Million Mile Secrets reader, Janie, comments:
I applied for the Chase Freedom and received my card last week. I immediately activated my bonus categories so I can get 5X on restaurants (and more) through the end of June.I now see you are saying I can activate the 3rd quarter bonus categories. If I do this before July 1, 2015, does this negate the bonus for 2nd quarter categories effective that date?
Janie can activate bonus for the 3rd quarter now, to earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points at gas stations and Kohl’s starting July 1, 2015. But will she still earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points at restaurants for the current quarter?
Janie will still earn 5X points during both quarters. I’ll explain!
What’s the Chase Freedom Card?
Link: Chase Freedom 20,000 point ($200) Offer
The Chase Freedom card is my favorite no annual fee card. And until June 24, 2015, (this Wednesday!), you can earn double the usual sign-up bonus.
Keep in mind, if you’ve opened 5 or more new credit card accounts (with any bank!) in the past 24 months (excluding authorized user accounts), you will likely NOT be approved for the Chase Freedom, Ink Plus, Ink Business Cash Credit Card, Sapphire Preferred, or Slate cards.
However, you MAY qualify for other Chase cards like the Chase Southwest Premier or the Chase Hyatt.
With the Chase Freedom, you’ll earn 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points when you spend $500 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account.
20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth at least $200 in cash back.
Plus, each quarter you can earn 5X points (on up to $1,500 in spending) on rotating categories, which include places like restaurants, gas stations, and Amazon.
If you complete the maximum spending during 1 quarter, you’ll earn 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. And if you do this each quarter, you can earn an easy 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for the year or $300 in cash back (7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per quarter X 4).
You Have to Activate the Bonus!
Link: Activate 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards Points at Gas Stations & Kohl’s
To earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points in select categories, activate the bonus each quarter. The starting activation date for next quarter’s bonus overlaps with the current bonus.
So this quarter you can earn 5X points at restaurants, Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock.com, and H&M through June 30, 2015.
And you can activate the bonus for next quarter where you’ll earn 5X points at gas stations and Kohl’s starting June 15, 2015. But you won’t start EARNING the bonus points until July 1, 2015.
If you activate next quarter’s bonus now, you will continue earning 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points at restaurants and more for this quarter.Bottom Line
With Chase Freedom, each quarter you can earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points in select categories. Keep in mind, you have to “turn on” the bonus by the deadline. But it’s as simple as clicking the link sent to your email!
The end date for the current bonus categories overlaps with the 1st day you can activate the next bonus. But signing-up for the upcoming bonus categories will NOT deactivate the current bonus.