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We’re two weeks away from the start of the 4th quarter of 2023 and, as usual, Chase has revealed, ahead of time, the Freedom bonus categories that will go live on 1 October and which will remain in place for the rest of the year.
Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card 4Q 2023 bonus categories
The registration website for the Chase Freedom quarterly bonus categories has now been updated and in the fourth quarter of 2023 the Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card (review) and the legacy Chase Freedom credit card will offer 5% cashback (or 5 points/dollar) on up to $1,500 of spending in the following categories:
- PayPal
- Wholesale Clubs
- Select Charities
You’ll find a full list of what will and will not qualify for this quarter’s bonuses here, but the more important things to know are these:
Just about all PayPal transactions will trigger the quarterly bonus, but be aware that Xoom transfer payment are excluded.
In addition, Chase says that “Friends and Family or Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions made on PayPal may be prohibited or not eligible for the 5% bonus.”
As far as Wholesale Clubs go, well, that’s mostly self-explanatory. Merchants such as Costco and Sam’s Club are the obvious ones that will qualify for this quarterly bonus, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Chase says that gas, fuel, and wholesale specialty service purchases such as travel, insurance, cell phone and home improvement will not qualify in this category.
Lastly, these are the charities to whom you can donate and, in return for your good deed, get 5% cash back or earn 5 points/dollar:
Don’t forget that these quarterly bonus categories are in addition to the permanent bonus categories that the Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card offers – Travel (booked through Chase), Drugstores & Dining) – so make sure you’re making the most of those as well.
Quick thoughts
For the second year running Chase has made PayPal a 4Q bonus category and that should please quite a few people.
PayPal is now accepted by a significant number of retailers and while for the second year running department stores are not being offered as a 4Q bonus category, most major department stores will allow customers to pay via PayPal at online checkout.
Yes, that doesn’t help when you’re shopping in a bricks and mortar store, but as all diligent miles & points enthusiasts should, where possible, only be using physical stores to browse and making all purchases online (after clicking through one of the various airline/cashback shopping portals), I don’t think this will be a big issue.
Also, let’s not forget that this quarter covers some of shopping’s most holy days (Black Friday & Cyber Monday) so, even though a lot of people will probably end up buying all sorts of things that they don’t really need, if they use PayPal and one of Chase’s Freedom cards together, at least they’ll get a reasonable rebate 🙂
Wholesale clubs are always popular (Costco and Sam’s Club get crazy busy around the holidays), so they’ll be good options for anyone looking to max-out the Freedom rebate this quarter, and if anyone has any cash left after all that shopping, they can combine doing some good, feeling good about themselves and earning some cash back/bonus points by donating to one of the eligible charities.
Bottom line
Chase has now revealed the 4Q bonus categories for its Freedom cards so we now know that between 1 October and 31 December 2023, holders of the Chase Freedom card and the Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card will be able to earn 5% back (or 5 points/dollar) on spending made through PayPal and at Wholesale Clubs as well as on donations made to select charities.
Anyone holding a Freedom Flex℠ credit card or a legacy Freedom Credit Card should now head over to the registration page and make sure that they’ve registered their card(s) so they’re ready for the moment the bonus categories go live.
