Today is the first day of a new quarter for the 5% bonus categories for the Chase Freedom Flex (our referral link) and original Chase Freedom credit card (no longer available). Although the Chase Freedom and the Chase Freedom Flex are technically cash back cards, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred or Ink Plus card you can transfer points from your Freedom account into one of those accounts and then can transfer those points to various Chase travel partners.
The Chase Freedom 5% categories for 2024 2nd quarter (April 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024) are Amazon.com, Hotels and Restaurants.
Chase provides clarification on what is included and excluded in each category:
• Amazon.com inclusions: The Amazon.com category includes purchases made at Amazon.com (including digital downloads, Amazon.com Gift Cards, Amazon Fresh orders, Amazon Prime subscriptions, and items sold by third party merchants through Amazon.com’s marketplace) and Whole Foods Market (including physical Whole Foods Market and Whole Foods Market 365 stores, and the website accessible at wholefoodsmarket.com).
• Amazon.com exclusions: The Amazon.com category does not include (i) purchases from merchants using Amazon Pay, (ii) purchases made at international Amazon retail sites (including but not limited to Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, or Amazon.co.jp), or any other website operated by Amazon, (iii) purchases made at international Whole Foods Market sites, (iv) purchases of Whole Foods Market or Whole Foods Market 365 products or services through third-party sites such as Eventbrite, Instacart, Google Express and Shipt, (v) online purchases of Whole Foods Market or Whole Foods Market 365 gift cards (including through buyatab.com), event tickets or classes, (vi) purchases from certain third-party vendors operating at Whole Foods Market sites, (vii) purchases of massage services at any Whole Foods Market site, or (viii) purchases from Spa@Ink, in each case in Amazon’s sole discretion.
• Hotels inclusions: If purchased directly through hotel: Merchants in this category include hotels and motels, and many smaller establishments like bed & breakfasts, and inns. If purchased through Chase travel: This category includes prepaid hotel accommodation purchases made on chasetravel.com or by calling the number on the back of your card to book.
• Hotel exclusions: If purchased directly through hotel: Hotel accommodations not booked directly with the hotel will not qualify; for example, hotel accommodations purchased through travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators, or as part of a package offered by merchants such as cruise lines and railways. Points will not be earned until charges are posted to your account. Purchases other than your room bill on the hotel premises will not be included in the category unless they classify as a hotel merchant; for example, restaurant or entertainment purchases. In addition, the purchasing of hotel points will not qualify in this category. If purchased through Chase travel: Other hotel-related purchases not paid for on chasetravel.com or by calling the number on the back of your card will not qualify; for example, restaurant or entertainment purchases. Any portion of your purchase paid for using points will not qualify.
• Restaurants inclusions: This category’s merchants’ primary business is sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast food restaurants and fine dining establishments.
• Restaurants exclusions: Merchants that sell food and drinks located within facilities such as sports stadiums, hotels and casinos, theme parks, grocery and department stores will not be included in this category unless the merchant has set up such purchases to be classified in a restaurant category. Bakeries, caterers, meal kit delivery services, and gift card merchants are not included in the category. Delivery and takeout services will be included if they classify as a restaurant merchant.
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 Amazon.com, Hotels and Restaurants during the second quarter of 2024 you will receive a total of 7,500 points (1,500 plus a bonus of 6,000 points).
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. You can register now or any time during the registration period and earn the full 5% for the entire quarter retroactively. Registration for the 2nd quarter of 2024 ends on June 14, 2024.
