage Freedom Flex Rotating 5X Bonus Categories

What makes the Freedom Flex such a valuable addition to your wallet? The ability to earn 5X points on rotating categories that typically fall within the realm of ‘everyday’ spending. Plenty of rewards cards offering 1.5–2x points on all spending, but very few provide the opportunity to earn 5X transferable points.

The secret to maximizing Freedom Flex bonus categories each month is to plan for future expenses. For example, the bonus categories for Q1 of 2024 included grocery stores and fitness clubs. If your monthly grocery spend doesn’t quite reach the $500 mark required to hit the spending cap, but you have a gym membership you could prepay for the next few months, you could do that or even purchase gift cards at a grocery store for future use and earn 5X points on the purchase.

In Q2 of 2024, the categories included Amazon purchases, hotels and restaurants. For most, these categories are easy enough to spend within — no workarounds required.

We can’t predict what the bonus categories will be in the future. However, we can look at quarterly categories of the past for ideas on how to maximize bonus points earned each month with your Freedom Flex. This ensures you don’t leave any rewards on the table.

Related: Credit Cards That Earn Transferable Points With No Annual Fee

Past Freedom Card Rotating Bonus Categories

One of the first things you pick up looking at the historical calendar of Freedom bonus categories is that many of them repeat. Grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, and department stores often show up once or twice each year. We’ve listed the bonus categories below, dating back as far as 2014, followed by some tips to maximize the categories we see repeating each year.

Year

First QuarterSecond QuarterThird QuarterFourth Quarter
2024January – March
• Grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart)
• Self-care and spa services
• Fitness clubs and gym memberships
April – June
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Amazon.com
July – September
• Gas stations
• EV charging
• Select live entertainment
• Movie theaters
October – December
• Coming soon
• Activate starting September 15, 2024
2023January – March
• Grocery stores (excluding Walmart)
• Target
• Fitness clubs and gym memberships
April – June
• Amazon.com
• Lowe's
July – September
• Gas stations
• EV charging
• Select live entertainment
October – December
• PayPal
• Wholesale clubs
• Select charities
2022January – March
• Grocery stories (excluding Target and Walmart)
• eBay
April – June
• Select streaming services
• Amazon.com
July – September
• Gas stations
• Rental cars
• Movie theaters
• Select live entertainment
October – December
• PayPal
• Walmart
2021January – March
• Wholesale clubs
• Internet, cable, & phone services
• Select streaming services
April – June
• Gas stations
• Home improvement stores
July – September
• Grocery stores
• Select streaming services
October – December
• PayPal
• Walmart
2020January – March
• Gas stations
• Internet, cable, & phone services
• Select streaming services
April – June
• Grocery stores
• Fitness club & gym memberships
• Select streaming services
July – September
• Amazon.com
• Whole Foods
October – December
• Walmart
• PayPal
2019January-March
• Gas stations
• Drug stores
• Tolls
April – June
• Grocery stores
• Home improvement stores
July – September
• Gas stations
• Select streaming services
October – December
• Department stores
• Chase Pay
• PayPal
2018January-March
• Mobile wallets
• Gas stations
• Internet, cable, and
phone service merchants
April – June
• Groceries
• PayPal
• Chase Pay
July – September
• Lyft
• Walgreens
• Gas stations
October – December
• Wholesale clubs
• Department stores
• Chase Pay
2017January-March
• Gas stations
• Local commuter transportation
April – June
• Grocery stores
• Drug stores
July – September
• Restaurants
• Movie theatres
October – December
• Walmart
• Department stores
2016January-March
• Gas stations
• Local commuter transportation
April – June
• Grocery stores
• Wholesale clubs
July – September
• Restaurants
• Wholesale clubs
October – December
• Wholesale clubs
• Drug stores
• Department stores
2015January-March
• Grocery stores
• Movie theaters
• Starbucks
April – June
• Restaurants
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• H&M
• Overstock.com
July – September
• Gas stations
• Kohl's
October – December
• Amazon.com
• Zappos.com
• Audible.com
• Diapers.com
2014January-March
• Gas stations
• Movie theatres
• Starbucks
April – June
• Restaurants
• Lowe's
July – September
• Gas stations
• Kohl's
October – December
• Amazon.com
• Zappos.com
• Department stores

Related: Credit Cards With Rotating Quarterly Bonus Categories

Grocery stores

This is by far the most straightforward category to maximize. Not only are groceries typically one of the most significant household expenses each month, but most supermarkets sell a wide range of gift cards for stores where you frequently shop. For many cardholders, everyday grocery shopping is enough to hit the $1,500 quarterly spending cap on this category.

While certain larger retailers aren't eligible — like Target and Walmart — the list of qualifying grocery stores and supermarkets is extensive and can be found in the Chase Freedom Merchants list.

overhead view of a hand tapping a credit card on a payment machine when paying for groceries
Credit: Luciano de polo/Stokkete

Related: Best Credit Cards for Groceries and Supermarkets

Gas stations

Unless you live in a rural or remote area (or drive vast distances for work), it’s unlikely you’ll hit the $1,500 cap on gas purchases alone. But gas stations often sell a lot more than gas. This may include vehicle repair and servicing supplies, groceries, and a range of gift cards you can use at other retailers. It’s essential to check which gas stations are included — as Chase routinely excludes retailers like truck stops, marinas, and gas distributors.

Related: Best Credit Cards for Gas and Fuel

Restaurants

Chase defines the restaurant category as “merchants whose primary business is sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast food restaurants as well as fine dining establishments.” So whether you’re a McDonald’s fan or you frequent fine dining establishments, the Freedom Flex should be at the front of your wallet when this category is live.

Just keep in mind that “some merchants that sell food and drinks located within larger merchants such as sports stadiums, hotels and casinos, theme parks, grocery, and department stores will not be included in this category unless the merchant has set up such purchases to be classified in a restaurant category.”

Related: Best Credit Cards for Dining and Restaurants

Woman using a credit card at a restaurant.
Credit: Chase

Department stores

When featured, the department store category includes retailers like JC Penney, Nordstrom & Nordstrom Rack Macys, Kohls, Dillards, Saks Fifth Ave & Off Fifth Sears, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, and Bloomingdales, plus many more. It's a great bonus category if you like to be organized for the holiday season. Both online and in-store purchases are included. And you can typically find some incredible sales leading up to the holiday season.

Wholesale clubs

Both online and in-store purchases qualify for wholesale clubs. In other words, you’ll get 5X points on purchases from the likes of Sam’s Club, Costco, and BJ’s. Gas purchases are excluded from this category, but you can collect bonus points on a variety of bulk goods and big-ticket items like household appliances.

How To Activate Freedom Flex Quarterly Bonus Categories

To qualify for 5X bonus categories on your Freedom Flex, you must activate the bonus categories every three months. Activation is easy; simply head to the Chase Bonus activation page and enter:

  • Your last name
  • Your billing zip code
  • The last four digits of your card number

Then click Activate your 5%to register your card. If you hold more than one Freedom card, you’ll need to register each card individually.

Making an online payment with a credit card
Credit: Mikhail Nilov / Pexels

Final Thoughts

Maximizing the bonus categories on cards like the Freedom Flex is an easy way of building a substantial balance of reward points from a modest monthly spend.

Remember, you only need to spend an average of $500 per month within the bonus categories to hit the spending cap each quarter. That's great news for folks who maintain a small budget.

Also keep in mind that the Freedom Flex is subject to the Chase 5/24 policy, so if you have opened five or more personal cards in the last two years, you won't be eligible to open a new account.

Chase Freedom Flex℠
Chase Freedom Flex℠
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Bonus Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
  • Earn 5% on up to $1,500 on combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate
  • Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • Earn 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
  • Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
  • Earn 1% on all other purchases

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