Chase Freedom is one of those credit cards that everyone should hold because it is probably one of the best no annual fee credit cards. The most appealing feature is not its sign up bonus, but it’s rolling 5X bonus categories every quarter. Here are some tips on maximizing Chase Freedom this quarter.
Chase Freedom 5X Activated!
As a reminder, you should activate your 5% rebate first here. This quarter is restaurants and Lowe’s, here’s a reminder of each quarter.
- Q1 (January 1 – March 31, 2014): Gas stations, movie theaters and Starbucks® stores
- Q2 (April 1 – June 30, 2014): Restaurants and Lowe’s® home improvement stores
- Q3 (July 1 – September 30, 2014): Gas stations and Kohl’s®
- Q4 (October 1 – December 31, 2014): Amazon.com, Zappos.com and select department stores
To maximize Chase Freedom this quarter I would:
- Offer to pay the restaurant bill, while others give you cash (or just treat them out!)
- Buy restaurant gift certificates to your favorite restaurants. As a bonus, sign up for United’s Mileageplus Dining program or AA’s Dining Program and get extra points plus keep your miles from expiring! My favorite restaurant gets 3X AA miles per dollar spent!
- Buy Amazon or gas gift cards at Lowes
- Buy tools and materials to fix your home/apartment from Lowes.
These are just some ways to maximize your Chase Freedom this quarter. Since we dine out a lot, I can usually reach my $1,500 cap to earn 7,500 when restaurants are 5X. As a last resort, I would buy restaurant gift cards to my favorite places if I don’t meet it.
I always transfer my Chase Freedom points to my Chase Ink credit cards and then transfer to airline miles or hotels. By using the triple threat of Chase Sapphire Preferred (or regular), Chase Ink, and Chase Freedom, you will be building up your Chase Ultimate Rewards balance quickly over time. Even though, United has slightly devalued, Chase Ultimate Rewards are still very useful and easily obtainable.
