chase

CHASE FREEDOM FLEX

visa

Chase

Chase Freedom Flex

No annual fee · 20,000 point signup bonus · category bonus maximizer, no annual fee, UR ecosystem

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Quick Stats

Annual Fee

Signup Bonus

20,000 pts

Spend Requirement

$500 in 3mo

Foreign Transaction Fee

Yes

Credit Score

good

Currency

Earning Rates

brand portal5x

rotating categories5x

dining3x

drugstores3x

groceries1x

gas1x

other1x

Earning Caps

rotating_categories: up to $NaN/quarter

Travel portal value

Worth 1¢ per point when booking through Chase's travel portal

1¢/pt

Transfer Partners

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Airlines

United MileagePlus

UA·Star Alliance

1:1

instant

Southwest Rapid Rewards

1:1

instant

British Airways Avios

BA·oneworld

1:1

instant

Air Canada Aeroplan

AC·Star Alliance

1:1

instant

Singapore KrisFlyer

SQ·Star Alliance

1:1

12-24 hours

Emirates Skywards

1:1

instant

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

AF·SkyTeam

1:1

instant

Iberia Avios

IB·oneworld

1:1

instant

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

VS·SkyTeam

1:1

instant

JetBlue TrueBlue

1:1

instant

Hotels

World of Hyatt

1:1

instant

IHG One Rewards

1:1

instant

Marriott Bonvoy

1:1

1-2 days

Perks & Benefits

5x on rotating categories ($1,500/quarter cap)
5x on Chase travel portal
3x on dining and drugstores
Cell phone protection
Points transfer to Sapphire cards

The Verdict

4/5

ByEllis Church·Mar 11, 2026

The category bonus hunter — 5x rotating categories keep things interesting.

The Freedom Flex is for people who enjoy optimizing. If you'll actually activate quarterly categories and shift spending accordingly, the 5x earning is unbeatable at $0/year. But if you want simplicity, the Freedom Unlimited's flat 1.5x earns more for most people with zero effort. Best strategy: carry both and use each where it's strongest.

Pros

5x on rotating quarterly categories ($1,500/quarter) can net 30,000+ bonus points per year
3x on dining and drugstores is strong for a no-annual-fee card
Cell phone protection (up to $800/claim) replaces expensive carrier insurance
Points pool with Sapphire cards for transfer partner access
5x on Chase Travel portal purchases

Cons

Requires quarterly activation and tracking — easy to forget and miss a whole quarter
$1,500 quarterly cap on 5x categories limits the upside for bigger spenders
Foreign transaction fee (3%) rules it out for international use
1x base rate on non-bonus spending is weak compared to CFU's 1.5x