Chase revealed its Freedom card’s 2nd Quarter 2019 5x categories this morning to be Grocery Stores and Home Improvement Stores.
The Chase Freedom is an amazing card for earning Ultimate Rewards (UR) points quickly on select categories. It’s best used in conjunction with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or the Chase Ink Business Preferred. This is because you can transfer points earned with the Freedom to any of the above cards for access to transfer partners.
Overview
Grocery Stores and Home Improvement Stores are a nice pair of categories, especially for those who want to collect URs. Chase doesn’t have any UR-earning cards with either of these categories as normal bonus categories.
The Chase Freedom allows you to earn 5x points on up to $1,500 spend within the bonus categories. That means you can earn 7,500 UR points per quarter if you maximize the categories. Both grocery stores and home improvement stores share the maximum spend limit.
Analysis
People who have multiple cards could earn loads of points with the Chase Freedom. But if they maximize the categories, they would earn only one point for every dollar they spend over the threshold. This is where grocery store bonus category cards come into play.
If you can’t maximize the categories, then just use the Freedom. But if you spend more than $1,500 at the grocery store, you would proceed to use your normal grocery category card. I would recommend the American Express Gold Card (4x Membership Reward / MR points) or the American Express Everyday Preferred (either 3 or 4.5 MR points).
A popular way to maximize 5% / 5x categories is manufactured spending. Manufactured spending is when you purchase cash equivalents (such as gift cards) using your credit card at merchants who are within a bonus category. Grocery stores are a great place to purchase gift cards during the second quarter and maximize the categories.
Home improvement stores can also give cardholders a points bonanza in the second quarter. Those who have home projects that cost about $1,500 could easily maximize the categories spending what they would have anyway.
Final Draw
The second quarter of 2019 should be bountiful for Chase Freedom cardholders. Grocery Stores and home improvement stores are fantastic categories from Chase. Manufactured spending and spring home improvement projects could be great opportunities to get thousands of points.
The current set of categories for Chase Freedom are gas stations, pharmacies, and tolls. Registration to earn 5x points closes today (March 14, 2019) for those who have not registered. This is your last chance to register. All you have to do is click on this link to the registration page and enter your name, ZIP code, and the last four digits of your card’s number. Follow the same steps starting tomorrow to register for the second quarter’s categories as well.
