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Chase Freedom and Flex quarterly bonus categories for 2023

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The new Chase Freedom bonus categories for the fourth quarter of 2023 should be easy to maximize if you’re planning to do holiday shopping online. Chase; Insider The 2023 Q4 Chase Freedom rotating bonus categories are wholesale clubs, select charities, and PayPal. You can earn 5% back on the first $1,500 spent in combined purchases in these categories (then 1%). Q4 runs from October 1 to December 31, 2023, and activation is required by December 14 to earn the bonus. Read Insider’s guide to the best credit cards.

Chase has released the new Q4 2023 rotating quarterly bonus categories on one of the best cash-back credit cards, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ . From October 1 to December 31, 2023, you can earn 5% cash back (5x points) on up to $1,500 in combined purchases (then 1%) on wholesale clubs, select charities, and PayPal.

These categories also apply to the Chase Freedom® , which is no longer available to new applicants.

We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Chase Freedom Flex℠

Insider’s Rating A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.4/5 Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp It indicates a confirmed selection. Perks

Earn 1-5% cash back on purchases.

Intro APR

0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months

Regular APR

20.49% – 29.24% Variable

Earn $200 cash bonus plus 5% cash back on PayPal, wholesale clubs, and select charities

Recommended Credit

Good to Excellent

Pros Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No annual fee Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Generous bonus cash-back categories Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Great welcome bonus Cons con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. Booking through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal can restrict outside earning potential con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. Varying percentages and rotating calendar categories require extra attention con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. 3% foreign transaction fees

Here are the Chase Freedom 5% bonus categories from October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023:

Wholesale clubs: Includes warehouse-style retail shores, but excludes Costco because it doesn’t accept MastercardSelect charities: Includes the American Red Cross, Feeding America, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and more (see the full list here)PayPal Chase

These new categories are perfect for the holiday shopping season — especially PayPal, since it’s a payment option at countless online businesses. In fact, of all the quarterly bonus categories throughout the year, this is the easiest for many cardholders to max out.

Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cardholders can activate the Q4 bonus categories through their Chase account starting September 15, 2023, until December 14, 2023.

Once you activate, the bonus will retroactively apply to purchases, up to spending limits, from the start of the current quarter.

How Chase Freedom Categories Work

Each quarter of the year, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cards earn 5% back (or 5x points) on a different set of bonus categories. Activation is required, and once you hit the quarterly max of $1,500 spent in the bonus categories, your rate reverts to 1% back.

While these are marketed as cash-back cards, if you also have a Chase card that earns transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can combine rewards between the two cards and transfer them to Chase’s airline and hotel partners. That’s why you can think of the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® bonus categories as earning you either 5% back or 5x points.

You’ll earn 5% back or 5x points on up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter, so if you max this out, you’ll earn $75 back, or 7,500 Chase points. Each quarter, you need to activate the quarterly bonus categories in order to be eligible for cash back or bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. You’ll receive an email prompting you to activate them through your online account.

You can find out more about which card is right for you in our comparison of the Chase Freedom cards.

Previous Chase Freedom Categories

For Q1 2023, the Chase Freedom bonus categories were grocery stores, Target, and fitness club and gym memberships. The Q2 2023 categories were Amazon and Lowe’s, and the Q3 categories were gas stations, EV charging, and select live entertainment.

In 2022, these were the quarterly bonus categories:

Q1: Grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target) and eBayQ2: Amazon and select streaming servicesQ3: Gas stations, rental car agencies, movie theaters, and select live entertainmentQ4: Walmart and PayPal

In 2021, the previous quarterly bonus categories were as follows:

Q1: Cable, internet, and phone services, wholesale clubs, and select streaming servicesQ2: Gas stations and home improvement storesQ3: Grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target) and select streaming servicesQ4: Walmart and PayPal

And in 2020, the quarterly bonus categories included:

Q1: Gas stations, internet, cable, and phone services, select streaming servicesQ2: Grocery stores, fitness club and gym memberships, select streaming servicesQ3: Amazon and Whole Foods purchasesQ4: Walmart and PayPal

Here are the previous quarterly bonus categories from 2019:

Q1: Gas stations, tolls, drugstoresQ2: Grocery stores and home improvement storesQ3: Select streaming services and gas stationsQ4: Department stores, PayPal, and Chase PayChase Freedom Flex Card Details

In addition to earning 5% back (5x points) on quarterly bonus categories, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 5% back on Lyft rides through March 2025, 3% cash back on dining and drugstores, and 1% back on everything else.

It’s a no-annual-fee credit card, but it does charge foreign transaction fees, so you won’t want to use it for international purchases.

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is currently offering $200 cash bonus (received as 20,000 bonus points) after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, plus earn 5% cash back on PayPal, wholesale clubs, and select charities on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in this quarter’s bonus categories.

If you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can transfer your bonus to travel partners like United Airlines, Hyatt, and Marriott.

Other Credit Card Options to Maximize Rewards

If you want to explore other options before committing to the Chase Freedom Flex℠, there’s one very similar card to check out, as well as other cash-back credit cards with different bonus category structures.

Also with quarterly bonus categories: Discover it Cash Back

Discover it® Cash Back

Insider’s Rating A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 3.8/5 Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp It indicates a confirmed selection. Perks

Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases automatically.

Intro APR

0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers

Regular APR

17.24% – 28.24% Variable

Earn Unlimited Cashback Match™

Pros Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. From October 1 to December 31, 2023, you can earn 5% cash back at Amazon.com and Target on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1% Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Discover will match your cash back earned at the end of your first account year Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No annual fee Cons con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. Cap on how much bonus cash back you can earn each quarter con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. If the quarterly categories aren’t convenient for you, you can earn more cash back with a different card Product Details Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match™ – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300. Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically. Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app. Every $1 you earn in cash back is $1 you can redeem. Get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 17.24% to 28.24% Standard Variable Purchase APR applies, based on credit worthiness. No annual fee. Click through to Discover’s website to see terms and conditions.

This Discover it® Cash Back doesn’t offer the ability to convert cash back into points for travel, but it does offer different 5% bonus categories each quarter of the year.

The Discover it® Cash Back earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter when you activate the bonus categories (from October 1 to December 31, 2023, you can earn 5% cash back at Amazon.com and Target on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1%), similar to the Chase Freedom Flex℠, so you max out at $75 back each quarter, or up to $300 back each year.

The card has no annual fee, and earns 1% back on all other purchases. New cardholders will get all their cash back matched at the end of their first year, so if you earned $500 back total, Discover would match that for a total of $1,000 back (from October 1 to December 31, 2023, you can earn 5% cash back at Amazon.com and Target on up to $1,500 in purchases after enrollment, then 1%). You can read our Discover it Cash Back card review for all the details.

Discover now release its categories before each quarter — for Q4 2023, these categories will be Amazon.com and Target.

Here’s the Discover cash-back calendar.

Earn 5% on your top eligible monthly spending category: Citi Custom Cash Card

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card makes it easy to earn 5% cash back (5x Citi ThankYou points) without having to keep track of rotating categories or remembering to activate a bonus. Cardholders earn 5% back on up to $500 in spending (then 1%) on the eligible category they spend the most in that billing cycle.

Categories that qualify include:

RestaurantsGas stationsGrocery storesSelect travelSelect transitSelect streaming servicesDrugstoresHome improvement storesFitness clubsLive entertainment

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card offers a welcome bonus of $200 cash back, fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening. If you also have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants), you can pool your points and transfer them to Citi’s airline and hotel partners, like JetBlue or Singapore Airlines. Find out more in our Citi Custom Cash card review.

A strong alternative: Chase Freedom Unlimited

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Insider’s Rating A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.35/5 Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp It indicates a confirmed selection. Perks

Earn 5% cash back on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

Intro APR

0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months

Regular APR

20.49% – 29.24% Variable

Special Offer: Unlimited Matched Cash Back

Recommended Credit

Good to Excellent

Pros Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Solid flat cash-back rate Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. You can combine cash-back rewards with Ultimate Rewards points if you have an eligible card Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No annual fee Cons con icon Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’. Some other cards offer a higher rate of cash back on certain types of purchases Product Details Special Offer: Unlimited Matched Cash Back. Use your card for all your purchases and at the end of your first year, Chase will automatically match all the cash back you earned! There is no limit to how much you can earn. Every dollar in cash back rewards you earn is a dollar Chase will match. Unlimited 1.5% cash back is just the beginning of what you can earn. You’ll enjoy 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services, 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49% – 29.24%. No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open! No annual fee – You won’t have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited® card Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, real-time alerts, and more. Member FDIC

If you don’t want to keep track of quarterly bonus categories, you may want to consider Chase’s other cash-back Freedom card instead.

The no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through the Chase portal, 5% back on Lyft rides through March 2025, 3% cash back on dining and at drugstores, and 1.5% back on everything else with no limit. If you’re a new cardholder you can currently earn unlimited match on all the cash back you earned at the end of your first year.

The trick of turning cash back into Chase Ultimate Rewards® points when you have another eligible Chase card works with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® too, so you could be earning at least 1.5x points on all your purchases — a very solid return on spending. Here’s our Chase Freedom Unlimited review to learn more.

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