Chase Brings Back 5% Grocery Offer for Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex
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Beginning July 1, 2021, new Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Chase Freedom Flex® card holders will once again earn 5% cash back at grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.
That's in addition to the existing bonus offered on both cards: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
This grocery bonus was previously offered for a limited time in September 2020, when the Chase Freedom Flex® first launched, but that promotion ended in January 2021.
Otherwise, there are no other changes to either card. Here’s how they compare:
Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Chase Freedom Flex® | Chase Freedom® | |
|---|---|---|---|
Offer for new cardholders: | Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back! | Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. | None — card is no longer accepting applications |
Rotating bonus categories: | None. | • 5% back on quarterly bonus categories that you activate, on up to $1,500 per quarter in spending. | |
Ongoing bonus categories: | • 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase. • 3% cash back at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services. • 3% cash back on drugstore purchases. | None. | |
Rewards on other purchases: | 1.5% cash back | 1% cash back | 1% cash back |
The Chase Freedom® still exists but is closed to new applicants.
The $0-annual-fee Chase Freedom Flex® recently announced its 5% rotating bonus categories for the third quarter of 2021. From July 1 to Sept. 30, 2021, cardholders will earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined spending on:
Grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart).
Select streaming services (including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube TV).
The fact that grocery stores are a 5% category for the quarter is a bit of an overlap, but this allows existing card holders who aren’t part of the 12-month promotion to earn a higher amount on groceries for a shorter period of time. Plus, new Chase Freedom Flex® cardholders can earn both bonuses at the same time, meaning they earn up to 9% cash back at grocery stores for the quarter — it’s not 10% back because the bonus is 4% on top of the baseline 1% back, so you earn 5% for the year plus and extra 4% for the quarter. Here are 2021’s rotating 5% categories so far:
Chase Freedom® and Chase Freedom Flex® bonus rewards categories for 2024 | |
|---|---|
Q1 (Jan. 1-March 31) |
|
Q2 (April 1-June 30) |
|
Q3 (July 1-Sept. 30) |
|
Q4 (Oct. 1-Dec. 31) |
|
*Includes bookings made directly with the hotel and prepaid bookings through Chase's travel portal. | |
As always, you need to activate the categories online or in the Chase app by Sept. 14 in order to receive the 5% rewards for all eligible purchases during the quarter (including purchases you made before activating).
Benefits of both cards
The Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® (which also has a $0 annual fee) both earn a sign-up bonus: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
They also offer 0% intro APR on purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 19.74%-28.49% Variable APR. Additionally, you’ll earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides through March 2025.
The information related to the Chase Freedom® credit card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.
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