SOME CARD INFO MAY BE OUTDATED
This page includes information about these cards, currently unavailable on NerdWallet. The information has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been provided or reviewed by the card issuer.
The Chase Freedom Flex® isn't necessarily the easiest credit card to manage, but it offers great rewards for those willing to put in a little work.
The card earns 5% cash back in categories that change every three months. You have to "activate" the categories each time in order to qualify for the 5% rewards rate, and you earn the 5% only on the first $1,500 spent in the category per quarter. Below is the current Chase 5% calendar.
In addition to these rotating 5% categories, the Chase Freedom Flex® earns:
- 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase.
- 3% at restaurants.
- 3% at drugstores.
- 1% on other purchases.
An earlier version of the card, the Chase Freedom®, has the same 5% quarterly categories, with the same activation requirement and the same $1,500 quarterly cap on spending eligible for the 5%. However, this version does not have the 5% and 3% rewards on travel, restaurants and drugstores. All other spending with this card earns 1%. (The original Chase Freedom® is no longer accepting applications, but existing cardholders can continue to use it.)
Chase 5% categories calendar
| Chase Freedom® and Chase Freedom Flex® bonus rewards categories for 2026 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Q1 (Jan. 1-March 31) |
| |
| Q2 (April 1-June 30) |
| |
| Q3 (July 1-Sept. 30) | TBD. (In 2025: Gas/EV charging; live entertainment; Instacart.) | |
| Q4 (Oct. 1-Dec. 31) | TBD. (In 2025: Chase Travel℠; department stores; Old Navy. December only: PayPal.) | |
Chase 5% calendars from years past
Chase typically doesn't reveal its 5% categories until the month before they take effect. So you usually won't know the categories for, say, the third quarter (July, August, September) until the middle of June.
You can get a sense of what might be ahead by looking at categories from recent years, since Chase commonly repeats categories from one year to the next. Below are the categories going back to 2014.
The lineup has evolved over time. Restaurants used to be a 5% category every year, for example, then disappeared from the list from 2017 to 2023 (possibly related to restaurants becoming a "permanent" 3% category on the Chase Freedom Flex®). Meanwhile, for a couple of years, Chase used the 5% categories to try to nudge people into adopting its (now defunct) Chase Pay digital wallet app. More recently, fitness clubs and gym memberships have been a first-quarter category as Chase looked to get the new year's resolution crowd to put those recurring payments on its cards.
2024 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2024 bonus categories
- Q1: Grocery stores; fitness clubs and gym memberships; self-care and spa services.
- Q2: Select hotel bookings (directly with hotel or prepaid through Chase); restaurants; Amazon.com.
- Q3: Gas stations and EV charging; select live entertainment; movie theaters.
- Q4: McDonald's; PayPal; Pet shops and vet services; select charities.
2023 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2023 bonus categories
- Q1: Grocery stores; Target; fitness clubs and gym memberships.
- Q2: Amazon.com; Lowe's.
- Q3: Gas stations and electric vehicle charging; select live entertainment.
- Q4: PayPal; select charities; wholesale clubs.
2022 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2022 bonus categories
- Q1: Grocery stores; eBay.
- Q2: Amazon.com; select streaming services.
- Q3: Gas stations; car rentals; movie theaters; select live entertainment.
- Q4: Walmart; PayPal.
2021 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2021 bonus categories
- Q1: Wholesale clubs; select streaming services; internet, cable and phone services.
- Q2: Gas stations; home improvement stores.
- Q3: Grocery stores; select streaming services.
- Q4: Walmart; PayPal.
2020 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2020 bonus categories
- Q1: Gas stations; select streaming services; internet, cable and phone services.
- Q2: Grocery stores; gym memberships and fitness clubs; select streaming services.
- Q3: Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market.
- Q4: Walmart; PayPal.
2019 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2019 bonus categories
- Q1: Gas stations; tolls; drugstores.
- Q2: Home improvement stores; grocery stores.
- Q3: Gas stations; select streaming services.
- Q4: Department stores; PayPal and Chase Pay.
2018 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2018 bonus categories
- Q1: Gas stations; internet, cable and phone services; purchases via Chase Pay, Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay.
- Q2: Grocery stores, PayPal, Chase Pay.
- Q3: Gas stations, Lyft, Walgreens.
- Q4: Department stores, wholesale clubs, Chase Pay.
2017 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2017 bonus categories
- Q1: Gas stations, local commuter transportation.
- Q2: Grocery stores, drugstores.
- Q3: Restaurants, movie theaters.
- Q4: Walmart, department stores.
2016 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2016 bonus categories
- Q1: Gas stations, local commuter transportation.
- Q2: Grocery stores, wholesale clubs.
- Q3: Restaurants, wholesale clubs.
- Q4: Department stores, wholesale clubs.
2015 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2015 bonus categories
- Q1: Grocery stores, movie theaters, Starbucks.
- Q2: Restaurants, Bed Bath & Beyond, H&M, Overstock.com.
- Q3: Gas stations, Kohl's.
- Q4: Amazon.com, Audible.com, Diapers.com, Zappos.com.
(Note: In a special promotion offered in the fourth quarter of 2015 only, the $1,500 quarterly limit on spending eligible for bonus rewards was reset on Nov. 23, meaning that Chase Freedom® cardholders got a "fresh" $1,500 to spend for bonus cash back. Further, from Nov. 23 to Dec. 31 of that year, Amazon.com spending earned 10% cash back, rather than 5%.)
2014 Chase 5% calendar
Chase 2014 bonus categories
- Q1: Grocery stores, movie theaters, Starbucks.
- Q2: Restaurants, Lowe's.
- Q3: Gas stations, Kohl's.
- Q4: Amazon.com, Zappos.com, select department stores.
How to activate Chase 5% categories
Categories become available for activation around the 15th of the month before the quarter starts — around Dec. 15 for the first quarter, March 15 for the second quarter, June 15 for the third quarter, and Sept. 15 for the fourth quarter.
To activate the category, log in to Chase on the web or go to the Chase mobile app:
- On the web, after signing in, select the account for your card. Click the "5% cash back" link, and activate the category.
- On the app, after signing in, tap the account for your card, scroll down to the "5% cash back" section, and activate the category.
You have until the 14th day of the last month of the quarter to activate the categories. Activation is retroactive, so as long as you activate by the deadline, you'll get the 5% for all eligible spending during the quarter.
» Find a card: Best cash-back credit cards
• • •
The information related to Chase Freedom® credit card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.
