2013 Chase Freedom 5x Ultimate Rewards Category Bonuses Announced!

Posted by on Dec 3, 2012 in Chase Bank, Credit Cards, Freedom, Noob, Ultimate Rewards, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Last week, Chase announced the Freedom’s 5% cash back (or 5x Ultimate Rewards points) categories for 2013! Yippee.

I can’t believe 2013 is just around the corner. 2012 was a great year to earn points & miles, but I can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store for us. Hopefully, more ways to earn valuable Ultimate Rewards points.

If you don’t know, Chase has rotating quarterly categories that allow you to earn 5% cash back or 5x Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Freedom® MasterCard & Chase Freedom® Visa. Fantastic.

All you have to do is activate your Freedom card (easy) every 3 months and earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500. That’s an easy $75 on purchases that you will most likely be making anyway.

The great thing about Chase’s rotating quarterly bonuses is that they are practical. You won’t have to swipe your Freedom card for unnecessary items. I like that a l o t.

 

Chase Freedom 5% Cash Back Categories

 

What’s all this 5% cash back talk?

This is a rewards travel points blog after all, but there will be some people that like to earn the 5% cash back. However, the real reward for me is the 5x Ultimate Rewards points on $1,500 a quarter. That’s an additional 7,500 Ultimate Rewards points! I’m on fire now.

To be eligible to earn the 5x Ultimate Rewards points – you must also have one of the following cards: Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Ink Bold® Business Card, or Ink Plus® Business Card. I have all three, plus 2 Ink Plus cards.

You can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points from your Freedom account to the Ultimate Rewards account of one of the cards mentioned above. From there, you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to one of the many travel partners.

The travel transfer partners of Ultimate Rewards are: United, Southwest, British Airways, Marriott, Hyatt, Priority Club, Amtrak, Korean Air, and Ritz – Carlton.

If you don’t have the Sapphire Preferred or an Ink card, you can’t transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to the travel partners.

Combining points in between Ultimate Rewards accounts, and then transferring Ultimate Rewards points to travel partners is very very easy. I have to applaud Chase on how easy they make it. But, if you’ve never transferred a single Ultimate Rewards point – here’s my full blog post.

 

2013 Categories

January-March

Gas Stations, Drugstores, and Starbucks

April-June

Restaurants and Movie Theaters

July-September

Gas Stations, Theme Parks, and Kohl’s

October-December

Select Department Stores, and Amazon.com

 

I get pumped when I see gas stations and drugstores because, depending on locations, you can often buy Vanilla Reloads or prepaid gift cards to easily meet the $1,500 limit.

I already spend money on most of these categories anyway, so I welcome the opportunity to earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points. That’s my goal: earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points on every swipe. I’m a dreamer, but it’s getting easier and easier.

 

Other reasons to love the Freedom

The Chase Freedom Visa or Mastercard are attractive cards for other reasons, too. I really love that the Freedom is a “no annual fee” rewards card. That way, I can keep it forever and let that “average age of account” go up.

It’s a great starter card for someone who doesn’t have a robust credit history, because it’s a little easier to get than the Sapphire Preferred (and some of the other rewards cards out there).

There’s a $100 or 10,000 Ultimate Rewards sign-up bonus after you spend $500 in 3 months. That’s as close to a no spend requirement as you’re going to get.

You can read my previous review of the Chase Freedom card here.

 

Get on with it

The Freedoms 5x Ultimate Rewards earning potential makes this card one attractive piece of plastic – especially if you already hold in your wallet the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Ink Bold® Business Card, or Ink Plus Business Card.

If you’re just getting started in the rewards game, or are trying to build some credit history, the Freedom card is an excellent gateway card.

There are two versions of the Freedom: a Mastercard and a Visa. Choose wisely.

Links: Chase Freedom® MasterCard & Chase Freedom® Visa 

 

Disclaimer: I receive a referral credit if you apply for any of the cards above. I’m truly grateful if you decide to!

 

— Noob Master

This content is not provided or commissioned by the company whose products are featured on this site. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser’s affiliate programs.