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, including 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, and Sage. Note that you can earn this bonus at all charities, by donating to them via Paypal.
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 Q4 purchases?
Leave a Reply
2 Comments On "Chase Freedom’s Q4 5x Bonus Categories Are Live"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
Walmart, which accepts PayPal sells Gift of College Gift Cards.
Does CVS still allow in-store PayPal purchases? On a CFF, this should earn 7x (1x base plus 4x PayPal plus 2x drug store).
Will the registers allow in-store VGC purchases paid through PayPal? A standard $500 VGC has a $5.95 fee. That nets 3,542 points (= 35.42, worst case, if cashed out at 1 cent per point), or a net profit of at least $29.47 for one $500 VGC. Or, buy three of them and earn 10,554 points, a net profit of at least $87.69. But, I don’t know if the registers are set up to allow it.