The Chase Freedom Fourth Quarter Bonus Categories for 2019 are PayPal, Department Stores and Chase Pay
The 2019 fourth quarter bonus categories for the Chase Freedom credit card have been announced and points/cash back earning for spend on those categories can now be activated.
Bonus Categories
Freedom’s fourth quarter bonus categories include:
- Department Stores
- Chase Pay
- PayPal
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 on the bonus categories will begin October 1, 2019, and run through December 31, 2019.
If you haven’t received your activation email yet, you can activate the fourth quarter categories here.
How to Play This Quarter’s Categories
Considering the holiday shopping period falls into this quarter, Department Stores and Chase Pay will make maximizing this quarter’s $1,500 spend fairly simple. PayPal, for those who know how to utilize it, can also be an easy way to earn 5x points/5% cash back on that $1,500 in spend.
Chase Pay
As I’ve mentioned in a few previous posts, we’re seeing more and more of an effort to get consumers familiar with using digital wallet systems. Which is exactly what Chase is doing by giving 5% cash back/5x Ultimate Rewards points on purchases made with Chase Pay.
Granted, Chase has announced it is doing away with its Chase Pay app, but that doesn’t mean Chase Pay itself is going away. Which may, or may not, be the reason we’re seeing it as a fourth quarter bonus category.
If you’re not familiar with Chase Pay, you can read more about it and sign up here.
All you need is a Chase credit card to which you can link the Chase Pay account and you’re good to go. Then, simply use Chase Pay online, or via the Chase Pay app (for a little while longer), to pay at establishments that accept Chase Pay.
You can see a listing of some of the merchants that accept Chase Pay here. Or check the Chase Pay app when you’re out and about to see places nearby at which Chase Pay can be used.
Additionally, Chase Pay can be an extremely lucrative bonus category if you have a Samsung smartphone. You see, Samsung Pay – another digital payment system – because of its different technology, is accepted at pretty much any credit card reader terminal. Meaning, you can pay with Samsung Pay at most retailers – grocery stores, gas stations (inside) drug stores, etc. – and Chase Pay and its credit cards (the Freedom in this case) can be linked to Samsung Pay so that the Chase credit card is used to make the payment.
You can read about linking Samsung Pay and Chase Pay if you’re interested at this link.
PayPal
I used to equate PayPal with eBay buying and selling, and not much else. Well, that’s changing. PayPal is similar to Chase Pay, and other mobile wallet payment systems, in that it is becoming more widely accepted as a payment method at a variety of merchants.
And, for a fee, you can send payments to others using PayPal. If your goal is to simply earn the full $75 cash back (or 7,500 Ultimate Rewards points) for the quarter via sending money, you’ll have to carefully consider the PayPal fees and how much they’ll eat into your “earnings.”
But, for no fee payments, more and more retailers are offering PayPal as a checkout option for payment. Just look for the PayPal logo when making an online purchase, and be sure your Chase Freedom card is loaded to your PayPal account as the payment method. And just like that, you’ll earn 5%/5x on your purchase.
Department Stores
The Department Stores category is pretty straight forward. And while less of U.S. consumers are actually visiting department stores to shop, online department store sales are still a thing, and every purchase using the Freedom card during the 4th quarter will earn 5% cash back or 5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent.
Chase does provide a listing of which stores fall into the Department Store category. The list can be viewed here. You’ll also be able to see a list of merchants that do not fall into the Department Store category.
Get the Freedom Card
The Chase Freedom card is a great – no-annual fee – way to earn cash back or the extremely valuable Ultimate Rewards points.
You can read our review of the Chase Freedom card here.
And use the link below to apply for the Chase Freedom card if you don’t already have it in your credit card arsenal. Applications approved via the link below will provide us with a referral bonus of Ultimate Rewards points. You don’t have to use our link to apply, but we appreciate when you do.
Chase Freedom credit card application link
Wrap Up
Chase is ending 2019 with a nice array of potentially lucrative bonus categories.
With the holiday season, the Department Stores category may be enough for some to max out the $1,500 spend and earn the full $75 cash back or 7,500 Ultimate Rewards points.
For those with a Samsung smartphone, linking Chase Pay will make that mobile wallet system an easy way to earn 5%/5x at pretty much any retailer.
And for those with a PayPal account, and especially those with the understanding to maximize PayPal spend, this category alone can earn the full cash back/Ultimate Rewards bonus amount.
No matter the bonus category used, I know I’ll be enjoying another chunk of Ultimate Rewards points being added to my stash come the end of the year.
How about you?
