The Chase Freedom® Card is one of my favorite no annual fee credit cards, as it offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, for up to $1,500 of spend per quarter. Most people use this as a cashback card, meaning the 5x points really translates into 5% cashback in these categories.
The best part is that in conjunction with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, or Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card, points earned on this card can be converted into Ultimate Rewards points, and be transferred to the Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners. Since I value one Ultimate Rewards point at significantly more than one cent, that’s my preferred use of those points.
Starts today: 5x points at gas stations & streaming services
Until yesterday (June 30, 2019), the card offered 5x points on the first $1,500 of combined purchases at grocery stores and home improvement stores. Now there’s a new bonus category.
Between July 1 and September 30, 2019, you can earn 5x points on the first $1,500 of combined purchases at gas stations and streaming services with the Chase Freedom® Card.
If you haven’t yet registered, you can do so through September 14, 2019 – just go to the registration page and enter your last name, billing zip code, and the last four digits on your card number, and you’ll be registered.
Personally I’m not a huge fan of the bonuses this quarter, though in fairness these are highly subjective:
- I spend almost nothing at gas stations, so that has limited value to me
- While I spend some money with streaming services, we’re talking under $50 per month, so that’s not going to help me maximize this bonus
You can see a list of eligible merchants here. Streaming services include Apple Music, Fubo TV, Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, SiriusXM, Sling, Spotify, and Vudu.
How to make Chase Freedom points even more valuable
Just to recap, you earn points on the Chase Freedom® Card, and each point can be redeemed for one cent cashback.
However, if you have this card in addition to one of the cards that accrues Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer these points to Ultimate Rewards. Cards that accrue Ultimate Rewards Cards include the:
So 5% cashback converts into 5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar with one of the above cards.
Bottom line
The Chase Freedom® Card is one of the best no annual fee cards out there, and I do everything I can to max out the 5x points category every quarter.
It’s now a new quarter, which means that it’s time to reconsider which purchases you’re using your card for. If you haven’t yet registered for this quarter’s bonus category, be sure you do so, so you can start earning 5x points at gas stations and streaming services, should that be of use to you.
What do you make of the third quarter 2019 Chase Freedom bonus categories?
Totally unrelated to this (yet another…) credit card post.
Please allow me to point out, without any ill will, that ThePointsGuy recently published two incredibly detailed, informative posts on different points hotels in Fiji. As far as I can recall, you were unable to review hotels there because of a family emergency and did not return to Fiji (even though I seem to remember a very old post on the Sheraton there??).
I totally understand that your situation (having a dog, having a husband, maybe even losing interest in living a life without a real home, I get it!) does not really let you to travel as much as you used to. But it seems like an awfully long time since I read any post really triggering my interest. And yes, that might be me, and I should indeed just stop coming here… Yet…
Maybe it is time for you to either call it quits and start a different travel business (with your expertise, there are so many options), bring in some fresh blood thirsty for being on the road nonstop and review stuff, or change the declared purpose of this website. For example, a few days ago, I traveled the new Emirates Business Class in their 777 – but I do not recall seeing ANY review about it either here or at another site. I might be wrong. But in the past, you were jumping on these opportunities to be the first reviewer. And they were better than any other‘s reviewers perspective.
And once again, I completely understand if you have other things on your mind!
I do not want to pull a Yoko. 😉 But something will have to change sometime soon, don‘t you think??
@JayJay: What an incredibly rude and inappropriate post! If you don’t like what Ben offers here, vote with your feet and read other blogs instead.
As for the Freedom card…. they dropped dining as a quarterly category and can’t figure out how to replace it, so we get gas stations twice??? The end is near for the Freedom.
Many people, particularly young professionals in big cities, do not own cars nowadays, using bikes, carshare options instead, so why devote half the bonus category time in a year to gas stations?
Because most people in the country DO have to drive to their jobs…the gas bonus is awesome.
Doing the gas bonus twice in the same year seems like “phoning it in.” At this point, I swear I’d start selling my organs on Etsy just to get a business card. The Freedom just doesn’t seem like a smart reliable choice for a “personal trifecta.”
@Charlie: yes, I was afraid it was coming off as a rude post. Especially since English is not my first language. And I do apologize, if it seems simply rude, and without any reason.
I really, really was not intending it to be this way. Only because I admire the past achievements of this site so much, was I voicing a concern. I also apologize to Lucky, if he was offended. However, this is how I feel. And I hope you forgive me for voicing my opinion.
@Jay Jay Come on, just today there was a post on “Pakistan Airlines Wants To Launch Nonstop US Flights”, surely that got your interest. Then a while back there was a post on Drag performances on Jet Blue. And lets not forget that iconic post: “United Shrinking Business Class Pajamas”. I guess you are just one of those sourpusses that nothing can make you happy. 😉
Seriously, the miles and points game is virtually over. It’s not Lucky’s fault, he is working overtime to find anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, travel related to post. But that’s nearly impossible lately. Heck, the Chase thread on FlyerTalk currently goes 4 or 5 days in a row now without a new comment. Not surprising, since nearly everyone who might be interest in Chase is WAY over 5/24.
Sure, Lucky could post a lot more on devaluations of miles, loss of cc perks, cut backs on hotel rewards programs, etc. But none of that is going to drive cc sign ups, if you catch my drift. The miles and points game is on life support, and we really shouldn’t criticize Lucky’s attempts at doing CPR, hopeless as it may be….
Worth to know that your ink card can get 5% off on gas station gift cards and Uber gift cards ANY TIME.
As of this week, Walgreen is giving $10 Walgreen GC when purchase ANY 2 GCs of Uber / Netflix / Hulu / Cracker and Barrel.
The lowest denomination of Uber GC is $15 – buy 2 at $30 you get $10 back to use at Walgreen. A much better discount.
Or if you live in FL, the monopoly Publix has $10 off $50 gas gift card when buying $50 grocery virtually every 2 to 3 weeks – that is a 20% discount versus Freedom’s 5%.
Freedom is losing its “luster” if there is any, at a very rapid rate. For us we have not found it useful for the past 2 or 3 years as 2/3 of the quarterly promotions have ready substitutes that are always BETTER and many are available ANY TIME.
I agree with Jay that doing 2 quarters of 5% at gas station is very lame. It should only be one quarter, not just another 3 months after the Q1…
May be this is the way Chase to control cost as the less people max the quarterly limit the better for Chase!
That said, IF this is what Chase to do so it can still keep the travel benefits on the travel cards, then we should be thankful for that!
@JayJay
If this blog doesn’t work for you, then you are free to read elsewhere.
You mention that English isn’t your native language, so I’m going to assume you live outside of the US (bad on me for assuming, I know…) but the thing is, the blog owner lives in the US, and his blog takes a US-centric view of points and miles. I get the US isn’t the center of the universe like we all want to think it is — so if you feel that there is an untapped market, feel free to start your own blog. Us Americans like a little competition every now and then.
That said, carriers in the US (and Europe for that matter) have been changing their mileage programs such that *flying* is no longer the most common way that miles are earned. Now, non-flying activities are the most common way miles are earned. THE AIRLINES HAVE ONLY THEMSELVES TO BLAME FOR THAT. As credit card usage has become a more rewarding way to generate frequent flyer miles, blogs like this have that focus. THAT IS WHY I READ THIS. I need to be up on the latest credit card deal. I’m not being a smart ass. If the credit card stuff wasn’t covered here, I probably wouldn’t be aware of it.
I think JayJay and Robert actually both make valid points.
Anyways, I’m off to my local gas station to buy a $500 vanilla gift card.
@Dan If (the comments on this blog don’t) work for you, then you are free to read elsewhere. 😉
Being his blog, Lucky is well within his rights to post whatever he wants. And readers of this blog, within certain wide parameters, are well within their rights to post their reactions.
So sure, you are also free to post ‘I don’t like your comment, go away’, if you wish. Just don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen. 😉
BTW, making gas a bonus category twice a year is a great perk, assuming you drive for Uber or Lyft on a daily basis. I don’t, and I’m rather jealous of Ryan, since my local gas stations don’t carry those sort of gift cards. I’d complain to Chase, except that it’s a no AF card. As long as they bonus grocery stores on a yearly basis, I’m at least going to get 7500 Chase points for nearly no cost. Works for me….
I’d appreciate the card more if they had groceries 2x this year instead of gas stations.
Because… food.
It does seem a incredibly lazy to repeat a category and not have something major accompany it.
@Robert Hanson
See, I actually like the credit card posts, and the annoyance of reading comments from people complaining about them is outweighed by the value the information provides.
The other reason I write these comments is because if all people did was complain about the post, Lucky might read them and think people don’t that information. I do, so I tell him.
Well at least this time the gas bonus is during the summer driving season. But even so, I spend nowhere near $1500 in gas and streaming services.
Can you buy a gift card at the gas station for gas and then use it throughout the year and still collect the quarterly bonus?