Depending on how you spend, you can earn a lot of money with Chase Freedom Flex℠. This card rewards changing categories throughout the year – such as purchases you make at wholesale clubs, grocery stores, or gas stations – in which you get a 5 percent refund (on purchases up to $1,500 per quarter after activation, then 1 percent) .
But that’s just one of the benefits of this cash back credit card. Chase Freedom Flex also offers solid cash rewards outside of the rotating categories, as well as an introductory APR offer and a simple welcome bonus. Let’s dive into the benefits of this card.
Chase Freedom Flex review
Chase Freedom Flex comes with many perks with no annual fees, meaning you don’t have to worry about accumulating enough rewards to cover your yearly expenses.
Freedom Flex also comes with a 0% starting annual interest rate on both purchases and balance transfers for 15 months.
And as for the welcome bonus, you will receive $200 in cash after you spend $500 on purchases with your card within the first three months of opening an account.
Awards
Freedom Flex offers cardholders the opportunity to receive a stable cash flow, as well as use a variety of ways to redeem earned rewards.
Receiving awards
You’ll earn 5% cashback on combined purchases up to $1,500 in the rotating bonus tiers every quarter, and 1% thereafter. You must activate your bonus categories every quarter to receive 5% cashback.
While each year may be different, the 2022 Chase Freedom bonus categories are as follows:
| Quarter (2022) | Bonus Category |
|---|---|
| January to March | |
| April to June |
|
| July to September |
|
| October to December |
|
Just remember that there is a cap on these 5 percent cashback purchases: you will only earn 5 percent on the first $1,500 you charge in these rotating categories. Once you reach this limit, you will receive a 1% refund on those purchases until the start of the next quarter.
You’ll also receive 5% cash back on ride purchases made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, 5% on Lyft rides through March 2025, 3% on restaurant and pharmacy purchases, and 1% on everything else.
Use of awards
The cashback you earn with Chase does not expire as long as you keep your account open. You also don’t need to earn a minimum cashback amount to redeem it.
You have several options for getting your cash back: get it as a credit statement or direct deposit into your checking or savings account, make a purchase on Amazon.com, get gift cards, or book a ride through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Travel Benefits
If you are a frequent traveler, Freedom Flex offers you several benefits. First, you will receive this 5% cashback whenever you book flights, book hotel rooms, or make other purchases through the Chase Portal.
The card also comes with trip cancellation/interruption insurance that pays out up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip at prepaid non-refundable rates if you must cancel or shorten your trip due to illness, bad weather, or other covered reasons .
And if you rely on travel companions, you can take advantage of a 5 percent cashback on all Lyft rides. Freedom Flex is offering this benefit until March 2025.
Shopping Benefits
Freedom Flex also offers shopping perks, including purchase protection. If you purchased a product with a card and it was damaged or stolen within 120 days, you can file one claim up to $500 and claims up to $50,000 per account. Chase Purchase Protection will either refund you or replace your damaged or stolen item.
The card also offers Extended Warranty Protection, which extends the US warranty on covered items by one more year. The initial warranty, however, should not exceed three years.
Enlargement of the Chase Freedom Flex card
The key to getting the most out of this card is to focus your spending on rotating categories each quarter. The more you spend in these categories, the more money you’ll earn (specifically up to $75 per quarter if you’re maxed out).
Because the Freedom Flex Card also provides a consistent 3% return on purchases made at restaurants or pharmacies, you can also maximize the value of this card if you regularly use it to shop at those locations.
Another way to get more out of this card? Pair it with a higher income Chase credit card such as Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. You can combine Freedom Flex Rewards with these other cards and increase the value of your Rewards when you book travel through the Chase Portal (25 percent when choosing Preferred and 50 percent when booking).
bottom line
Chase Freedom Flex is a good fit if the card’s rotating cashback categories fit your spending patterns—or if you’re looking for a cashback credit card with a solid introductory APR offer on purchases or balance transfers.
And when you pair this card with the high-paying Chase Travel Card, you can further increase the value of your Chase Points.
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