Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex Cards’ 2021 First Quarter Bonus Categories are Wholesale Clubs, Internet Cable and Phone and Select Streaming Services
The first quarter bonus categories for the Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex credit cards are out and points/cash back earning for spend on those categories can now be activated.
Bonus Categories
The Freedoms’ 2021 first quarter bonus categories include:
- Wholesale Clubs – Sam’s Club, Costco, etc.
- Internet, Cable and Phone Services
- Select Streaming Services
All purchases made in these categories earn 5% cash back – or my favorite, 5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent – on up to $1,500 in combined purchases.
Bonus earnings will begin January 1, 2021, and run through March 31, 2021.
If you haven’t received your activation email yet, you can activate the first quarter categories here.
Obviously, you can activate your fourth quarter bonus categories at any point between now and March 14, 2021, to ensure you earn the bonus cash back/Ultimate Rewards points. I usually get it out of the way as soon as it becomes available to make sure I don’t forget.
How to Play It
There really isn’t any strategy associated with the Internet/Cable/Phone Services and Streaming categories other than to make the Freedom/Freedom Flex card your payment method.
Yes, this can be somewhat time consuming if you don’t have some of these categories bundled…you’ll have to decide if changing your payment method is worth it for the upcoming three months.
And, it’s important to know what streaming services Chase will recognize for the 5%/5x earning. Chase’s terms state:
Merchants in the Select Streaming Services category specialize in delivering music and video content over the internet. Only subscription services paid for with the following select merchants will qualify for this offer: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube TV.
You can get details on all the categories at this Chase link.
Wholesale Clubs
Wholesale clubs, however, can be a way to expand the 5%/5x earning outside of your general spend at those stores.
A somewhat off topic addition…we provide deals on how to get discounted, and sometimes free, memberships to wholesale clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco. Use one of these deals – if available – and you can economically join one of these clubs and take advantage of the bonus category this upcoming quarter. Scroll through our Saving Money category to find the latest posts on Sam’s Club and/or Costco membership deals.
Now, how to use wholesale clubs to earn 5%/5x at other retailers.
As many who follow Savings Beagle might guess…through buying gift cards.
Many of the wholesale clubs sell Visa/Mastercard gift cards, as well as third-party gift cards to select retailers and restaurants. And these gift cards can usually be bought at a small discount. Visa and Mastercard gift cards will have a discounted purchase fee from what you’d see at other gift card sellers.
A few examples:
Sam’s Club
- $200 Visa Gift Card ($6.48 fee – typically $6.99 elsewhere)
- $25 Starbucks Gift Card for $24.48
- $45 Panera Gift Card for $42.78
The other wholesale clubs likely sell a wide variety of gift cards – some in-store and some online – that can be used to boost your 5%/5x spend this quarter.
Then, use the gift cards at retailers you were going to buy from anyway and every dollar you spend with the gift cards you purchased is giving you 5% back or 5x Ultimate Rewards points, whichever way you like to look at it.
The New Freedom Flex Card
Chase has introduced a really nice cash back/points earning card with its newest Freedom card. Here are the earning specifics.
- Earn 5% on up to $1,500 on combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants including takeout and eligible delivery services
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1% on all other purchases
And, for a limited time, the Chase Freedom Flex credit card comes with a $200 sign-up bonus after $500 is spent on the card within the first 3 months from card approval.
An additional sign-up bonus is the ability to earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 in spend in the first year from card approval.
This makes the Freedom Flex card a really enticing card to hold and spend on regularly. You can get details and apply at this link (referral link).
Wrap Up
The 2021 Q1 bonus categories for the Chase Freedom and new Chase Freedom Flex cards are Wholesale Clubs, Internet, Cable and Phone as well as Select Streaming Services.
Most everybody can benefit with at least a few of these categories the first three months of 2021.
Granted, they’re not huge spend categories…maybe $300 or so for the telecommunications categories each month if you’re a deal person…but that still gets close to 2/3 of the quarterly spend. Not too bad.
And if you’re a wholesale club member, you likely can easily hit the $1,500 quarterly max when it’s coupled with the other categories either through regular shopping or by adding some gift cards to your list.
Overall, not a bad quarter for those looking to max out their Freedom and Freedom Flex cards’ bonus categories.
