The Chase Freedom Flex®
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The information for the Chase Freedom Flex® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
card offers one of the best bonus category rewards rates available on a card with no annual fee. You can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in categories that rotate quarterly (requires activation), 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on dining and drugstores and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
For the last quarter of 2024, the Chase Freedom Flex bonus categories are McDonald’s, PayPal, pet shops and vet services and select charities. You must activate by Dec. 14, 2024, to earn the elevated rate.
Learn more about this quarter’s categories, including what purchases qualify for earning bonus cash back, as well as how to maximize the Chase Freedom Flex cash back calendar below.
Chase Freedom Flex 2024 cash back categories
Maximize this quarter’s bonus categories
There are some potentially lucrative bonus categories for the Chase Freedom Flex in Q4 2024. For instance, giving to charities is popular at the end of the year, either for the holidays or tax purposes.
Still, to maximize the bonus categories on the Chase Freedom Flex, you’ll need to pay close attention to which purchases qualify. For one, Chase uses merchant category codes (MCCs) to determine if a particular merchant falls into a bonus category, so you’ll need to make sure purchases show up as you expect them to on your statement.
For instance, buying a new dog bed from Walmart won’t show up as a pet shop, but buying it from PetSmart may. If you’re unsure, make a small purchase at the retailer and confirm that it qualifies before stocking up on supplies. Additionally, each category has its own terms on what purchases qualify, which we detail below.
What is included in the McDonald’s category?
You can earn the bonus rate for McDonald’s purchases inside of standalone locations and McDonald’s that are located inside of other stores. For example, a McDonald’s inside of a Walmart or the airport. Purchases on the McDonald’s app also qualify.
What is included in the PayPal category?
You can earn bonus cash back when you use PayPal to pay merchants. Person to person PayPal transfers may not qualify for the bonus cash back, and payments made through Xoom will not qualify.
What is included in the pet shops and vet services category?
Merchants that use the pet shop or veterinary service merchant category code will qualify for the bonus cash back. That includes online pet shops, pet stores, and pet supply stores. If the retailer specializes in pet care, it should qualify, but it will ultimately depend on the MCC code the store uses.
Veterinarians who provide medicine, dentistry or surgery for pets will also qualify. Shops that sell pet supplies but don’t specialize in them will not qualify. For example, picking up your pet supplies at Target rather than through your vet will not qualify.
What is included in the select charities category?
The following charities qualify for the bonus cash back:
- 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
- Sage
When donating, be sure to donate directly to the parent organization rather than through a local chapter, as local chapters may process the payment differently.
Tips for earning the most rewards
In addition to watching out for any excluded purchases within bonus categories, follow these tips to maximize your earning potential on your Chase Freedom Flex:
- Use your card for bonus category purchases. Make sure you swipe your Freedom Flex at all qualifying merchants during the qualifying quarter until you meet the spending cap. This might mean switching from another card you usually use for those transactions.
- Stock up pet supplies. If your normal budget doesn’t meet the $1,500 quarterly spend limit, you might still be able to meet it with strategic spending. For instance, you can stock up on pet food now.
- Do your charitable giving before the end of the year. Many people donate a bit extra during this time of year, both for holiday giving and for tax purposes. However, if you normally donate evenly throughout the year, consider moving some of your 2025 giving to this quarter and earn some extra cash back in the process.
- Pay attention to your spending limit. Be sure to keep track of how much you’ve spent in the quarter’s bonus categories as the months progress. When you hit the $1,500 maximum, you might be able to earn more by putting those purchases on a different cash back credit card.
While you can earn the most cash back by spending up to the cap on category purchases each quarter, you should be careful to avoid overspending in a category that you don’t usually spend highly in just to get the bonus.
How to activate your bonus categories
You can activate your Chase Freedom Flex bonus categories by the deadline on Chasebonus.com or in your mobile app. You can check your status on the mobile app as well and you should see “activated” under the current quarter if you are enrolled. Once a new quarter’s activation period begins, you will see your status for that period as well.
Are the Freedom Flex categories worth it?
The Freedom Flex categories can absolutely be worth it, but only for the right cardholder. For a no annual fee card, it offers one of the best earning rates in a variety of categories, and the rotating categories mean you can often earn in unique categories as well.
For instance, fitness clubs and gym memberships — a featured rotating category on the Freedom Flex in the first quarter of 2024 as well as in several previous years — are not a common bonus category on a credit card, making the Flex the best card to earn on those purchases when included.
Still, the changing bonus categories and activation requirement of the Freedom Flex mean the card takes a fair amount of time to keep track of and maximize, so if you’re looking for a cash back card with less maintenance, you should consider a card with fixed bonus categories or a flat earning rate instead.
Even dedicated Freedom Flex cardholders may consider adding a secondary credit card to their lineup for categories with higher spending. Groceries, for instance, take up a large portion of many budgets, but since they were only featured for one quarter of the Flex card’s bonus categories in 2024, you’ll earn a low rate on those purchases for the rest of the year.
If you combine the Freedom Flex with another top grocery credit card, like the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (terms apply) for instance, you could earn elevated cash back on U.S. supermarket purchases, up to the annual spending cap, when groceries are not a bonus category of the Freedom Flex.
Common Chase Freedom Flex categories
Almost all of the Chase Freedom Flex categories featured in 2024 have been included in previous years. However, a few categories differed from 2023, including restaurants, hotels, spa services and self-care.
Chase Freedom Flex vs. Discover it bonus categories
The Chase Freedom Flex card is not the only card to offer a rotating bonus category. The Discover it® Cash Back has a similar earning structure.
It also earns 5% cash back on purchases at different places each quarter up to $1,500 spent each quarter when activated and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Choosing the best one for you will include looking at each card’s typical bonus categories and determining which aligns better with your spending.
Compare Chase and Discover bonus category calendars from 2024 below:
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Rotating bonus categories on a credit card allow you to earn a high rate of cash back on different types of spending throughout the year. For the Chase Freedom Flex card, categories are updated every quarter. You must activate their bonus categories every quarter in order to receive the bonus cash back; otherwise, purchases will earn just 1% cash back.
The Freedom Flex earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in categories that rotate quarterly (requires activation), 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on dining and drugstores and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
If you were to maximize the rewards on rotating categories, you’d earn $75 per quarter on your bonus category spending. However, that doesn’t include the rewards you earn on other purchases.
There is no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn with the Chase Freedom Flex in its fixed bonus categories. So exactly how much you can earn each quarter will depend on how much you spend on dining, drugstore and eligible travel purchases.
If you do not activate your Chase Freedom Flex bonus categories by the deadline, you will only earn 1% cash back. You can activate your bonus categories through the 14th of the last month of the ongoing quarter and still earn rewards for the whole period, so for Q4 2024, you can activate until Dec. 14.
It’s a good idea to set a reminder in your category for the middle of March, June, September and December each year to begin watching for the next quarter’s category announcement. You can also sign up for email alerts from Chase when new categories are announced.
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