Today is the first day of a new quarter and a new set of 5 percent categories for the Chase Freedom credit card (one of my favorite credit cards).

This quarter (October 1, 2016- December 31, 2016), the Chase Freedom 5% categories are Department stores, Wholesale Clubs and Drug Stores. The 5% only applies to the first $1,500 spent on combined purchases each quarter. This means if you spend $1,500 on a combination of department stores, wholesale clubs and drug stores this quarter you will receive a total of 7,500 points (1,500 plus a bonus of 6,000 points).

If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, Chase Sapphire Reserve Card or an Ink Plus you can transfer points from your Freedom account into one of those accounts and then can transfer those points to various travel partners.

Don’t Forget to Activate

Please note, that in order to earn the 5% you must activate the offer each quarter (by text, email or other methods). If you have a Chase Freedom and have signed up for email reminders you should have already received an email asking you to activate this quarter’s categories. If you have not yet activated the 5% for this quarter, you can register now or any time during the registration period and earn the full 5% for the entire quarter retroactively. Registration for this current quarter ends on December 14, 2016.

How to Maximize the 5% Bonus

If you were not planning on spending a total of $1,500 on your Chase Freedom at department stores, wholesale clubs and drug stores this quarter, one option to maximize the bonus is to buy gift cards from drugstores and some department stores. For most people, this is an easy quarter to meet the $1,500 spending on as pretty much everyone shops at drug stores plus you can do your holiday shopping at department stores.

Overview of the Chase Freedom Credit Card

For anyone not familiar with this card, the  Chase Freedom credit card is a great no annual fee card that earns you points that can be indirectly transferred to frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. Chase Freedom is technically a cash back card only and points earned using the Chase Freedom cannot be directly transferred to airlines and hotel programs. However, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve card, Ink Business Preferred or Ink Plus Business Card you can transfer your points from your Chase Freedom account to one of those cards and then from there to the various Ultimate Rewards travel partners. See related post How To Combine or Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Between Accounts.

While the Chase Freedom® normally offers 1% cash back on all purchases, every quarter there are certain bonus categories for which you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter. This means if you spend the full $1,500 each quarter in those 5 percent categories you can earn a total of 30,000 points a year (6,000 points + extra 24,000 bonus points).

The bonus categories vary each year and are announced at the end of the previous year. You have to register each quarter for the bonus and then you can earn the 5% on up to $1,500 on purchases for that quarter.

If you already have the Chase Freedom you are currently able to earn $50 for referring the Chase Freedom to friends/family using Chase refer-a-friend.

If you do not have the Chase Freedom, this would be a great time to apply since the sign up bonus is higher than normal. Warning: If you are thinking of applying for the Chase Freedom, please note Chase will deny applicants for the Chase Freedom if they are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule for credit card approvals.

Please note we do not have affiliate links but if you apply through my referral link I will earn $50 dollars cash back if you apply and are approved.