On the surface, the Chase Freedom Flex credit card might seem easy to use but it does take a little extra work. It gets 3x for dining, just like the Sapphires and it gets 3x at pharmacies just like the Chase Freedom Unlimited. However, you get 5x back up to $1500 for money spent on rotating categories. I personally don’t suggest using it for anything other than these rotating categories. Makes it much easier to keep track of how much you spent on the category. Since you should have this as part of the Chase Trifecta, you’re going to have cards that get 3x on dining and pharmacies anyway. There’s really no benefit to putting extra spend on this card as it’ll just confuse you as to how much you’ve spent. The goal is to spend $6000 per year on your Chase Freedom Flex card by spending $1500 on each bonus category. If you do this, you’ll get 30,000 points each year. Not bad.
The Rotating Categories
The Flex part of the Chase Freedom Flex is that the bonus categories change every single year and they go by quarter. So Q1 is January to March, Q2 is April to June, etc. For 2023 for example, the bonus categories are as follows:
Q1:
Grocery Stores (excluding Walmart®)**Same page link to footnote terms and conditions reference Target®**Same page link to footnote terms and conditions reference | Fitness Clubs & Gym Memberships
Q2:
Amazon.com | Lowe’s*
Q3:
Gas Stations | EV Charging | Select Live Entertainment
Q4: Not announced as of July 2023.
Again, these change every year so next year may be completely different. And you only get 5x for up to $1,500 worth of spending in this category. You want to try to get exactly $1500 worth of spending. Spending $1550 is just wasting $50 worth of spending that could have went on another card.
You have to activate the bonus categories
Travel hacking isn’t always easy or convenient. For some unknown reason, Chase requires you to “activate” these bonuses for the Freedom Flex. I have a few ideas as to why this is and I’m sure you guess what they are. Regardless, you have to activate them each quarter for your bonus to count. Luckily, this is pretty easy and you have several options such as:
-The Chase website
-Emails from Chase
-The Chase Mobile app.
-By calling the number on the back of your card.
-Going to a Chase bank and having them activate for you. (not sure why anyone would do this)
-If you have a Chase checking account, you can use an ATM to activate it
For 99% of you, the website, app or the email will be the way to go. You just have to remember to actually do it. I suggest setting up something on your calendar. You are usually able to activate the bonus a few days before it starts.
Meeting the spending requirements
Now this is the hard part, at least sometimes it is. For some quarters, the Freedom Flex bonus category will be something easy like Amazon. A lot of people can buy $1500 worth of stuff from Amazon. For other quarters, it might not be so easy. Let’s take a few examples. Gas stations and Lowes. You might not spend $1500 at gas stations in 3 months and you might never go to a home improvement store. Are you just out of luck?
Nope! Enter gift cards to save the day here. Most stores sell gift cards to other retailers. So you can walk into a gas station and buy all sorts of gift cards to stores like Amazon, Walmart in addition to restaurants like Olive Garden and Applebees. Same goes for Lowes. You may not have noticed this but they have a big gift card display as well. Same with grocery stores. All of these gift card purchases should code as the bonus category. You can always double check this by buying a $25 gift card and then checking your account in a few days. I’ve never seen a problem but if you’re concerned, that’s how you confirm it. Once confirmed, go back and load up to meet your bonus.
Just about every store branded gift card does not have a purchase fee. However, Visa and Mastercard gift cards do have fees so you want to stay away from them. Do not use them at all. I suggest only buying gift cards for places you know that you will use. So if you buy a lot of stuff from Amazon and Walmart, you are better off buying those cards and holding onto them instead of buying something for a restaurant you may or may not ever go to. Keep in mind that you can buy Amazon gift cards and load up your account and then use that credit down the road.
Here’s another way to work with gift cards. Let’s say the Freedom Flex bonus category is groceries and you spent exactly $1000 in almost 3 months. You’ve got only a few days left of this bonus category and you’re house is absolutely stocked with groceries. Well you can buy $500 worth of gift cards for your local grocery store and use them over the next several months to buy groceries. You are just front loading your expenses and this is a great way to ensure that you are fully maximizing your Freedom Flex bonus categories.
Just a word of caution about gift cards. Do not lose them! Keep them somewhere safe and do not forget about them. Have a plan for using them even if it is several months from now. You are probably better off buying several smaller cards instead of one big one. In other words, 4 $50 cards might be better than 1 $200 card. This way, you can keep 3 of them at home and just 1 in your wallet. If you lose one, you still have the others. Whatever system works for you, just remember to use them and don’t lose them.
Conclusion
If you follow my advice, you’ll activate the Freedom Flex bonus each quarter and you won’t forget. You’ll spend right around $6,000 per year on this card for the bonus categories and nothing else. You’ll use gift cards when necessary and you’ll spend those gift cards without forgetting about them or losing them. You’ll earn 30,000 points per year which you’ll consolidate the points with one of your Sapphire cards. You’ll then transfer these points to a travel partner when you’re ready for an awesome trip. If you can do all that, you’re going to be ahead of most people and well on your way to being a great travel hacker!
If you don’t already have this card, you can click here to apply for it now. By using this link, you’ll get best sign up bonus available.