Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex released their Q2 2021 categories today:
- Gas stations
- Home improvement stores
The new categories are not yet showing at the regular quarterly calendar, but are already showing in the online login. We’ll be able to activate the new categories beginning tomorrow, March 15th; I usually just wait until they send me an email and do the one-click activation from email.
Home Depot and Lowe’s and some others should be included in home improvement stores. These stores sell gift cards too, so that could be an option. Gas stations are useful as well, and places like 7-Eleven might code as gas stations too.
Does Costco Gas count as a “gas station”?
FWIW, here’s Chase’s list of Home Improvement merchants:
https://creditcards.chase.com/freedom-credit-cards/merchants
Hmmm, so “Home Improvement Stores” wouldn’t include a roof replacement company, but would include a flooring store that sells and installs hardwood flooring…?
Only have limited amount of cards, so I can buy VGCs and use them on purchases where I’d only get 1x points
Yes.
You get the most “bang for the buck” by buying $500 VGC. Don’t bother with the $200 ones.
That’s why I was asking about $500 gift cards at Lowe’s.
How much are the fees on these cards?
It depends.
Walmart and Sam’s Club charges $4.94 which is the lowest I have seen.
I have only seen Amex gift cards at my Sam’s Club though.
So, next quarter for Discover, get the free Sam’s Club membership.
CVS charges $5.95
If you max it out at $500, it ends up being slightly less than 4%.
$505.95 x 5% = $25.30
$25.30 – $5.95 = $19.35
$19.35 / $500 = 3.867%
Using same calculation but with $4.94 fee, 4.06%
That extra $1 in fee costs you about 0.2% in returns.
Thank you for the rundown. No sam’s in nyc so I’ll def look into the other option you mentioned
Discover is doing the same rotating gas category. Chase points are worth more if you like to travel with the CSR.
My local Lowe’s doesn’t let to buy gift cards with credit card.
Gas station adds 10% on top of gift card value (Shell) and cashier tried to convince me it is a tax.
Why the hell would they do the game thing as discover when they know most people doing cash back hold both of these cards. I’m going to use my discover now just to spite them
Why the hell would a competitor try to compete? Is that what you’re asking?
What is your basis for claiming “most people hold both of these cards?”
I don’t think Chase makes money on most of us so you are actually doing them a favor by using Discover instead next quarter.
How long have you have both? It’s very often (not every quarter, but typically at least a couple times a year) that Chase does the same rotating category a given quarter as Discover. Sometimes it’s a completely duplicate, not just a duplicate of one of the items. So do you spite them twice a ear or more???? This is NOTHING NEW! They’ve been matching (partly or complelely) certain quarters FOR YEARS NOW!!
And Chase can do it because Discover publishes their whole year of quarters ahead of time, while Chase waits until half a month before the quarter starts to announce it. So Chase knows what Discover will be doing, will Discover doesn’t know what Chase will be doing.
So someone could ask “why the hell” does Discover publish their rotating category chart a year a head of time so that Chase can know what to copy and what not to copy???
In prior years, Chase would have done gas in Q1 and groceries in Q2. Question is why won’t they do groceries? I know a lot of new Chase Freedom Flex cards have the 12 month grocery 5x bonus, so maybe Chase is trying to appease them.
Last year Chase did groceries on Freedom in Q2 and then added 5% groceries to the Sapphire cards for May and June, so they had overlap on their own cards for two of the three months of Q2. That, too, was frustrating. I put my Freedom in the sock drawer after April because the Sapphire not only had the 5% but it could become 7.5% by using pay yourself back.
If I had the Discover card, I would buying Amex gift cards at Sam’s Club.
Lowe’s gift card selections is way better than Home Depot’s.
Does anyone know whether Lowe’s sells the variable load VISA gift card that has the $500 upper limit?
Time to max out my 5% at drugstores then since my CVS sells the $500.
$6.95 fee yikes
My local Lowe’s has the $20-$200 Grocery Everywhere with a $4.95 fee. When there are good Lowe’s Chase and Amex offers (typically 10%), I usually buy Amazon GCs.
My local Lowe’s has this weird Mastercard golf thing that goes up to $500 but I’ve never bought it. Unsure of whether it can actually be used as a general purpose card or if it’s only specifically for golf related things…
I’ve bought those. They can be used just like a regular MasterCard gift card.
THANK YOU Amber — finally found a dp in Doc’s threads where “somebody” actually fesses up to having tested one of these. (For those lowe’s locations that don’t sell grocer gc’s, a nice alternative)…. And (if you see this) did you confirm too that you received the 5x?
I have only seen $200 at several Lowe’s and HDs.
Doesn’t really take the edge off of gas going up 75c/gal in the past ~3 months in GA, but it’s something.
Well, you’re getting more cash back per gallon now.
When the whole world wants EV and here is chase
Why do you spew deluded crap everywhere
Lol only a tiny percentage of the world wants to pay more to drive EVs
Your precious EVs are powered by dirty coal electricity and batteries made from dirty lithium mining. The environment thanks you.
Mostly false, but it depends on several factors.
https://evtool.ucsusa.org/