With all the benefits of the Chase Freedom Flex card, it can be hard to keep up with your savings and spending. However, one of their most unique features, the rotating 5% quarterly cash back on up to $1,500 of purchases in select categories, can get you the most cash back – up to $300 per year. Under this feature, Chase provides different earning categories each quarter, and if you are to spend $1,500 in that category during that quarter, you can get a maximum of $75.
New categories every quarter? How do I keep up?
New categories for each quarter of the year are announced less than 3 weeks before the start of the quarter, so you won’t really have much time to plan out your credit spending for that quarter, or even the year, to maximize your benefits and get as much cash back as possible. Plus, the categories really do change every quarter based on demand and seasonal needs, so good luck guessing.
Luckily, Chase Bank makes it easy to monitor your spending from their portal. Once you’ve signed up with Chase and have an active Freedom Flex credit card, you can log in on the web site or phone application at any time to activate your quarterly category spending, as well as view and manage your credit card spending.
5% Categories Tracker
When you’re logged in, click on the three lines on the left-hand menu to open the full menu. From this menu, click on “5% Categories.” Customers need to activate this feature each quarter, so the next page will show you if you’re already activated for the quarterly 5% cash back. If the next quarter’s activation registration is open, you’ll see that option here too.
On this dashboard, you’ll also see a bar that shows your progress towards the cap for cash back that quarter but doesn’t provide much detail. You’ll need to navigate elsewhere for details on how much you’ve spent per category.
From here, you’ll navigate to the Rewards Activity page and click on the “5% cash back” submenu at the top of the page. This is where you’ll see a breakdown to the penny of how close you are to the $75 cash back maximum. Here, you’ll only see those purchases that are qualifying towards the 5% cash back. Purchases for other earnings and base earnings are shown separately.
Spend Money to Save Money – and Make Money
The quarterly category 5% cash back opportunities are a great way to get your own money back on your regular purchases. If you open your credit card today, you’ll get free money. The Chase Freedom Flex sign up bonus is an effortless way for new cardholders to get $200 cash just for making $500 worth of any purchase on their card. If you’re already planning to spend at least $1,500 on your card in your first quarter, you’ll rapidly gain the $200 bonus.
