Credit Cards

Don’t Forget: New Chase Freedom 5x categories

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This quarter presents a very good opportunity to max out the 5x bonus. Personally I’ll avoid the Gas Stations and Internet/Cable categories, and instead focus on the Apple Pay/Chase Pay/Android Pay/Samsung Pay category. Why? I have other cards that give me 3x and 5x bonuses on Gas Stations and Internet/Cable, but the app pay opportunities are incredible. Any place that accepts mobile payment from those 4 apps will net you 5x points. Incredible.

Don’t forget this though. Chase Freedom is a cash back card, and therefore, if it isn’t paired with a card that earns Ultimate Rewards like Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Business Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Ink Bold, or Ink Plus. The last two are no longer available, but people still have grandfathered versions.

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Each quarter you’re given 5x points on purchases up $1500. That’s 7500 points a quarter or 30k a year.

If you’re like me and carry two Chase Freedoms, you could be earning up to 60k points a year on just $12k of spend. That’s a fantastic opportunity.

That will put you within striking distance of Singapore Suites from JFK to Frankfurt, just 76k Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles. A transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards

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Don’t have a Freedom? Use our referral link. We’ll both earn some points!

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
Rated 4.8 out of 5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„ 
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ 
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Points Boost
    • each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

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