Chase Freedom Flex℠ welcome bonus: $200 cash back after spending $500 + 5% gas and grocery offer in-branch

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You can earn a $200 cash back welcome offer after spending $500 on a new Chase Freedom Flex℠ card within the first 3 months, but you can get an extra 5% gas and grocery offer if you apply in a Chase branch.

• When you apply online, you can earn a welcome offer of $200 cash back after spending $500 within the first 3 months you have the card.
• If you apply in-branch, you can earn 5% cash back (4 bonus points per dollar) on your first $12,000 of combined gas and grocery spending, during your first year of having the card. (We confirmed this offer is still available in-person on April 24, 2024.)

The in-branch offer matches the best-ever new cardmember offer on this card. Here’s what you need to know about the Chase Freedom Flex welcome bonuses.

In-branch 5% gas and grocery Freedom Flex℠ welcome offer

By far the best Freedom Flex℠ welcome bonus can be found through Chase’s current in-branch exclusive offer. The in-branch offer gives you $200 cash back after spending $500 within 3 months, plus 5% on up to $12k of grocery spending in your first year.

We confirmed this offer with a Chase banker in-branch on April 24, 2024. Here are the details of this offer:

• Earn $200 cash back after spending $500 in purchases within the first 3 months you have the card.
• In addition to the welcome bonus, earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.
• Grocery store purchases do not include purchases at Target® and Walmart®.

Here’s a photo of the offer sheet that was printed for me when I visited a Chase branch:

To get this offer, you’ll need to apply in-branch with a Chase banker. There’s no public end-date on this offer, but it could be pulled at any time.

The 5% bonus stacks with the Freedom Flex℠ quarterly categories

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this welcome bonus is how the 5% bonus on gas and groceries is awarded. You’ll earn 4 bonus points per dollar on top of the 1 base point you earn on purchases for the first $12,000 you spend on combined gas and grocery purchases in your first cardmember year.

When Chase features gas or groceries in its 5% rotating category bonuses, you’ll earn your 4 bonus points per dollar on top of the 5% you earn in bonus categories. This means you can get a total of 9% cash back on your gas and groceries if your spending qualifies for both the welcome bonus and the quarterly bonus.

And this isn’t our speculation—this is spelled out in the terms and conditions. We published an article on this 9% cash back stack with the details and a screenshot of the terms and conditions of the 5% bonus.

Online Chase Freedom Flex℠ welcome bonus

Here are the details on the online Chase Freedom Flex℠ welcome bonus. But if the in-branch offer is still available, and you can get to a Chase branch, you should apply for the in-branch offer instead.

My take on the Chase Freedom Flex℠ welcome bonuses

The in-branch 5% gas and grocery offer is by far the best welcome offer we’ve ever seen on the Chase Freedom Flex℠. Normally, you can get $200 after $500 spent on the card within 3 months, so this is extra cash back on top of that offer. Chase has previously run grocery-only or gas-only versions of this welcome bonus on both this card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

This offer is similar to the current Chase Freedom Unlimited in-branch welcome offer, but I like the 5% bonus on gas and grocery spending on the Chase Freedom Flex best because it stacks with the quarterly categories. If I didn’t have this card already, I’d be making a beeline to a Chase branch… actually, I would probably have applied during my last visit when I checked that the offer is still available.

The current $200 bonus after $500 of spending is the standard offer on the Chase Freedom Flex℠ card. It isn’t nearly as good as the 5% gas and grocery offer, so if you can go into the branch to get the better offer, you should.

My verdict: The $200 after $500 plus 5% gas and grocery offer you’ll find in-branch is the best-ever new cardmember welcome offer on this card. If you live anywhere near a Chase branch, you should apply for the card with the in-branch exclusive offer.

A few notes on applying for Chase cards

• 5/24 rule. Chase generally won’t approve you if your credit report is showing 5 or more new credit card accounts opened in the last 24 months. This rule is knows as the 5/24 rule. If you’re unsure if you are “under 5/24” you should check your 5/24 status before applying for a Chase card. Note that recently this rule seems to have softened, especially for Ink cards. See our coverage about Chase 5/24 for more.
• Only one Sapphire-branded card. You can only hold one Chase Sapphire-branded card at a time. This means you can have either a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, but not both.
• You can get a welcome bonus on a Chase card, even if you’ve had the card previously. How often you can earn a welcome bonus on a Chase card varies by card family.
  • Most cards allow you to earn a welcome bonus if it has been at least 24 months since your last received a welcome bonus on the same card.
  • Chase Sapphire-branded cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can only earn a welcome bonus once every 48 months. (We published a separate article to help you determine if you can get a Sapphire welcome bonus.)
  • Marriott cards have their own special rules.
• Chase will match an increased bonus. If you apply for a Chase card and the bank offers a higher bonus within 90 days, you can send Chase a secure message or call them to have your welcome offer matched.
• In-branch offers are sometimes better. Chase sometimes has better credit card welcome offers in-branch than it will publish on its own website or through affiliate networks. Check all channels to make sure you’re getting the best bonus.
• Chase business cards do not report to personal credit reports and do not impact your 5/24 status as long as they are current.

Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.