AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Offers for the Chase Freedom® and Chase Freedom Flex℠ are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
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.
- 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.
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 Quarter | Second Quarter | Third Quarter | Fourth Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | January – 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 |
| 2023 | January – 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 |
| 2022 | January – 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 |
| 2021 | January – 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 |
| 2020 | January – 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 |
| 2019 | January-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 |
| 2018 | January-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 |
| 2017 | January-March • Gas stations • Local commuter transportation | April – June • Grocery stores • Drug stores | July – September • Restaurants • Movie theatres | October – December • Walmart • Department stores |
| 2016 | January-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 |
| 2015 | January-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 |
| 2014 | January-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.
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
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.
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.
- 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
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
