Depending on how you spend, you can earn plenty of cash back with the Chase Freedom Flexâ . This card rewards rotating categories throughout the year â such as charges you make at wholesale clubs, grocery stores or gas stations â in which youâll earn 5% cash back on your purchases.
But thatâs only one benefit of this cash back credit card. The Chase Freedom Flex card also offers solid cash back rewards outside the rotating 5% cash back categories, along with other perks, such as an introductory APR offer and an easy-to-reach welcome bonus. Let’s dive into this card’s benefits.
Chase Freedom Flex at a glance
The Chase Freedom Flex card comes with plenty of perks without charging an annual fee. You wonât have to worry about racking up enough rewards points, then, to cover the cost of owning this card.
The card also comes with 0% interest on all new purchases for the first 15 months after you open your account. After this intro period ends, the Freedom Flexâs regular variable APR of 14.99% to 24.74% will kick in.
The Freedom Flex also offers a welcome bonus. Youâll earn $200 cash back if you spend $500 on purchases with your card during the first three months of opening your account. Youâll also earn an automatic 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (excluding Target and Walmart) on up to $12,000 spent with the Chase Freedom Flex card during the first year of opening your account.
Rewards
The Freedom Flex offers cardholders the opportunity to earn a steady stream of cash back. Youâll also have plenty of ways to redeem the cash you earn.
Earning rewards
Youâll earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in rotating bonus categories each quarter. You must activate your bonus category each quarter to earn the 5% cash back.
Although each year may be different, the 2021 5% cash back calendar for the Chase Freedom Flex is as follows:
Quarter (2021) | Bonus category |
January through March |
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April through June |
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July through September |
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October through December |
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Just remember there is a limit on these 5% cash back purchases: Youâll only earn 5% on the first $1,500 you charge in these rotating categories. After you hit that limit, youâll earn 1% cash back on these purchases until the next quarter starts.
Youâll also earn 5% cash back on travel purchases made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and 3% when you use the card at restaurants, including for takeout and delivery services. The card also earns 3% on drugstore purchases and 1% on all other purchases.
Redeeming rewards
The cash back you earn with Chase does not expire as long as you keep your account open. You also donât need to earn a minimum amount of cash back to redeem it.
You have several options when redeeming your cash back. You can receive it as a statement credit or a direct deposit to your checking or savings account. You can also use your cash back to shop at Amazon.com, receive your bonus in the form of gift cards or use your cash back on travel purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Travel benefits
If you travel frequently, the Freedom Flex offers multiple perks for you. First, youâll earn that 5% cash back whenever you book flights, reserve hotel rooms or make other purchases through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
The card also comes with trip cancellation/interruption insurance. This perk pays out up to $1,500 a person and $6,000 a trip for prepaid, non-refundable fares if you must cancel or shorten your trip because of sickness, severe weather or other covered reasons.
And if you rely on ride-sharing services when traveling, you can take advantage of 5% cash back on all Lyft rides. The Freedom Flex is offering this perk through March 2022.
Shopping benefits
The Freedom Flex also comes with shopping perks, and offers purchase protection. If you purchase a product with the card and it is damaged or stolen within 120 days, you can file a single claim for up to $500 and claims of up to $50,000 per account. Chase will either reimburse you or replace the damaged or stolen item.
The card also offers extended warranty protection that extends the U.S. warranty of covered items by an additional year. The original warranty, though, must be three years or less.
Maximizing the Chase Freedom Flex card
The key to squeezing the most value out of this card is to focus your spending on the rotating 5% categories each quarter. The more you spend in these categories â whether the category for the quarter is purchases made at grocery stores, gas stations or on select streaming services â the more cash back youâll earn.
Because the Freedom Flex also provides a consistent 3% back on purchases made at restaurants or drugstores, you can also maximize the value of this card if you routinely use it to make purchases at these venues.
Another way to get more out of this card? Pair it with a higher-earning Chase travel-based credit card, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. You can pool the points you earn from the Freedom Flex with these other cards. Youâll earn more value for your points if you then redeem them through the Chase Ultimate Rewards online portal.
Bottom line
The Chase Freedom Flex is a good fit if the cardâs rotating 5% cash back categories match your spending patterns. And if you pair this card with a high-earning Chase travel card, you can maximize the value of your Chase points.
Source: creditcards.com