[Points Posting] [Expired] Chase Freedom: Earn 5% On Your Top Category (Or 9% On PayPal) Up To $1,500 In Spend

Update 1/24/22: Points are posting now for this promo from Q4 2021.

Update 2: According to the media rep that originally sent us this offer this is only available to Freedom Flex cardholders and not vanilla Freedom cardholders. This seems to make sense as the offer only shows up on the Freedom Flex F.A.Q and not the vanilla Freedom F.A.Q.

Update: I’ve updated to make post clearer and to try and answer a few F.A.Q’s. Very possible some information is still inaccurate as this promotion isn’t exactly clear. It might make sense to wait a few days until we can get all of the questions answered and the promotion is clear.

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Chase is offering Freedom cardholders 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in total spend on the category they spend the most in from October 1 – December 31, 2021. If this category already earns 5% from the rotating categories you’ll earn 9% total cash back. You must be enrolled in the rotating categories offer to be eligible for this bonus.

The Fine Print

• This offer is separate from your quarterly bonus category offer, but automatically added to your account when you activate your Q4 bonus categories. You’ll earn 5% cash back on up to $1500 in total spend in the eligible rewards category where you spend the most from October 1 – December 31, 2021. That’s 4% additional cash back on top of the 1% cash back per $1 USD spent that you earn on all purchases.

Our Verdict

Eligible categories include: travel (including transit), dining, home improvement stores, select streaming services, select live entertainment, gas stations, drugstores, fitness clubs, grocery stores (not including Target and Walmart purchases). It seems that PayPal itself is not an eligible category for the additional 5%, but it will pass the merchant code back (e.g if you make a purchase at a grocery store but pay using PayPal). PayPal is a 5% rotating category this quarter and these two promotions stack (total of 9% cash back [1% base rate plus two 4% bonuses]). This should be relatively easy to maximize for most people.

Seems people have a lot of questions regarding this, so some F.A.Q’s:

• I’ve already maxed out my quarterly 5% category, what happens? The terms state this promotion started on October 1 through December 31, 2021 so you should automatically earn 9% on the purchases you’ve already made. Just keep in mind the spend needs to be in one of the eligible top categories (see above) to be eligible. I think most people will probably need to complete more spend unfortunately.
• Does this apply to Chase Freedom cardholders, or only Chase Freedom Flex cardholders? According to the media rep that sent us this deal, it only applies to the Freedom Flex card and not the Freedom card,