Update: DEAD! Don’t miss it if this becomes alive again. Sign up for deal notification alerts here!
Update:
-If you want to get in the limited time Freedom offer with double the normal signup bonus then you should do that soon…
-Plus don’t forget that you have less than a week left to get 5 or 5.5 points per dollar in this quarter’s rotating categories.
-There’s also less than a week to open a Chase checking account to get the 10% bonus on top of 2013 earnings.
-You can also now register for 2014 Q1 5x categories!
—————————————————-
Originally posted on 12/03:
Chase Freedom is probably the best no annual fee consumer card that exists. It’s a easy card to get approved for and for a limited time only it comes with a 20,000 point signup bonus instead of the normal 10,000 point bonus.
2 things make the card so lucrative:
-Every quarter you can earn 5 points per dollar on up to $1,500 in quarterly spending in rotating categories. Currently that includes department stores as well as Amazon.com. That’s up to 30,000 points per year.
-If you have a Chase checking account you will get a 10% bonus on top of all points earned during the previous year. That means you’ll earn 1.1 points per dollar everywhere and 5.5 points per dollar in the rotating categories. That bumps the bonus category earnings to 33,000 points per year.
Those points can be cashed out for a penny a piece though that’s borderline criminal as the points can be worth so much more when transferred to miles. If you or your spouse has or will get a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Ink Plus, or Ink Bold card in the future you can transfer Freedom points over to one of those cards and then transfer them at a 1:1 ratio into much more valuable airline miles (United, British Airways, Southwest, Korean, or Virgin America), hotel points (Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Priority Club), or Amtrak points. You can read more about the Chase Trifecta and why miles are better than cash back in this post.
At any rate:
1. You must register for the Q4 category bonus by 12/14 and complete spending by 12/31. Registering now will retroactively credit you for any bonus category purchases made since October.
2. The bonus category list for 2014 will be:
Q1: Gas stations, Movie theaters, Starbucks (Activate starting 12/15)
Q2: Restaurants and Lowe’s (Activate starting 03/15)
Q3: Gas stations and Kohl’s (Activate starting 06/15)
Q4: Amazon.com, Zappos.com, and Department stores (Activate starting 09/15)
With $6,000 of spending that’s 30K points or 33K points with a Chase checking account.
There are 2 quarters with gas stations and that includes items bought in gas station stores as well. Last time I maximized that by buying One Vanilla gift cards at 7-Eleven on my Freedom cards. Most 7/11s are categorized as gas stations, you can confirm each one on the Visa merchant categorization site. Then I went next door to Walmart to load them onto Bluebird cards using the last 4 digits of the card as the pin number without even needing to register the card. You can read more about Bluebird in this post.
That’s 8,250 points (per Freedom card) for $14.85 in total fees or 0.18 cents per point. In more practical terms that’s like buying a nonstop one-way business class ticket to Israel on United for $108 or a one-way short-haul flight on American for $8.10.
Lowe’s also sells gift cards to other stores and gas stations. And your favorite restaurant will always be happy to lock in your money as well.
Department stores like Sears also sell gift cards to other stores. You effectively you can spend all $6,000 on gift cards to other stores.
Of course if you have an Ink Plus, Ink Bold, or Ink Cash card you will earn 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent all year round on telecom, cable, internet, as well as everything from office supply stores, which includes gift cards to other stores and prepaid cash cards that can be used anywhere. With the Bold/Plus cards that’s capped at $50,000 per year and with the Cash card that’s capped at $25,000 per year. The cards also earn 2 points per dollar year-round at gas stations and either hotels (Bold/Plus) or dining (Cash). More about Ink benefits and how you can get an Ink card in this post.
3. As long as you have an open Chase Freedom and Chase checking account on 12/31 you will get the 10% bonus for everything in 2013. Now is the time to open those accounts if you don’t have one yet!
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103 Comments On "Chase Freedom Reminders And News"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
If I don’t have a need to spend money on products thru amazon, what can I buy thru amazon or these dept stores that I can “cash out”? I looked at Sears and kohls stores yesterday and there were no visa gift cards.
Still getting 10 points per transaction!
10*10 Still pumping!
Dan what is the best way to get chase to approve a sapphire visa when you have already one in m/c version they claim it is the same product
@Ari:
Find a good deal on Amazon and sell it on eBay? Plenty of people do that for a living.
@a european:
Lucky you 😀
@ny:
Why do you need both?
Offer to close the MC and approve the Visa.
Do you have a link to a list of qualifying department stores? I couldn’t seem to find it.
@MeirS:
Click on the word department stores in the 2nd paragraph in this post.
i’m worried will not have the same benefits as the world m/c has, also CDW in israel
Hi im new to this points thing i want to go to israel for my fathers 1st yahrtzeit what would be the best way to get tickets?
i have about 60,000 sapphire preferred points
Hey Dan, totally trust you. Don’t have a chance to look this up myself but are you sure it’s 10% on all points and not on purchases (I thought it was 5.1 not 5.5 for categories). Curious
@ny:
It has the same benefits.
All Chase cards now cover CDW in Israel: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/35857
@Shmulie:
Theoretically 60K is enough when transferred to BA but there has to be space on Air Berlin to avoid fuel surcharges.
You would need 80K transferred to United in coach or 120K in business.
@Redbull3:
Under the old 10/10 Exclusives program it was only on purchases, hence 5.1.
Under the new Exclusives program they took away the 10 point bonus per transaction but they now count the bonus on top of all points, hence 5.5 points per dollar for spending in bonus categories!
1. can you give us please a similar site for mastercard? 2. wawa just says gas category but how do i know the category of the convenience store in wawa?
could you say again how I can get those points with buying a vanilla card and the points to Israel for 108 dollars im a bit confused there… thanx!
ok thanks so the only thing I will lose is the 7% bonus from this year?
@boruch:
Don’t have a handy link but if you’ve ever bought there before you can look how it was categorized.
@confused:
It’s by buying miles on the cheap.
There are lots of ways to do that
Among them:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/36225
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/15503
@ny:
Correct.
Even though it’s nitpicking, you should state that the earnings of the BONUS categories are only an incremental 6,000 points per quarter. Any card will earn the 1,500 points/miles for the $1,500 proposed spend each quarter.
@Mike (The #hustle Blog):
Fair enough though with Chase checking it’s more than that. And then you have to start nitpicking on the 10% bonus on the 1,500 base spend that other cards may or may not have.
For simplicity’s sake I’ll take it that my readers understand that they can earn 1,500 points per quarter on any card that they spend $1,500 on 😀
what is the story with the Citi aa advantage card, is it worth signing up for?
@Bob:
Any card with a good signup bonus is worth signing up for.
The main negative is that Citi no longer allows 2BMs while you can still do a 3BM or even a 4BM with AMEX and Chase for 2, 3, or 4 cards with just 1 pull:
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8028.0
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/23410
The other negative is that it only earns 1 AA mile per dollar. If you want AA miles you’re better off spending money on a Starwood AMEX that earns 1.25 AA miles per dollar thanks to the 20K:25K transfer ratio.
Same goes for the Delta and USAirways cards.
what of a shame that cvs is not included
so when offering to close the MC and approve the Visa its like a brand new account? won’t hurt credit closing that one out? Thanks Dan
@maw:
True that was a gimme earlier this year. But 2 gas stations make things easy.
@ny:
Correct.
No: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/23410
50k is not a bad deal just had a 4BM on amex 3 approved so far used dd links
@confused: click on ‘ You can read more about Bluebird in this post. ‘
@ny: You may not even lose the 7% bonus. If you have another Chase card that earns Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer the points to that card (‘combine UR points’ on the Chase site) and get the bonus points.
@maw:
Never said it was bad.
There’s just a long waiting period for the AA card and it can’t be 2BMd anymore.
Is amazon payments also in the amazon.com category
@shady:
No.
@Dan: even biz?
@maw:
Business is always a 2nd pull with Citi.
was referring for the wait time
@chana k thanks for your input here but as per Dan the man I will not get it others have told me the same, has nothing to do with my transfer I guess because this account gets closed so they wont give me anything for it in 2 months from now.
@maw:
It’s quite complicated, better off taking this to DDF for further discussion: http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=29745
@ny:
Correct.
Hardly the end of the world unless you’re spending millions on the card (in which case you should have been using a different card).
chase freedom is getting worse and worse. Dan tried hard to make it look easy to get the category bonus but 2014 category bonus are the worst of any year in my 8 yrs as freedom customer.
I will be keeping my freedom in drawyer and use my other chase and non chase cards to earn more points and miles.
NO DRUGSTORE AND NO SUPERMARKET= GROCERY STORE.
@jim:
Give me a break, every quarter has manufactured spend capabilities even if they’re not all on silver platters.
Was this year marginally better? Yes. Significantly better? No.
This is a free card and a darn good one at that. It gives more points per dollar with a checking account than premium cards like Sapphire Preferred do on regular purchases. The 5.5x categories are gravy.
And at least where I live gas stations also sell grocery gift cards, so that’s definitely no big deal. Though I’d rather go with a OneVanilla card over a grocery rebate.
Do you also advise moving first the points out?
@dan what are your thoughts on the fidelity credit card? 2% back on all purchases?
@ny:
Yes.
@TheNewGuy:
Barclay Arrival earns 2.22% cash back:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/30687
When I tried downgrading my Sapphire Preferred, I was only allowed to downgrade to regular Sapphire. They wouldn’t let me downgrade to Freedom even after I asked. Any suggestions on how I can do this?
do i have to re register every period to get those points on chase freedom
I got this card few months ago… will they match up?
@Newsman fan:
Have you had the card for over 12 months?
@kakihead:
Yes. But they can send you a one click email every time.
@mimi:
SM them to get matched.
How do people get 3bm on chase cards ? They keep telling me I can’t get 3 in a month ?
@mimi: i sent them a sm about matching the signup. They said it was after 90 days so they cant in order to be fair to everyone. So if its within 90 days they will probably match it
I have a Freedom. If my wife will get a SP then I’ll be able to transfer points from my Freedom to her SP?
Hey dan great post again, I know when I look at my chase saphirre account online it shows which transactions I earned 2 points per dollar, but I don’t see those details shown on my chase freedom account. How do you know what you’re earning 5 points for ( e.g. for gas station mini marts), do you have to manually calculate the points? Also, is there a way to keep track how much of the 1500 $ cap you spent or you also have to manually calculate that? Thansk
Can I use the same chase checking account for my freedom as well as my wife’s? (2 seperate freedoms)
no more amusement parks?
If I downgrade my SP to a Freedom this month will I get 10% bonus on points earned thus far through my SP card?
Thanks Dan!
Hi dan I have both the ink bold and ink plus cards if I apple for a chase freedom now, then will I he able to receive the 10% bonus for all 3 cards or just freedom? Also, will instill get bonus even if I’m meeting a spending threshold? Thanks
Do any of the hotel point cards have hotels in Jerusalem?
Dan,
Thanks about the tip to SM Chase to get the 20k instead of 10k if the Chase Freedom card was opened recently. I SM’d them for my brother and they will up his bonus to 20K.
Mutch Hatzlaha!!
Can you tell me how to check -how much I spent on bonus categories so far in this quarter?
Dan, I just noticed that my Citi Forward card is giving 5 Thank you points at all restaurants. I just have the Freedom card right now – may sign up for the Sapphire Preferred. Is it worthwhile to use the citi card at restuarants over the Freedom card if I don’t have Sapphire?
Thanks
@Sam:
HUCA, be willing to shift lines, explain why you want the cards for the benefits offered, etc.
@YB:
Yes.
@ber:
Only Sapphire has that breakdown for now.
You can click on “Blueprint” when in your Chase account though to see which categories have spending.
@Eli:
If it’s a joint checking account I believe so.
SM Chase to confirm that in writing.
@Yank:
Heh. Excellent question.
If you try that let us know!
@Rose:
Just Freedom.
Why wouldn’t you get the bonus?
@Chanie:
Priority Club has a Crowne Plaza in Jlem.
Hilton is opening a Waldorf in Jlem first half 2014.
Chase transfers to Priority Club 1:!.
Chase transfers to Virgin 1:1 and Virgin transfers to Hilton 1:2, so 2 Hilton for every Chase point.
@YosefG:
Congrats!
@Chana:
Click on Blueprint in your Chase account.
@David:
Citi points are worth much less than Chase points, run the math and see what makes sense.
@Dan: Thank you for a quick reply.
David/Dan,
Personally i use Forward>SP for dining. My math is you have to get ~2.34 value out of chase points to match TYP if you value Citi at 1.0. (2.14 * 2.34 = 5).
If you save your points for international/first class type of flights or upscale hyatts you probably can beat 2.34. But if you’re like me and you’re either converting to BA for short haul 15k flights to in-laws that cost a MAX of $250 (under 1.7 cpp value) or selling (under 1.8) then it’s not close to what I get from Citi.
Thoughts?
@Redbull3:
Makes sense but I definitely have to disagree with your BA statement.
A last-minute or same-day turn 9K round-trip flight from NYC to CLE, CMH, CVG, DTW, PIT, YUL, YYZ, etc can easily cost $1,000 (11.1 cents per mile).
any idea whats considered to many users on an amex act ? is it related to credit limit at all?
Dan: This is my first post and just wanted to thank you for all the amazing info on your site. I’ve been reading it and absorbing for the past two weeks. I was approved for 5 new cards today (personal and business) thanks to all your terrific advice. I did notice that there were two different bonuses for the Sapphire Preferred. One was 50k with a $125 annual fee, and one was 40k with a $95 annual fee. With all the app-o-rama I didn’t even notice which one I chose! Thanks for saving our family so much $$!!!!
Hey dan you know if I can use a gift certificate to buy another? E.g. to buy in kohls a gift certificate to lowes and in Lowe’s by a gift certificate to southwest?
hi dan do you know whats considered to many au on amex? also this is first time my statement closed after shopsmall and i dint get credit back yet should i be worried? thanx
can i get a chase sapphire preferred card and then transfer the points at the end of the year to a freedom card or other chase card to avoid the annual fee?
Hi Dan, I have just moved to the USA and have a new social security.
I bank with Chase but when I asked my banker if I should apply for a cc with them he said better not since I have no credit history I`ll most likely be denied and this can reflect.
He advised me to apply for a Capital One card.
I would like to build me credit history, I don`t necessarily need the credit card.
What is your suggestion?
can you pls explain how visa indicator helps figure if 7-11 in lkwd for e.x. is a gas one
Do you know of any promotions to open a Chase checking account? Thanks Dan
Dan,
Is there a way to check how much how you have spent on the 5% category so far in the quarter? I’d like to hit the $1500 limit but wouldn’t want to overshoot it.
Thanks
I am going to open a CC now, should I open a chase freedom or Chase Explorer card?
@yl:
Go for a 2BM.
@confused:
Click on the link in the post.
@chase promotion:
You can buy a coupon on ebay.
@David:
You can click on Blueprint when logged in that gives a rough calculation in different categories.
But there’s no great way.
@yup:
Do a 2BM/3BM.
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=8028.0
worried about next quarter. I have not found any gas stations in my area that will sell you a gift card with a CC. any ideas> (miami)
I have multiple chase cards and have spent over a million dollars on it this year, if i open a chase account i get 10% more miles? Meaning if i spent a million ill get one hundred thousand bonus miles? If yes what do i ask for when i open a account?
@jen:
7-11.
@Nathan:
Only for points earned on Freedom.
I’m thinking of buying an Amazon GC from Amazon to max out this quarter’s 5% bonus. Is there a way to check on Chase’s website how much I’ve spent in the bonus categories this month?
Thanks
@EL:
See comment 68.
I am still stuck with five thousand dollars worth of gift cards in monsey area. how can I get it on bluebird or cashed out. Wal-Mart is not allowing the gift card shtick
@Dan: Thanks. I don’t see Amazon in the list, though. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place?
I can see more info here: https://ultimaterewards.chase.com/RewardsStatements.aspx?AI=347413088, and that number makes more sense. It’s divided by statement, though.
Kohls is one of the department store included in Q4. I believe they sell GCs. Dan may even have made a post with a list of GCs they sell.
When buying gift cards from the gas stations eg like buying visa gift cards from sunoco if I buy it as a 500 dollar card will it raise the ire of chase to close down my card and/or to not give me the 5 points when they see a 500 dollar charge to a gas station? Thanks Dan
I would like to sign up for the freedom for 20k points but when I use your link it doesn’t have that offer anymore?
@Mordy: I realize my mistake. The $200 cash back is the 20k ultimate rewards points. Thanks
Any suggestions on how to get a good room booked in Vegas with Ultimate Rewards?
Whenever i tried to open a chase checking online they told me in my zipcode its not available. is there away around that?
will chase honour a points match for someone who applied before the higher offer but got approved after it went into effect? on side note how do you figure which amex cards have the great warranty like spg and which dont? also whats called to many authorized users that gets you flagged by americanexpress? Thanks man
all 7-11’s?
the department store link does not show the dwpartment stores
@Dan
Dan, is there a difference if I transferred the points to my Sapphire already? Will i still get the 10% dividend?
7-11 was not on the ga station list. does it work even at non gas station 7-11?
Hi, Dan. Is there a way to move my UR points from ink to freedom to get the 10% bonus? Thanks.
@Dan, i tried 7-11 they told me all gift cards must be paid with cash. I have yet to find any gas station or store listed as one, selling GC with a CC
As for Bluebird at Walmart, does anyone in the 10952 vicinity know if the ATM in Walmart located in Tallman works with bluebird.
To me it seems like a regular ATM with no features for Bluebird options.
hi dan, do you know if there will be any sales on ba or aa for flights to london within the next few days ?
many thanks.
if i have a chase acct with someone else, is that qualified? do i need to link my chase acct to the freedom card or no?
Can someone explain this please: “In more practical terms that’s like buying a nonstop one-way business class ticket to Israel on United for $108 or a one-way short-haul flight on American for $8.10.”
Dan with a 664 experian score do you think I have a shot at the freedom card?
were could i apply for the freedom and get the 20000 points?
Hi, Dan. Is there a way to move my UR points from ink to freedom to get the 10% bonus? Would I get the bonus on all the points? I have a lot from the ink signup bonus. Thanks.
Dan,
I do not have chase Checking account yet. I have been Chase Freedom customer forever. If I open an account before 12/31 am I still able to get 10% back?
@Mayer:
http://www.dansdeals.com/go/Freedom2/
@Mendel:
No, only the ones earned on Freedom.
@Somi:
Yes.
my freind received an email from chase freedome:
Thank you from Chase Freedom ®
Thank you for your business. As a gesture of our appreciation, we’re depositing a bonus of $25 cash back into your Chase Freedom account. The bonus will post to your account within 30 days automatically. There’s nothing you need to do — just enjoy it.
i didn’t got it, What’s the requirements to get it.
my daughter has a chase freedom as do i. i have a chase checking account and she doesnt. if my daughter transefered her freedom points to my points ( i believe i read this can be done) would the points she transfered to me be eligible for the bonus 10% i will get for having a chase checking account?
i am new to this. how do i get the most value to redeem my ultimate rewards?
Dan:
I just cancelled my chase sapphire preferred after they decided not to give me the 40k in points after 2k in spending after numerous contradictory info. Now I regret it remembering that I pay no int’l fees with it. They said they’ll have to pull my report to reinstate it–worth it?
Hi Dan,
I’ve had my Chase Sapphire Preferred and United Mileage Plus cards for almost eight months now and would like to get the bonuses on each again of them again. Should I downgrade my Sapphire Preferred card first or reapply for the Sapphire Preferred card? Does it make a difference if I reapply for both the Mileage Plus and Sapphire Preferred at the same time? Thanks for your help.
Hi Dan,
The list of gas stations for 2014 doesn’t list 7-11 and the link for visa merchant categories isn’t working. Are you sure that 7-11 is still a 5% category?
Hi Dan,
Just applied for and got approved on a Chase Sapphire. Would it be OK to go ahead and apply for the business Ink cards as well or should I wait some time since I just applied for another card.
Thanks,
Mosh