Update: DEAD! Don’t miss it if this becomes alive again. Sign up for deal notification alerts here!
Chase Freedom is an excellent no annual fee card thanks to its quarterly 5% categories. While they call it 5% cash back, you’ll really get 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent which can be worth much more than 5% cash. If you max out the $1,500 in bonus spending per quarter you will earn at least 30,000 Ultimate Rewards points over the course of a year (7,500 points per quarter at 5 points per dollar spent). My wife and I have 5 Freedom cards, which makes it all the more lucrative.
You can now start spending on the Chase Freedom Q1 5% categories.
You must register here for 2020 Q1 spending which is valid 1/1-3/31 at:
- Internet, Cable, and Telecom: This includes your internet bills, TV bills, cell phone bills (including cell phones and accessories charged to your monthly bill), and landline bills.
- Select streaming services: This includes Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, Sling, Vudu, FuboTV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, and ESPN+.
- Gas stations: This includes most 7-Eleven stores and gas stations that sell gift cards for other stores as well. You can lookup how a store is categorized here. My local GetGo gas stations earn sweet rewards on gift card purchases, making this quarter even more lucrative. Officially warehouse clubs are excluded, but I have gotten this at Costco and Sam’s Club gas stations in the past.
- I racked up tens of thousands of Ultimate Rewards points and over $500 in free gas buying gift cards at gas stations in Q3 on our 5 Chase Freedom cards!
- You can also buy gift cards at any of the stores above to lock in savings!
While Chase Freedom is a great card for the bonus categories, it’s not a great card for everyday spending. However the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card also has no annual fee and is excellent for everyday spending thanks to 1.5 points per dollar that can be earned everywhere with no limit, but it does not have any bonus categories.
The no annual fee business version of Freedom Unlimited is the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card Card, which offers $500 in the form of 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $3,000 within 3 months plus 1.5 points per dollar spent.
Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, and Ink Unlimited alone can’t transfer points into much more lucrative airline or hotel miles, but if you or your spouse has a Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card card then you can transfer points from Freedom to one of those cards and from there to your favorite travel currency. Those cards also allow you to rdeem your points for paid travel at a value of 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point. The Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, or Ink Unlimited card can also keep your points alive for free if you do close one of those premium cards.
The value of the points will be based on where you use them, but if you use those points for a trip worth where they are worth 2 cents each then you’ll have effectively earned 10% back on those “5 point categories.” The sky is the limit of the value of airline miles as they aren’t tied to the cost of a ticket. That’s good for people in the know and bad for those who are not. 1 mile can be worth 0.25 cents or it can be worth 25 cents, it all just depends on how you use them!
Where will you make your Q1 purchases?
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22 Comments On "Chase Freedom Q1 Bonus Categories Are Now Live"
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Does anyone know any gas stations in the northern NJ/Rockland Co area that accept credit cards for gift card purchases? I’ve had terrible luck finding any.
anyone know of gas stations that sell money orders?
I know in CLE if that helps.
It does
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FIOS will remove the $10 monthly discount of autopay if you make a one time payment
So change your autopay card to your Freedom.
For those that have a Discover card, make sure you sign up for their 5% at Grocery Stores, CVS & Walgreen.
Of you have a bluecash preferred, dont use on vroceries unless you will spend more than $6k on groceries this year
Does Amazon Prime membership qualify as streaming services?
These are the ones listed
Disney+
Netflix
Hulu
Sling
Vudu
Fubo TV
Apple Music
SiriusXM
Pandora
Spotify
YouTube TV
Dan, what are your thoughts on buying Visa gift cards from 7-11 given that they have fees?
“I racked up tens of thousands of Ultimate Rewards points and over $500 in free gas buying gift cards at gas stations in Q3 on our 5 Chase Freedom cards!”
I am not sure what you mean by, “free gas”. How is that?
Because they have a rewards program to earn free gas when you buy gift cards.
Nice! Good for you, NY gas stations are not so generous.
Which gas stations have this program
don’t u have a tesla?
Every 7-11 I have tried in the NYC area has told me they accept cash only. I know they are franchises and each one have their own rules, but I went to a corporate store and they are cash only as well. Has anyone had any luck for any 7-11’s or any other gas station/or coded as one that sells GC’s to a CC in the NYC area?
Where i live, 90% of Gas Stations only accept cash for GC.
Last quarter I found one that accepted CC and in my next trip they enforced the only cash for gift cards rule.
What’s your experience guys ?
BTW, I’m based in FL
Same here. Cash only in the SFO/SJC area.
Dan, is there a car that offers primary car rental insurance that doesn’t have an annual fee?
with any amex card you can activate primary insurance for a fee of around $20. but if nothing happens to the car and you dont need to use the insurance then when returning the car pay with a different card and you wont be charged the fee (iow put hold at beginning of rental on amex blue cash or cash magnet with activated primary insurance then when returning pay with another card)
with any amex card you can activate primary insurance for a fee of around $20. but if nothing happens to the car and you dont need to use the insurance then when returning the car pay with a different card and you wont be charged the fee (iow put hold at beginning of rental on amex blue cash or cash magnet with activated primary insurance then when returning pay with another card)