The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is Chase’s take on the 5% rotating category card, offering increased rewards in limited-time categories that are announced quarterly. The Freedom Flex has no annual fee.
The Freedom Flex offers 5% back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter in rotating bonus quarterly categories. Categories have historically included purchases at grocery stores, Amazon.com, gas stations and big box retailers. In addition, the card offers 3% cash back on restaurants and drugstore purchases and 1% cash back on everything else. All rewards are earned as Ultimate Rewards points, but can be redeemed for cash back.
In addition to cash back rewards, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers a generous suite of benefits for a card with no annual fee. The card protects your purchases with Purchase Protection, Extended Warranty Protection, and Cell Phone Protection and it offers protection for your travels with secondary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
Get the Chase Freedom Flex℠ welcome bonus
Chase Freedom Flex℠: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus get a 5% gas and grocery offer up to $600 cash back. (Earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.)
Our take on the welcome bonus: This is the best offer we’ve seen on this card. Getting a $200 bonus after spending $500 on the card is good, but getting five percent cash back on up to $12,000 of spending on gas and groceries makes this card both one of the best gas cards and one of the best grocery cards for new cardmembers.
The link above is a referral link. Someone on our team may earn points if you apply and are approved to the link above.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% in rotating categories (up to $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter); 5% travel through Chase; 3% dining; 3% drugstore; 1% all other purchases
Chase Freedom Flex℠ at a glance
Here’s what you need to know about the Chase Freedom Flex℠.
Rewards
| Travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® | 5% | |
| Lyft rides through March 31, 2025 | 5% | |
| Rotating categories. On up to $1,500 of combined spending each quarter, when you activate. | 5% | |
| Dining at restaurants, including eligible takeout and delivery | 3% | |
| Drugstore purchases | 3% | |
| All other purchases | 1% |
Rewards are earned as Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, which can be redeemed for cash back at one cent per point. You can get more than one cent per point of value from Ultimate Rewards if you hold an additional premium credit card. See below for more details.
Benefits
| Consumer insurance benefits Purchase protection Chase extended warranty protection Cell phone protection | |
| Travel benefits Secondary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance Trip cancellation/interruption insurance | |
| Third-party merchant benefits Complimentary 3 months of DashPass Complimentary 3 months of Instacart+ |
Other important terms
| Annual fee: $0 | |
| Foreign transaction fee: 3% |
Welcome bonus
Get the Chase Freedom Flex℠ welcome bonus
Chase Freedom Flex℠: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus get a 5% gas and grocery offer up to $600 cash back. (Earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.)
Our take on the welcome bonus: This is the best offer we’ve seen on this card. Getting a $200 bonus after spending $500 on the card is good, but getting five percent cash back on up to $12,000 of spending on gas and groceries makes this card both one of the best gas cards and one of the best grocery cards for new cardmembers.
The link above is a referral link. Someone on our team may earn points if you apply and are approved to the link above.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% in rotating categories (up to $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter); 5% travel through Chase; 3% dining; 3% drugstore; 1% all other purchases
Chase Freedom Flex℠ rewards
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers everyday rewards in bonus categories, plus 5% cash back rewards on quarterly rotating categories. Here’s what you need to know about the Chase Freedom Flex℠ card’s rewards.
Rotating category rewards
When you make qualifying purchases in rotating categories with your Chase Freedom Flex℠ card, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in category spending each quarter.
In order to earn increased rewards, you must activate your Chase Freedom Flex card on Chase’s website each quarter. Chase typically sends a reminder email to cardmembers that allows you to activate your bonus categories with one click.
See below for more on this quarter’s category rewards.
Ongoing category rewards of the Chase Freedom Flex℠
In addition to rotating category rewards, Chase offers ongoing rewards on the Chase Freedom Flex℠ card:
Travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards: 5% cash back
Lyft rides: 5% cash back (through March 31, 2025)
Dining, including eligible takeout and delivery: 3% cash back
Drugstore purchases: 3% cash back
All other purchases: 1% cash back
How to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points
The Chase Freedom Flex card earns its cash back rewards as Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can always redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards for cash back rewards at 1 cent per point, but you can easily increase the value you get from the points by pairing this card with a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards card to unlock transfers to travel partners and cash-equivalent redemptions that offer value of 1.5 cents per point.
2023 Chase Freedom cash back category overview
Chase has announced its fourth quarter bonus categories for 2023. Here is the complete cash back calendar for the Chase Freedom card for 2023.
| Q1 2023 January – March | Q2 2023 April – June | Q3 2023 July – September | Q4 2023 October – December |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery Stores, Target, Fitness Clubs & Gym Memberships | Lowe’s, Amazon.com | Gas stations, EV charging, select live entertainment | PayPal, Wholesale Clubs, and Select Charities |
Fourth quarter, 2023 category bonuses
The fourth quarter Chase Freedom 2023 category bonuses include warehouse purchases, PayPal and select charities. Here’s what Chase includes within each of these categories.
PayPal– Includes purchases made using your Chase Freedom card with PayPal. Purchases made using PayPal at merchants in the current 5% quarterly categories will be awarded a total of 5% Cash Back rewards. Must have/open a PayPal account. Payments made through the Xoom transfer service are not eligible for 5%. Please note, Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions made with your Chase Freedom card on PayPal may be prohibited or not eligible for 5%.
Wholesale club purchases – Merchants in this category operate warehouse-style retail stores, sell in bulk, and concentrate on price appeal. These merchants sell a full range of household goods and merchandise, groceries, furniture, electronics, appliances, and auto supplies. These merchants may or may not have membership requirements. Delivery service merchants will be included if they classify as a wholesale club merchant. Gas, fuel, wholesale specialty service purchases such as travel, insurance, cell phone and home improvement will not qualify in this category. Mastercard not accepted at Costco warehouses or at gas stations.
Select charities – Chase provides a list of charities included in the “select charities” category. Here is the list:
- American Red Cross
- Equal Justice Initiatives
- Feeding America
- Habitat for Humanity
- International Medical Corps
- International Rescue Committee
- Leadership Conference Education Fund
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
- National Urban League
- Thurgood Marshall College Fund
- United Negro College Fund
- UNICEF USA
- United Way
- World Central Kitchen
- GLSEN
- Out and Equal
- Sage
Making your Freedom Flex℠ Rewards more valuable
Cards that increase the value of your Freedom Flex℠ rewards
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ card is marketed as a cash back rewards card, but behind the scenes, the card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. Some Ultimate Rewards cards offer the ability to transfer points to travel partners or redeem them for increased value for travel.
Because Ultimate Rewards® points can be transferred between your Chase cards, if you hold one of these other cards, you can increase the value of the points you earn with your Chase Freedom Flex℠. Here are the cards that can increase the value of your Chase Ultimate Rewards.
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | Annual fee: $95 | Annual fee: $550 | Annual fee: $95 Small business card. |
 |  |  | |
| Point transfers to travel transfer partners | |||
| Point redemptions for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards | 1 point = 1.25 cents of travel | 1 point = 1.5 cents of travel | 1 point = 1.25 cents of travel |
Ultimate Rewards® cards that compliment your Freedom Flex℠
Cards that earn bonus points and cash back in categories where the Freedom Flex℠ earns only 1% rewards can help increase the total amount of rewards you earn. You can compliment your Chase Freedom Flex℠ card with cards that earn Ultimate Rewards® points. Or you can look at cards from other banks that earn increased rewards on gas, cash back on groceries, bonuses on other rotating categories, or even 2% everywhere.
Personal Ultimate Rewards® credit cards
Here are Chase’s personal credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards® points and what they earn in each category:
| Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Chase Freedom Flex℠ | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | | | |
| Dining | 3x | 3x | 3x | 3x 10x on Chase Dining |
| Drugstores | 3x | 3x | ||
| Groceries (Online) | 3x | |||
| Streaming (Select providers) | 3x | |||
| Travel – Chase Ultimate Rewards | 5x | 5x | 5x | 5x on airfare. 10x on hotels and car rentals. |
| Travel – Lyft* | 5x* | 5x* | 5x* | 10x* |
| Travel – All other travel purchases | 2x | 3x | ||
| Rotating Categories c | 5xc | |||
| Everywhere Else | 1.5x | 1x | 1x | 1x |
c Bonus earning caps apply to these categories
- Chase Freedom Flex℠ Rotating Categories. The Chase Freedom Flex℠ card earns 5x in categories that rotate quarterly. You can earn 5x on up to $1,500 of combined spending each quarter, then 1x.
* Limitations apply to these categories.
- Travel – Lyft. Earn bonus cash back and points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025.
Small Business Ultimate Rewards® credit cards
If you’re a small business owner, you can combine your Ultimate Rewards® points across both your personal and business cards. Here are Chase’s small business credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards® points and what they earn in each category:
| Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card | Ink Business Cash® Credit Card | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category Name |  |  | |
| Advertising with select social media and search engines c | 3xc | ||
| Dining c | 2xc | ||
| Gas stations c | 2xc | ||
| Office supplies* | 5xc | ||
| Internet, cable and phone services c | 5xc | 3xc | |
| Shipping | 5xc | ||
| Travel – Lyft* | 5x | 5x | 5x |
| Travel – All other travel purchases | 3xc | ||
| Everywhere Else | 1.5x | 1x | 1x |
c Bonus earning caps apply to these categories
- Ink Business Cash Card – Office supplies and internet, cable, and phone services. The Ink Business Cash earns 5x on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases in these categories each account anniversary year.
- Ink Business Cash Card – Gas stations and dining. The Ink Business Cash earn 2x on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. The Ink Business Preferred® earns 3x points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases across the following categories: Shipping purchases; advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines; internet, cable and phone services; and travel.
* Limitations apply to these categories.
- Travel – Lyft. Earn bonus cash back and points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025.
How to apply:
Get the Chase Freedom Flex℠ welcome bonus
Chase Freedom Flex℠: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus get a 5% gas and grocery offer up to $600 cash back. (Earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.)
Our take on the welcome bonus: This is the best offer we’ve seen on this card. Getting a $200 bonus after spending $500 on the card is good, but getting five percent cash back on up to $12,000 of spending on gas and groceries makes this card both one of the best gas cards and one of the best grocery cards for new cardmembers.
The link above is a referral link. Someone on our team may earn points if you apply and are approved to the link above.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% in rotating categories (up to $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter); 5% travel through Chase; 3% dining; 3% drugstore; 1% all other purchases
A few notes on applying for Chase cards
- 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. See our coverage about Chase 5/24 for more.
- 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.
- You can only hold one Chase Sapphire-branded card at a time.
- 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.
- Chase business cards do not report to personal credit reports as long as they are current.
Should you keep the Chase Freedom Flex℠ after the first year?
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ has an annual fee of $0. Even if you don’t use the card, keeping it open and occasionally putting spending on a no-annual-fee credit card can help you build your credit. However, there are still a number of reasons to keep the Chase Freedom Flex open. Here are the benefits that might make this card worth keeping after the first year.
- 5% cash back earning on rotating categories
- Increased earnings in bonus categories like travel, dining and drugstore purchases
- Purchase protection and extended warranty benefit
Benefits of the Chase Freedom Flex℠
In addition to earning rewards on a variety of bonus categories, the Chase Freedom Flex comes with a slate of additional benefits. Details on relevant benefits are below.
Consumer insurance benefits
Many cards offers consumer insurance benefits that can protect the things you buy. Terms and restrictions apply to all benefits.
Purchase protection – Purchase protection protects the things you buy with your card from damage or theft for a certain amount of time after you buy them. Chase purchase protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
Extended warranty – Extended warranty protection provides additional warranty coverage on items you purchase with your card. Chase extended warranty protection extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
Cellular telephone protection – Cell phone protection can cover the cost of repairing or replacing your phone if it is damaged or stolen when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card. Chase will cover up to two claims within 12 months, up to $800 per claim, and $1,000 per year, subject to a $50 deductible per claim.
Travel insurance benefits
Auto rental collision damage waiver – Car rental loss and damage insurance protects you against damage or theft to your rental vehicle. For coverage to apply, you need to reserve and pay for your vehicle using your card and decline your car rental company’s collision damage waiver. The coverage provided by your Chase Freedom Flex is secondary to your personal auto insurance. This means that you will be required to make a claim against your personal auto insurance before this policy will pay. Additional terms apply. See your card’s guide to benefits for details.
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance – Trip cancellation and interruption insurance can reimburse you for prepaid travel expenses if your trip is canceled or you must cut your trip short for a covered reason. Chase will cover up to $1,500 per person of prepaid, nonrefundable passenger fares, if your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations.