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Another quarter, another chance for CardName and Chase Freedom® cardholders to rack up 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories. If you have either of these cards in your wallet, don’t miss out on the opportunity to earn up to $75 in additional cash back.
Note: Chase Freedom® is no longer accepting new applications, but existing cardholders are still eligible to earn in the bonus categories. Information about Chase Freedom® and Chase Freedom FlexSM has been collected by CardRatings and has not been provided or approved by the issuer of the card.
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What are the Chase quarterly rewards categories for the second quarter of 2024?
From April-June 2024, Chase will award 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in total purchases made across three categories: Amazon.com, hotels, and restaurants.
Within each category, there are certain inclusions and exclusions.
Amazon.com
- Purchases made at Amazon.com including digital downloads, Amazon.com gift cards, Amazon Fresh orders, Amazon Prime subscriptions, and items sold by third-party merchants through Amazon.com’s marketplace
- Whole Food Market (including physical Whole Foods Market and Whole Foods Market 365 stores, and on www.wholefoodsmarket.com
- The Amazon.com category does not include purchases from merchants using Amazon Pay, purchases made at international Amazon retail sites, and any other websites operated by Amazon
- It also does not include purchases of Whole Foods Market or Whole Food Market 365 products or services through third-party sites such as Instacart or Shipt
Hotels
- Merchants in this category include hotels and motels, and many smaller establishments like bed & breakfasts, and inns
- Hotel accommodations not booked directly with the hotel will not qualify; for example, hotel accommodations purchased through travel agencies, discount travel sites, vacation clubs, tour operators, or as part of a package offered by merchants such as cruise lines and railways
- Points will not be earned until charges are posted to your account
- Purchases other than your room bill on the hotel premises will not be included in the category unless they classify as a hotel merchant; for example, restaurant or entertainment purchases
Restaurants
- This category’s merchants’ primary business is sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast food restaurants and fine dining establishments
- Merchants that sell food and drinks located within facilities such as sports stadiums, hotels and casinos, theme parks, grocery and department stores will not be included in this category unless the merchant has set up such purchases to be classified in a restaurant category
- Bakeries, caterers, meal kit delivery services, and gift card merchants are not included in the category – Delivery and takeout services will be included if they classify as a restaurant merchant
Ultimately, whether a purchase qualifies for bonus cash back depends largely on the merchant code assigned to a business.
Chase 5% cash back calendar
The entire Chase 5% cash back calendar for 2024 hasn’t been revealed yet – each category will be announced before the start of the new quarter. However, we can look back at the 2023 categories to get an idea of what the future might hold.
2023 Chase 5% cash back calendar
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
2023:
Grocery Stores (excluding Walmart), Target, fitness clubs and gym memberships
Lowe’s and Amazon.com
Gas stations, EV charging and select live entertainment
PayPal, wholesale clubs and select charities
You’ll earn 5% back on the first $1,500 in combined spending on purchases in the bonus categories during each quarter. After that, you’ll earn 1% cash back on any additional spending.
This bonus cash back is in addition to the other great rewards offered by the CardName. Those are:
- 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 3% cash back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
How to activate Chase Freedom cash-back categories
In order to earn 5% cash back on each quarter’s bonus categories, you’ll need to activate the offer. Doing so is easy, though. Chase offers numerous ways to activate the bonus categories:
- Through your online account or the Chase bonus activation page
- In the Chase mobile app
- Via an email sent by Chase before the start of each new quarter
- By calling the number on the bank of your card
- At any Chase bank location
- When making a cash withdrawal at an ATM
The deadline for activating the Q2 2024 categories is June 14, 2024. Once you have activated the offer, all eligible purchases from the quarter will receive the bonus cash back.
While you are activating your Chase categories, don’t forget to also do so in your Discover account if you have an eligible card. Discover also has quarterly bonus categories that must be activated.
How to redeem Chase credit card rewards
Once you have earned cash back – whether from the quarterly bonus categories or regular spending – you have several options for redemption:
- Cash: Use your cash back as a statement credit or have it deposited into your bank account.
- Shopping: Cash back can be used to make purchases at Amazon.com.
- Gift cards: Choose from gift cards for a variety of merchants.
- Travel: Cash back can be used to pay for travel booked through Chase Travel℠.
Chase Freedom offers the ability to combine rewards
One extra perk of the CardName is the ability to combine rewards with other Chase cards. That’s because CardName rewards accumulate as Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the same points that cardholders of the CardName, CardName, CardName and the Chase Ink family of small business cards earn.
By combining rewards from multiple cards, you can maximize their value. For example, CardName members enjoy 25% more value when they redeem their points for travel through Chase Travel, and CardName cardholders can take advantage of 50% more value when redeemed that way.
That means the points you earn with the Chase Freedom account could be worth more if you redeem them under your Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve account. For more info about making these points work for you, check out our Chase Ultimate Rewards® points guide.
