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Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Flex Q1 2021 Bonus categories: Whole Sale Clubs, Phone/Internet/Cable, Streaming
We love both the Chase Freedom + Chase Freedom Flex for this exact perk: rotating, quarterly 5x bonus categories. What does that mean? It means that every 3 months Chase Freedom releases a new list of bonus categories that earn 5x throughout the quarter. It’s an incredible way to multiply the number points you make on purchases, or strategize for the future.
The most exciting aspect of this quarter is the fact that you can earn 5x points on wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club. This is huge, and will likely be where most people are able to max out their $1500 of 5x spend.
Additionally, Chase recently released their new Chase Freedom Flex and I honestly think the Chase Freedom Flex is the most compelling card of 2020.
There are a couple of caveats of the 5x rotating category bonus: Go here to activate
- The spending is capped at $1500
- This means that your earning potential is maxed at out 7500 points or $75 cashback
- You must activate this perk each quarter, starting the 15th of the month prior ( September ), up until the 14th of the last month (December).
- If you have a Freedom and Freedom Flex, you’ll get $1500 per card.
I’ve used a lot of Chase points for swanky redemptions like the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires
What are the 1st quarter 2021 Chase Freedom/Freedom Flex Bonus categories?
- Wholesale Clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club
- Internet, Cable, and phone services
- Select streaming services
A couple of things to note…the new Chase Freedom Flex is a Mastercard and thus wouldn’t be accepted at Costco in person, BUT you can use it at Costco.com ; however, the old Freedom is a Visa and would be accepted in store.
Additionally, the Chase Freedom Flex has great mobile phone insurance and should really be a top consideration for your mobile phone payments regardless of the category bonus.
How we use Chase Freedom/Flex to get closer to lie-flat seats and 5 star suites.
If you’re like me and carry a Chase Premium credit card like the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred then you can combine your Freedom Flex points into those accounts in order to transfer them into valuable partners.
This is by far the most advantageous usage of Ultimate Rewards, but also increases the value when redeemed in the Chase Travel center. For instance, if you move them into a Chase Sapphire Reserve account, your points will instantly be redeemable for 1.5 cents per point, a 50% increase over redeeming them in the Freedom Chase Travel Center.
Don’t have a Chase premium card?
You should definitely check out our thoughts and the latest offers on:
Combining a Chase Premium card like those above will help you optimize your spend and value of the points you’re earning.
One of the coolest ways to use Chase Ultimate rewards? Emirates First Class. Immerse yourself in the full experience in our YouTube video below!
Interesting Article. Thanks
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Thanks for the info on a really good deal. Any suggestions on ways to maximize the promotion?
Christian – I think the easiest will be Paypal since a lot of vendors accept this as payment. I know a lot of home lawn care, baby sitters, tutors, award bookers, etc accept it as payment. You think you’ll get the new Flex?
i am getting a new freedom card that offers 5% on grocery stores. but this quarters special
is for walmart., which is a grocery store. if i go to walmart does it count against the grocery
store annual limit?
Robert – great question – the 5x on grocery stores excludes Target and Walmart so it’ll only count against the quarterly 5x
I received the 2020 Chase Freedom “Unlimited” card with 5x grocery bonus for the year. There are other perks/benefits, but I can’t seem to activate the Q1 bonus. I’m assuming the “Unlimited” is different than the plain Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Flex?
I have a few chase cards and love the points portal. What drives me bonkers about all the credit card programs is the dang activate. I don’t get it…. It seems like such a waste of everyone’s time:)
But hey, ho we need the points!
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Chase Freedom Flex referral https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18f/K8IMR820QY