Update: Q3 spending ends today!
Originally posted on 9/15:
Chase Freedom Flex and Freedom are excellent no annual fee cards thanks to their quarterly 5% categories. While the rewards are marketed as 5% cash back, you’ll actually 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) per Freedom card.
You can register now for 2024 Q4 spending which will be valid 10/1-12/31 at:
- Paypal, including purchases from anyone, tax payments, and charity donations made via Paypal. This also includes paying utility bills via Paypal and Paypal Giving Fund donations to any charity with no processing fees!
- Pet Shops and Vet Services
- McDonald’s
- Select Charities
You still can finish Q3 spending through 9/30 at:
- EV Charging
- Gas stations
- This includes gas and anything sold inside gas stations as well.
- Select Live Entertainment and movie theaters
- Includes in-person entertainment such as major sporting events, zoos and aquariums, concerts, theatrical productions, museums, tourist attractions and exhibits, amusement parks, circuses, carnivals, bands, and entertainers. Ticket agencies selling on behalf of the entertainment venue are included.
You can track your Freedom bonus spending here.
You can currently earn a $150 signup bonus in the form of 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points for spending $500 on the Freedom Flex Mastercard. Plus you’ll earn 3 points per dollar on drugstore and dining purchases and 5 points per dollar on all Travel purchased through Chase Travel.
While Chase Freedom Flex 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 earns 3-6.5 points per dollar on up to $20K in spending during your first 12 months. Plus it’s excellent for everyday spending thanks to 1.5 points per dollar that can be earned everywhere with no limit, though it doesn’t have rotating 5x categories. Read more about the Freedom Unlimited card here.
The no annual fee business version of Freedom Unlimited is the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, which currently has an excellent limited-time offer.
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 an Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Chase Sapphire Preferred® 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 redeem 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 Q3 and Q4 purchases?
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9 Comments On "[Ends Today] Register Now For Chase Freedom Q4 5x Bonus Categories, Finish Q3 Bonus Category Spending!"
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Why do I get “we cabn’t enroll you with the information provided” EVERY SINGLE TIME I TRY TO ENROLL, FOR YEARS NOW????
Oy! Paypal is a tough nut to crack. Anyone have any use cases for paypal?
Is a payment via friends and family on paypal with a chase credit card considered a cash advance? (for citi records there is a warning that it might be considered as one)
Is there a way to link a Freedom card to a PayPal virtual cc#, use that to pay bills and get the 5X bonus? I remember something like that in the past. Thanks.
Unfortunately that ended a couple years ago.
thanks. I did see that I could link my Freedom to my PP account and any bill or purchase that gives a Pay Pal option does come out of Freedom as a PP purchase and should get 5X as of 10/1.
Not too many left at this point.
What means select charities? Which not?
This category includes the charities listed below:
American Red Cross
Equal Justice Initiatives
Feeding America
Habitat for Humanity
International Medical Corps
International Rescue Committee
Leadership Conference Education Fund
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Urban League
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
United Negro College Fund
UNICEF USA
United Way
World Central Kitchen
GLSEN
Out and Equal
Sage
In addition, PayPal has a charity program too that should qualify.