Chase Freedom and Flex quarterly bonus categories for 2023

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• The 2023 Q4 Chase Freedom rotating bonus categories are wholesale clubs, select charities, and PayPal.
• You can earn 5% back on the first $1,500 spent in combined purchases in these categories (then 1%).
• Q4 runs from October 1 to December 31, 2023, and activation is required by December 14 to earn the bonus.
• Read Insider's guide to the best credit cards.

Chase has released the new Q4 2023 rotating quarterly bonus categories on one of the best cash-back credit cards, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ . From October 1 to December 31, 2023, you can earn 5% cash back (5x points) on up to $1,500 in combined purchases (then 1%) on wholesale clubs, select charities, and PayPal.

These categories also apply to the Chase Freedom®, which is no longer available to new applicants. 

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Chase Freedom Categories for Q4 2023

Here are the Chase Freedom 5% bonus categories from October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023:

• Wholesale clubs: Includes warehouse-style retail shores, but excludes Costco because it doesn't accept Mastercard
• Select charities: Includes the American Red Cross, Feeding America, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and more (see the full list here)
• PayPal

These new categories are perfect for the holiday shopping season — especially PayPal, since it's a payment option at countless online businesses. In fact, of all the quarterly bonus categories throughout the year, this is the easiest for many cardholders to max out.

Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cardholders can activate the Q4 bonus categories through their Chase account starting September 15, 2023, until December 14, 2023.

Once you activate, the bonus will retroactively apply to purchases, up to spending limits, from the start of the current quarter. 

How Chase Freedom Categories Work

Each quarter of the year, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cards earn 5% back (or 5x points) on a different set of bonus categories. Activation is required, and once you hit the quarterly max of $1,500 spent in the bonus categories, your rate reverts to 1% back.

While these are marketed as cash-back cards, if you also have a Chase card that earns transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can combine rewards between the two cards and transfer them to Chase's airline and hotel partners. That's why you can think of the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® bonus categories as earning you either 5% back or 5x points.

You'll earn 5% back or 5x points on up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter, so if you max this out, you'll earn $75 back, or 7,500 Chase points. Each quarter, you need to activate the quarterly bonus categories in order to be eligible for cash back or bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. You'll receive an email prompting you to activate them through your online account.

Previous Chase Freedom Categories

For Q1 2023, the Chase Freedom bonus categories were grocery stores, Target, and fitness club and gym memberships. The Q2 2023 categories were Amazon and Lowe's, and the Q3 categories were gas stations, EV charging, and select live entertainment.

In 2022, these were the quarterly bonus categories:

• Q1: Grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target) and eBay
• Q2: Amazon and select streaming services
• Q3: Gas stations, rental car agencies, movie theaters, and select live entertainment
• Q4: Walmart and PayPal

In 2021, the previous quarterly bonus categories were as follows:

• Q1: Cable, internet, and phone services, wholesale clubs, and select streaming services
• Q2: Gas stations and home improvement stores
• Q3: Grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target) and select streaming services
• Q4: Walmart and PayPal

And in 2020, the quarterly bonus categories included:

• Q1: Gas stations, internet, cable, and phone services, select streaming services
• Q2: Grocery stores, fitness club and gym memberships, select streaming services
• Q3: Amazon and Whole Foods purchases
• Q4: Walmart and PayPal

Here are the previous quarterly bonus categories from 2019:

• Q1: Gas stations, tolls, drugstores
• Q2: Grocery stores and home improvement stores
• Q3: Select streaming services and gas stations
• Q4: Department stores, PayPal, and Chase Pay

Chase Freedom Flex Card Details

In addition to earning 5% back (5x points) on quarterly bonus categories, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 5% back on Lyft rides through March 2025, 3% cash back on dining and drugstores, and 1% back on everything else.

It's a no-annual-fee credit card, but it does charge foreign transaction fees, so you won't want to use it for international purchases.

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is currently offering $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.  

If you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can transfer your bonus to travel partners like United Airlines, Hyatt, and Marriott.

Other Credit Card Options to Maximize Rewards

If you want to explore other options before committing to the Chase Freedom Flex℠ , there's one very similar card to check out, as well as other cash-back credit cards with different bonus category structures.

Also with quarterly bonus categories: Discover it Cash Back

This Discover it® Cash Back doesn't offer the ability to convert cash back into points for travel, but it does offer different 5% bonus categories each quarter of the year.

The Discover it® Cash Back earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter when you activate the bonus categories Discover It Cashback rotation, similar to the Chase Freedom Flex℠ , so you max out at $75 back each quarter, or up to $300 back each year.

The card has no annual fee, and earns 1% back on all other purchases. New cardholders will get all their cash back matched at the end of their first year, so if you earned $500 back total, Discover would match that for a total of $1,000 back Discover It Cashback rotation. You can read our Discover it Cash Back card review for all the details.

Discover now release its categories before each quarter — for Q4 2023, these categories will be Amazon.com and Target.

Here's the Discover cash-back calendar.

Earn 5% on your top eligible monthly spending category: Citi Custom Cash Card

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card makes it easy to earn 5% cash back (5x Citi ThankYou points) without having to keep track of rotating categories or remembering to activate a bonus. Cardholders earn 5% back on up to $500 in spending (then 1%) on the eligible category they spend the most in that billing cycle.

Categories that qualify include:

• Restaurants
• Gas stations
• Grocery stores
• Select travel
• Select transit
• Select streaming services
• Drugstores
• Home improvement stores
• Fitness clubs
• Live entertainment

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card offers a welcome bonus of Citi Custom Cash℠ Card. If you also have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants), you can pool your points and transfer them to Citi's airline and hotel partners, like JetBlue or Singapore Airlines. Find out more in our Citi Custom Cash card review.

A strong alternative: Chase Freedom Unlimited

If you don't want to keep track of quarterly bonus categories, you may want to consider Chase's other cash-back Freedom card instead.

The no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through the Chase portal, 5% back on Lyft rides through March 2025, 3% cash back on dining and at drugstores, and 1.5% back on everything else with no limit. If you're a new cardholder you can currently earn $200 after spending $500 in the first three months from account opening. 

The trick of turning cash back into Chase Ultimate Rewards® points when you have another eligible Chase card works with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® too, so you could be earning at least 1.5x points on all your purchases — a very solid return on spending. Here's our Chase Freedom Unlimited review to learn more.