Another quarter, another chance for CardName and Chase Freedom® cardholders to rack up 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories. If you have either of these cards in your wallet, don’t miss out on the opportunity to earn up to $75 in additional cash back.
Note: Chase Freedom® is no longer accepting new applications, but existing cardholders are still eligible to earn in the bonus categories. Information about Chase Freedom® and Chase Freedom FlexSM has been collected by CardRatings and has not been provided or approved by the issuer of the card.
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What are the Chase quarterly rewards categories for the fourth quarter of 2024?
From October-December 2024, Chase will award 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in total purchases made across four categories:
- McDonald’s
- PayPal
- Pet shops and vet services
- Select charities
Within each category, there are certain inclusions and exclusions according to Chase.
McDonald’s
Purchases in the McDonald’s category include purchases at McDonald’s stores, including locations within third-party vendors, and on the McDonald’s mobile app.
PayPal
This category includes purchases made using your Chase Freedom card with PayPal. Purchases made using PayPal at merchants in the current 5% quarterly categories will be awarded a total of 5% cash back rewards. Payments made through the Xoom transfer service are not eligible for 5%. Must have/open a PayPal account. Please note, Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions made with your Chase Freedom card on PayPal may not be eligible for 5%.
Pet shops and vet services
Merchants in this category provide products and/or services for pet care. Pet shops, including online pet shops, sell domestic pets, pet supplies, accessories, pet food, and/or services for the upkeep of pets. Vet Services include licensed practitioners who provide veterinary medicine, dentistry or surgery for pets, livestock and other animals.
Purchases of prescription and over-the-counter medications, supplements, and other health-related items for pets purchased through pet shops, veterinary service providers, or pharmacies that specialize in medication for pets will qualify in this category; however purchases of these items through other merchants, such as drugstores, grocery stores, and traditional pharmacies, will not qualify. Other merchants that provide pet-related services are not included in this category; for example, boarders, groomers, walkers, sitters, trainers, daycare operators and sellers of pet insurance.
Select charities
This category includes the following charities:
- American Red Cross
- Equal Justice Initiatives
- Feeding America
- Habitat for Humanity
- International Medical Corps
- International Rescue Committee
- Leadership Conference Education Fund
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
- National Urban League
- Thurgood Marshall College Fund
- United Negro College Fund
- UNICEF USA
- United Way
- World Central Kitchen
- GLSEN
- Out and Equal
- Sage
To ensure your charitable donation is eligible for the 5% cash back reward, be sure to donate directly to the charity’s parent organization. Local chapters may not be eligible due to transaction processing procedures.
Chase 5% cash back calendar
The Chase 5% cash back calendar for 2025 hasn’t been revealed yet – each category will be announced before the start of the new quarter. However, we can look back at the 2023 and 2024 catgories to get an idea of what the future might hold.
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
2024
Grocery Stores (excluding Walmart and Target), fitness clubs and gym memberships, self-care and spa services
Amazon.com, hotels booked directly with the hotel (plus through Chase Travel), and restaurants
Gas stations, EV charging, movie theaters, and select live entertainment
McDonald’s, PayPal, pet shops and vet services, and select charities
2023
Grocery Stores (excluding Walmart), Target, fitness clubs and gym memberships
Lowe’s and Amazon.com
Gas stations, EV charging and select live entertainment
PayPal, wholesale clubs, and select charities
You’ll earn 5% back on the first $1,500 in combined spending on purchases in the bonus categories during each quarter. After that, you’ll earn 1% cash back on any additional spending.
This bonus cash back is in addition to the other great rewards offered by the CardName. Those are:
- 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 3% cash back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
How to activate Chase Freedom cash-back categories
In order to earn 5% cash back on each quarter’s bonus categories, you’ll need to activate the offer. Doing so is easy, though. Chase offers numerous ways to activate the bonus categories:
- Through your online account or the Chase bonus activation page
- In the Chase mobile app
- Via an email sent by Chase before the start of each new quarter
- By calling the number on the bank of your card
- At any Chase bank location
- When making a cash withdrawal at an ATM
The deadline for activating the Q4 2024 categories is December 14, 2024. Once you have activated the offer, all eligible purchases from the quarter will receive the bonus cash back.
While you are activating your Chase categories, don’t forget to also do so in your Discover account if you have an eligible card. Discover also has quarterly bonus categories that must be activated.
How to redeem Chase credit card rewards
Once you have earned cash back – whether from the quarterly bonus categories or regular spending – you have several options for redemption:
- Cash: Use your cash back as a statement credit or have it deposited into your bank account.
- Shopping: Cash back can be used to make purchases at Amazon.com.
- Gift cards: Choose from gift cards for a variety of merchants.
- Travel: Cash back can be used to pay for travel booked through Chase Travel℠.
Chase Freedom offers the ability to combine rewards
One extra perk of the CardName is the ability to combine rewards with other Chase cards. That’s because CardName rewards accumulate as Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the same points that cardholders of the CardName, CardName, CardName and the Chase Ink family of small business cards earn.
By combining rewards from multiple cards, you can maximize their value. For example, CardName members enjoy 25% more value when they redeem their points for travel through Chase Travel, and CardName cardholders can take advantage of 50% more value when redeemed that way.
That means the points you earn with the Chase Freedom account could be worth more if you redeem them under your Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve account. For more info about making these points work for you, check out our Chase Ultimate Rewards® points guide.
