Chase has released all the 2023 5% bonus categories for the original Chase Freedom card and the Chase Freedom Flex card (read more about the card below).

Chase Freedom Calendar 2023 5% Bonus Categories

The Chase Freedom 5% bonus categories for 2023 are as follows:
1st quarter (January 1, 2023- March 31, 2023) – Grocery Stores (excluding Walmart®), Target & Fitness Clubs & Gym Memberships
2nd quarter (April 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023) – Lowe’s and Amazon.com.
3rd quarter (July 1, 2023 – September 30, 2023) – Gas Stations, EV Charging, Select Live Entertainment.
4th quarter (October 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023) – PayPal, Wholesale Clubs and Select Charities. Activate by December 15, 2023 here in order to earn the 5%.

Here is the link to the Chase Freedom 5% calendar on chase.com.

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 the third quarter of 2023 ends on December 14, 2023.

Overview of the Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card

The original Chase Freedom card is no longer available for new applicants but Chase replaced it with the Freedom Flex card which is similar but even better. Even if you have the original Chase Freedom card, you can still apply for the new Freedom Flex card. You can also ask Chase to convert your Chase Freedom card to the Freedom Flex card.

While both cards earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in rotating bonus categories each quarter, the Chase Freedom Flex also earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase and 3% on drugstores and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services).

Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex are technically cash back cards only and points earned cannot be directly transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs. However, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ink Business Preferred or Ink Plus, 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.

The Freedom Flex is currently offering a signup bonus of $200 cash back after spending $500 on purchases in first 3 months. In addition, you will earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® and Walmart® purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.

Interested in another 5% cashback card? You might want to consider a Discover card.