As I’ve mentioned several times before, the Chase Freedom card is one of the most interesting cards in my wallet today. What makes the card interesting, for me, is that it’s a Cash Back credit card. Every single other card I carry (besides my old Bank of America card) is a point earning card. For that reason, the Chase Freedom card seems a bit out-of-place.
However, the reason I carry the Chase Freedom card and the reason I’ll keep it around for years to come is the 5% Cash Back quarterly bonus categories. That is, each quarter, Chase Freedom card holders earn 5% Cash Back on eligible purchases made within the quarterly bonus categories. This benefit is capped to just the first $1,500 of quarterly spend, but that’s still up to $75 in cash back quarterly.
The only catches to this benefit is that each quarter the bonus categories change. Additionally, all card holders must register for the benefit each quarter. That being said, registering is easy and most bonus categories are usable which means it’s not too difficult to maximize this benefit each quarter.
Chase Freedom Q2’19 5% Cash Back Bonus Category
One of the things I love about the Chase Freedom card’s 5% cash back bonus categories is that they are fairly broad. Rarely have a seen a bonus category that I can’t use. Thankfully, Chase continued this tradition with the Q2’19 quarterly bonus categories.
For Q1’19 the Chase Freedom card offered 5% cash back on all qualifying Tolls and Drugstore purchases. For Q2’19 all Grocery Store and Home Improvement store purchases will qualify for 5% Cash Back. This benefit is valid for the first $1,500 of quarterly spend and then all subsequent spend earns just 1% cash back.
Additionally, per the Term and Conditions of the Q2’19 bonus, purchases at Wal-Mart and Target do not qualify. That’s fairly disappointing to see, but by no means prohibits me from maximizing this benefit.
Activate The Chase Freedom Q2’19 Quarterly Bonus
For those who carry the Chase Freedom card and still receive emails from Chase, you should find a one-click activation link in your inbox. The email I recently received began as follows.
Toward the bottom of the email is a 1-click activation link followed by some details on qualifying purchases and the terms and conditions of the 5% cash back quarterly benefits.
At the very bottom of the 5% cash back activation reminder was even more detail about qualifying merchants.
This bottom section also contained a second 1-click activation link. After clicking either one of the activation links Chase redirects you to an activation confirmation page and you’re all set.
Just remember that by registering now you are only registering for he Q2’19 5% cash back quarterly benefit. You will have to repeat the process again later in the year for both Q3, Q4, and beyond.
Finally, if you did not receive an activation link, you can also activate the benefit from your Chase Freedom 5% cash back activation page.
Final Thoughts
With these quarterly 5% cash back categories it is important to always maximize the benefit each quarter. So far this year Chase has made this extremely easy to do so thanks to the broad category offerings. For Q1 I don’t typically spend $1,500 a quarter on Tolls or Gas, but I do sometimes buy gift cards from gas stations…
Likewise in Q2 I’ll most likely have to make a few gift card purchases to maximize this benefit. Once I maximize the benefit, $1,500 quarterly spend, I’ll have to then shift my grocery store spending back to the American Express Gold Card.
Finally, as a simple reminder, Chase Freedom Cash Back “points” are transferable to the Chase Ultimate Rewards program provided you also maintain an Ultimate Rewards Credit Card. For example, as long as you carry the Chase Sapphire (Preferred/Reserve) card you can transfer Chase Freedom points to your UR account.
Once in your account you can then use those points for airline transfers, etc. In this case, if you maximize the benefit you can earn up to 7,500 bonus points quarterly which I value at about $112.5 which is a bit better than the $75 of cash you would get back otherwise.
