The new set of 5% categories for the 4th quarter are now open for registration for 5% bonus categories for the Chase Freedom Flex (our referral link) and original Chase Freedom credit card. 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 2023 Q4 quarter (October 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023) are PayPal, Wholesale Clubs and Select Charities.
Chase provides clarification on what is included and excluded in each category:
• PayPal purchases include: Includes purchases made using your Chase Freedom card with PayPal. Purchases made using PayPal at merchants in the current 5% quarterly categories will be awarded a total of 5% Cash Back rewards. Must have/open a PayPal account.
• PayPal exclusions: Payments made through the Xoom transfer service are not eligible for 5%. Please note, Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions made with your Chase Freedom card on PayPal may be prohibited or not eligible for 5%.
• Wholesale Club purchases include: Merchants in this category operate warehouse-style retail stores, sell in bulk, and concentrate on price appeal. These merchants sell a full range of household goods and merchandise, groceries, furniture, electronics, appliances, and auto supplies. These merchants may or may not have membership requirements. Delivery service merchants will be included if they classify as a wholesale club merchant.
• Wholesale Club exclusions: Gas, fuel, wholesale specialty service purchases such as travel, insurance, cell phone and home improvement will not qualify in this category. Mastercard not accepted at Costco warehouses or at gas stations.
• Select Charities Include: This category includes the charities listed below:
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 and Sage.
• Select Charity exclusions: Local chapters may not be eligible due to transaction processing procedures.
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 PayPal, Wholesale Clubs and Select Charities this quarter you will receive a total of 7,500 points (1,500 plus a bonus of 6,000 points).
This should be an easy quarter to maximize your bonus because you can use PayPal.
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 4th quarter of 2023 ends on December 14, 2023.
