Points Panda has partnered with a variety of financial companies including CreditCards.com for our coverage of credit card products. Points Panda and CreditCards.com may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. For more information please read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Chase Freedom Flex cardholders should ready their shopping carts starting October because the Q4 Chase Freedom Flex bonus categories have been announced. Upon activation, cardholders can now earn 5% cashback on Walmart and PayPal purchases of up to $1,500, for a maximum of $75 in cashback.
Chase Freedom Flex Q4 Categories For 2021
From October 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, cardholders of the Chase Freedom Flex will earn 5% on up to $1500 in combined purchases from Walmart and Paypal. All purchases made after the cap is reached will earn 1% cashback.
The bonus categories also apply to the Chase Freedom card, however, this card is no longer open to new applicants. If you already have the Chase Freedom, you can still sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex and earn cashback on both cards.
Which Purchases Are Eligible In The Chase Freedom Flex Q4 Categories?
Take note that not all Walmart and Paypal purchases are included in the 5% cashback so let’s break down each category to clear the confusion.
PayPal Purchases
All payments made to merchants using Paypal will be eligible for the 5% cashback. Xoom transfers are not eligible so this means that cardholders must have a PayPal account. PayPal money transfers to friends and family are also not eligible for the 5% cashback.
Walmart Purchases
All Walmart merchants and stores that operate within/on Walmart shopping centers but do not belong to the Walmart brand are not eligible for the 5% cashback. Walmart affiliates such as Sam’s Club and Shipt are also not eligible for the cashback.
The 5% cashback only applies to purchases made at/with:
- Walmart Discount Stores
- Walmart SuperCenters
- Walmart Neighborhood Markets
- Walmart.com
- Walmart-branded gas stations
- Walmart-branded retail stores
- Walmart Pay
Read More: Chase Freedom Flex Card Review
Activating The Chase Freedom Flex Q4 Categories
The Chase Freedom Flex Q4 categories do not automatically activate every quarter. Chase allows cardholders to activate the bonus categories 2 weeks prior and it can easily be done in just a few clicks.
- Go to chasebonus.com.
- Enter your details, click activate, and that’s it.
You can also activate the Chase Freedom Flex Q4 categories in five other ways:
- You can activate the bonus categories using the Chase Mobile App here. If you don’t have the app yet, you can download it here.
- Get an email reminder everytime the new bonus categories come out.
- Call the number at the back of your card (800-524-8200) and talk to a Chase representative.
- Go to any Chase branch and have the bonus categories manually activate by a banker.
- Activate via an ATM
Cardholders can activate the bonus categories from September 15, 2021, to December 14, 2021. You can activate your bonus up to December 14, 2021, and still earn 5% cashback on all the purchases you’ve made for the entire 4th quarter.
Tips On Maxing Out The 5% Rotating Categories On Your Chase Freedom Flex
Cardholders can earn 5% cashback on up to $1500 in combined purchases from the given bonus categories for a certain quarter. That’s $75 worth of cash every quarter or $300 every year if you are able to max out the bonus categories.
Here are some tips on how to max out the bonus categories for this quarter:
Walmart Purchases
Walmart purchases are the easiest to max out because Walmart has lots of products that you use on a daily basis such as food, clothing, gardening tools, gas, office supplies, hygiene products, and many more. But if you’re not a Walmart loyalist, you can just buy gift cards for stores that you like.
Paypal Purchases
Instead of using your card directly for online purchases, link your Chase Freedom Flex to your PayPal account and start using PayPal for your transactions. You’ll easily max out your bonus categories since most websites accept PayPal payments.
Get Maximum Value By Pairing Your Freedom Flex With Premium Chase Cards
The cashback you earn from the Chase Freedom Flex come in the form of points which are worth 1 cent apiece. If ever you decide to convert your points to cash, you can get the cash in the form of a statement credit or have it transferred directly to your bank account.
However, you can get more value if you pair your Freedom Flex to other premium Chase cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Ink Business Preferred. This allows you to convert your cashback points into actual Ultimate Rewards points which you can use to redeem various award travel on the Ultimate Rewards Portal.
Remember that converting your points to cash is only worth 1 cent apiece but transferring your Freedom Flex points to one of these premium cards below can supercharge your redemption value to 20% to 50%.
- Points earned on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Ink Business Preferred (SM) Credit Card are worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed through the Chase Ultimare rewards portal.
- Points earned on the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card are worth 1.5 cents apiece when redeemed through the Chase Ultimare rewards portal.
Let’s say you earned 5,000 points or $50 worth of travel on your Freedom Flex Card. If you transfer those points on the Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred, it would be worth 6,250 points or $62.5 worth of travel. Meanwhile, if you transfer it to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, your points would be worth 7,500 points or $75 worth of travel.
Transfer Your Points To Other Loyalty Programs
The Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, and Ink Business Preferred allow points transfers to travel partners at a 1:1 ratio. This means that you can get as much as 3 cents apiece depending on the transfer partners and the awards you redeem.
Chase recently added Aeroplan to their list of transfer partners so there’s now a total of 11 loyalty programs where you can transfer your UR points.
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Read More: 5 Frequently Asked Questions About The Chase 5/24 Rule
Bottom line
The Chase Freedom Flex is a solid no-annual fee card that comes with a $200 welcome. You need to spend $500 within three months of account opening to get the welcome bonus.
Apart from the rotating categories, the card has also fixed earning categories:
- 5% back on purchases made directly on the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
- 4% back on eligible Lyft rides (valid through 03/2022).
- 3% back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (includes takeout and eligible delivery services).
- 1% on all other purchases
It works best as a secondary card that can help rack up points from bonus categories that aren’t present on your Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, and Ink Business Preferred cards.
Advertiser Disclosure
PointsPanda Deal of the Week!
Looking for the best flight deals? Each week we'll send you updates with the best deals on flights and hotels both using points and cash.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.