Last chance to activate this quarter’s bonus categories on Freedom cards – The Points Guy

Holiday shoppers, rejoice — at the start of October, Chase Freedom brought back PayPal and Walmart as eligible merchants for the fourth quarter bonus categories for the third year in a row.

Chase Freedom (no longer available to new applicants) and Chase Freedom Flex℠ cardmembers can activate 5% cash back (or 5 points per dollar) on the PayPal and Walmart Q4 bonus categories. The bonus-earning Q4 window is live and runs through Dec. 31.

But this is your last chance if you haven’t activated your Q4 categories yet. Cardholders must activate by Dec. 14 to take advantage of them.

After activation, cardmembers can earn 5% back (or 5 points per dollar spent) on up to $1,500 of spending in these categories during the eligible quarter, and 1% (or 1 point per dollar spent) after that.

With prices for everything from food to goods continuing to rise, earning cash back on everyday purchases from Walmart and through PayPal is a great way to stretch your dollar during a high-spend time of year. You can complete your purchases with PayPal at a wide variety of merchants, from Apple and Delta Air Lines to Home Depot and Zara.

Here’s how it all works.

From Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2022, Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Flex cardmembers can earn 5% cash back (or 5 points per dollar) on spending in the following categories:

As noted above, you have to activate your card to unlock the bonus-earning potential in these categories.

Thankfully, it’s simple to complete this process online through your Chase account — with your last name, last four digits of your card and ZIP code. Registration is open until Dec. 14.

Whether booking travel to grocery shopping, everyone has felt the pinch of inflation this year. As we look to potentially spend more this holiday season, the PayPal and Walmart bonus categories are sure to help us make the most of our increased spending.

Here are the bonus details:

• PayPal: Cardmembers will automatically earn 5% cash back (or 5 points per dollar) on eligible purchases made when checking out with PayPal at tens of millions of online businesses.
• Walmart: Cardmembers will automatically earn 5% cash back (or 5 points per dollar) when shopping for gifts, groceries and more when shopping at Walmart or on Walmart.com.

Note that purchases made using PayPal at Walmart will only earn a total of 5% cash back (or 5 points per dollar). Be sure to review the entire terms and exclusions to make sure you understand whether your purchase will qualify for the bonus.

The categories tend to repeat periodically — for instance, grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations are all common categories that you’ll notice frequently pop up on the cash-back calendar. So depending on the categories and whether you can maximize them, these two cards can offer quite a nice chunk of cash back or bonus points over the course of a year.

Related: Check out our full Chase Freedom Flex card review

How much cash back can I earn each quarter?

Chase limits the 5% back (or 5 points per dollar) to the first $1,500 spent in combined bonus categories each quarter you activate the bonus.

While that may not sound like a lot, that cash back adds up over time. Maximizing the cash-back categories each quarter, you’ll earn $75 in cash back quarterly and up to $300 per year. For a no-annual-fee credit card, that’s a lot of value.

Alternatively, since the cash back you earn comes in the form of Ultimate Rewards points, you’re looking at a potential of up to 30,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards earned each year. If you also have a premium product, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you can combine the Ultimate Rewards points you earn with your Chase Freedom or Freedom Flex card with those you earn from your more premium Ultimate Rewards-earning card, and they become fully transferable.

In that case, TPG values Chase points at 2 cents apiece, so the 30,000 you can earn in a year would be worth more like $600.

How do I activate my 5% categories each quarter?

You can head over to Chase’s site to activate your 5% cash back (or 5 points per dollar) for this quarter. You can also register through your Chase mobile app, making one less credit card website you’ll need to visit regularly this year.

Here’s how to register:

1. Head to the Chase bonus activation page or log in to your Chase account.
2. Enter your last name, the last four digits of your card number and your billing ZIP code. If you don’t have your card on hand, log in to your Chase account to retrieve these digits.
3. Click “Activate your 5%” to register.
4. If you have multiple Chase Freedom cards, make sure to register each one.
5. Save a screenshot of your activation, just in case there are any issues later — though you should also receive a “You’re Activated!” confirmation email.

Can I have both the Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Flex to double my earning potential?

Yes, you can have both cards. So if you already have the Chase Freedom and want to add the Chase Freedom Flex to your wallet, you’re free to do so. Just keep in mind that the original Freedom card is no longer open to new applicants.

But if you’d rather only have one, the Freedom Flex is available as a product change.

And of course, you’ll also want to make sure you’re eligible for a new Chase card.

How do I maximize my Freedom and Freedom Flex cards?

The most important thing is to make sure you activate your card to earn the 5% cash back (or 5 points per dollar) each quarter in the specific categories, and then actually use your card for purchases in those categories.

You can set up a recurring reminder in your calendar, or you can sign up for the TPG newsletter (we send out a reminder when it’s time to activate every quarter — plus tips and tricks for maximizing your card strategy and scoring some excellent award redemptions).

Better yet, paired with a Chase credit card that earns fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, the Chase Freedom Flex’s 5% cash back effectively becomes 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar, as you can learn all about in our guide detailing the “Chase Trifecta.”

In that case, you’ll be able to transfer the points earned with the Freedom Flex to Ultimate Rewards points and to travel partners like Southwest, Hyatt and United.

What are common bonus categories for the Freedom and Freedom Flex?

Of course, you’ll also want to make sure that you’ll potentially be able to maximize other bonus categories throughout the year. For reference, here are the previous Chase Freedom quarterly categories all the way back to 2012, so you can decide if common categories make sense for your spending patterns:

In addition to the rotating 5% cash back bonus categories, the Freedom Flex accrues 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% cash back on drugstores, 3% cash back on dining (including eligible delivery services) and 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases.

Official application link: Chase Freedom Flex with a sign-up bonus of $200 cash back after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Additional reporting by Emily Thompson, Stella Shon and Chris Dong.