Updated July 6th, 2021 to include a list of included / excluded grocery stores.
If you don’t already have a Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited, you’re in luck.
For some time now, the only way to get a new card bonus offer that included the 5X Ultimate Rewards points on groceries for one full year (up to $12,000) was to head to a Chase branch.
That offer is back for online applicants as of today, and better yet, it comes at a time where the Chase Freedom Flex (how to apply) is offering 5X in total points on groceries (excluding Target and Walmart) for July/August/September on up to $1,500 in total spend – i.e. the Chase Freedom Quarterly Bonus category.
Specifically, new Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited cardmembers can earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.
So if you were to apply today for a new Freedom Flex card, in addition to the $200 (20,000 Ultimate Rewards points) when you spend $500 in your first 3 months, you’ll get 5X on groceries for a year up to $12,000 and also get the additional 5X on groceries up to $1,500 total for the next 3 months. Just note that since the rotating category bonus is a toatl of 5X, meaning that it’s a base 1X plus 4X bonus, your total haul over the next 3 months on groceries would be 9X.
Chase offers the following math for what a new Freedom Flex cardmember could expect to earn in cash back in their first year:
- 5% on grocery store purchases (up to $12,000 in first year): $600
- 5% on rotating quarterly categories like select streaming services, grocery stores and more (up to $1,500): $300
- $200 sign up bonus when you spend $500 in first three months of account opening
- First year value of $1100 for new cardmembers
But that doesn’t actually account for the fact that if you pair the Freedom card with a Sapphire Preferred card (which still has the insane 100,000 point bonus offer), Sapphire Reserve card, or Chase Ink Business Preferred card), then you can transfer your Freedom-earned Ultimate Rewards points into your Sapphire or Ink account, where they are not just cash back, but fully transferable points worth at least 1.25 cents each when you redeem via the Chase travel portal or Pay Yourself Back.
So in that case, you’re getting at least $1,375 in value and if you follow our guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can probably do much better than even that.
You are eligible for a Freedom Flex card as long as you don’t already have one. Note that the Chase Freedom Unlimited has the same bonus offer. It just won’t come with the same quarterly rotating bonus categories. Instead it will earn 1.5X on non-bonus category purchases. Of course, you’ll also need to be under the Chase 5/24 limit.
What grocery stores definitely count or definitely don’t?
Chase provided this list of stores that they know qualify:
- 99 CENTS ONLY STORES
- 99 RANCH MARKET
- ACME MARKETS
- ALBERTSONS
- ALDI SUPERMARKET
- BASHAS
- BIG Y FOODS
- BLUE APRON
- CENTRAL MARKET
- DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY
- DIERBERGS
- FESTIVAL FOODS
- FOOD LION
- FOODTOWN
- FRESH THYME
- GELSON’S MARKETS
- GIANT / GIANT FOOD
- GIANT EAGLE
- GRISTEDES
- HANNAFORD BROS
- HEINEN’S SUPERMARKET
- HELLOFRESH
- HERBALIFE
- INSTACART (only with Grocery Store deliveries)
- KEY FOOD
- KING KULLEN
- KING’S SUPERMARKETS
- KROGER
- LIDL
- LUNDS
- MARIANO’S
- MEIJER
- NEW SEASONS MARKETS
- NOB HILL FOODS
- PATEL BROTHERS
- PAVILIONS
- PICK N SAVE
- PIGGLY WIGGLY
- PRICE CHOPPER
- PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS
- SAFEWAY
- SAVE A LOT
- SAVE MART
- SCHNUCK’S
- SCHWANS
- SHAW’S SUPERMARKETS
- SHIPT
- SHOP-RITE
- SMART & FINAL
- SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET
- STAR MARKET
- STATER BROS
- STOP & SHOP
- THE FRESH MARKET
- TRADER JOE’S
- VONS
- WEGMANS
- WHOLE FOODS MARKET
- WINN-DIXIE
Excluded:
Larger stores that sell a wide variety of goods and groceries, such as Target®, Walmart®, warehouse clubs, discount stores and some smaller merchants such as drugstores, and merchants that specialize in only a few grocery items.
Purchases made at gas stations operated by merchants who also operate grocery stores. Delivery service merchants unless they classify as a grocery store merchant.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card ENDS by NOV 14, 2024: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, get up to $300 in Chase Travel statement credits in the first year of account opening for any purchases made on Chase Travel. How to apply for this offer.
Questions?
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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
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