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Chase Ultimate Rewards®

Chase Announces New Sapphire Preferred Bonus Categories and Perks

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Last week, Chase announced exciting changes to their Ultimate Rewards-earning Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. This popular card is getting several exciting enhancements that makes it better than ever. Plus right now, new applicants can earn an all-time high 100,000 bonus points after meeting the minimum spending requirements!

Chase Sapphire Preferred Enhancements

The $95 per year Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card was already my top pick for beginners and experts alike. Now it’s undoubtedly one of the best all-around cards on the market.

Starting August 16, 2021, the Chase Sapphire Preferred will offer three new bonus categories (and one earnings increase of an existing category):

  • NEW! – 5 points per dollar spent on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
  • NEW! – 3 points per dollar spent at select streaming services
  • NEW! – 3 points per dollar spent on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • 3 points per dollar spent on dining (up from 2x)

Of all the above changes, the most impactful is the change to earnings on dining. The 3 points per dollar matches the much more expensive Chase Sapphire Reserve Card ($550 per year) as well as the no annual fee Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited cards. This also marks the first time the Chase Sapphire Preferred has had a permanent grocery bonus category. Sadly this does not extended to in store grocery purchases as well.

Earn 3x points per $1 spent on streaming services.

Streaming services is another welcome bonus category, although this probably doesn’t move the needle with most people. Finally the travel bonus category sounds great, but keep in mind that the portal is similar to booking through an online travel agency. You may find better prices booking direct and hotels will usually not honor elite benefits on travel booked through any third-party travel portal.

Incredibly, there’s still more positive news! The card will also offer a $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased via Chase and 10% of your points back each year.

$50 Hotel Credit

You can earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays purchased through the Chase Travel Portal. Note that the credit will not apply if booked directly with hotels.

Cardmember Anniversary Bonus

Chase will award cardholders an annual point bonus worth 10% of the total purchases for the year. For example, if you spend $25,000 on purchases with the card, you’ll get 2,500 bonus points after your account anniversary year.

Redeeming Points

So what do you do with all the points you’ll earn? The card is part of the Chase Ultimate Rewards® flexible points program. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through the Chase travel portal. For example, 50,000 points are worth $625 towards travel. There are no blackout dates, so if there’s an open seat on the flight you want or an available room at the hotel, you can pay for it with points.

Points never expire and there are no limits.

The travel portal isn’t your only option, however. You can often get even greater value by transferring points to any of Chase’s 13 travel partners and really maximize your points!

You can transfer points to participating frequent travel programs at full 1:1 value – that means 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points equals 1,000 partner miles/points.

For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Bottom Line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is now the new top dog in Chase’s credit card lineup. It has improved earnings rates on dining, new bonus categories, a $50 hotel credit and 10% anniversary bonus. Add in the increased 100,000 point sign-up bonus, and this becomes a must-have card for any points enthusiast.

Apply here for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Chase Announces Q3 2021 Bonus Categories

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Registration is now open to activate the 5x category bonus earning with your Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cards. For the third quarter of 2021, the bonus categories are purchases at grocery stores and select streaming services.

As usual, the 5x earning rate only applies to the first $1,500 in spending in those categories. If you max out your bonus category spending for the quarter, you’ll get 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.

7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth $75 in cash. But you can get much more value by transferring to any of the following credit cards:

Once your points have been transferred to one of the above cards, you can amplify the value even further! If you transfer the points to Chase’s travel partners like United Airlines, Southwest or Hyatt, you can get way more value than the original $75.

7,500 points could be enough for a one-way flight to lots of great destinations!

For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Key Things to Remember

  • You need to activate the 5x earning rate by September 14, 2021
  • The promotion runs from July 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021
  • The promotion is valid on purchases at grocery stores and select streaming services

How to Activate

Unfortunately Chase doesn’t automatically enroll you into the bonus category earning promotion each quarter. To activate, you can go to the Chase Activation website and enter your last name, zip code and the last four digits of your credit card.

Alternatively you can log into your Chase Freedom or Freedom Flex account and activate from there.

You can also sign-up one time to have Chase send you a reminder email each quarter. That email contains a button for easy 1-click activation.

Bottom Line

All of the above applies to both the old Freedom and brand new Freedom Flex card. Remember that the Freedom Flex also offers 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase travel portal, 3% on dining and drugstore purchases and 1% on everything else.

Grocery stores may be my favorite rotating category because it’s also one of the easiest to max out. Even if you find it difficult to hit the $1,500 max, remember that you can buy gift cards at grocery stores to hundreds of different places to use in the future. Before you start spending, it’s a good idea to check the list of participating merchants because some like Walmart and Target are not included. Finally, On July 1, make sure to update all of your streaming services to charge all monthly fees to your Freedom or Freedom Flex cards. With these tips, you’ll be on your way to earn lots of valuable rewards points!

Chase Announces Q2 2021 Bonus Categories

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Registration is now open to activate the 5x category bonus earning with your Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cards. For the second quarter of 2021, the bonus categories are purchases at gas stations and home improvement stores.

As usual, the 5x earning rate only applies to the first $1,500 in spending in those categories. If you max out your bonus category spending for the quarter, you’ll get 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.

7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth $75 in cash. But you can get much more value by transferring to any of the following credit cards:

Once your points have been transferred to one of the above cards, you can amplify the value even further! If you transfer the points to Chase’s travel partners like United Airlines, Southwest or Hyatt, you can get way more value than the original $75.

7,500 points could be enough for a one-way flight to lots of great destinations!

For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Key Things to Remember

  • You need to activate the 5x earning rate by June 14, 2021
  • The promotion runs from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021
  • The promotion is valid on purchases at gas stations and home improvement stores

How to Activate

Unfortunately Chase doesn’t automatically enroll you into the bonus category earning promotion each quarter. To activate, you can go to the Chase Activation website and enter your last name, zip code and the last four digits of your credit card.

Alternatively you can log into your Chase Freedom or Freedom Flex account and activate from there.

You can also sign-up one time to have Chase send you a reminder email each quarter. That email contains a button for easy 1-click activation.

Bottom Line

All of the above applies to both the old Freedom and brand new Freedom Flex card. Remember that the Freedom Flex also offers 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase travel portal, 3% on dining and drugstore purchases and 1% on everything else.

I’m not overly impressed with this quarter’s categories. Over the past year, Chase has made it a point to choose categories that align with pandemic spending habits. While some will undoubtedly get value from the gas stations category, many people are still working from home. I hardly drive more than once or twice a week these days, so earning bonus points on fuel is not very helpful. On the flip side, having home improvement as a category is nice as people tend to buy products for the home each spring. I’m sure I’ll be buying things for my lawn, backyard patio and other general home improvement projects this quarter.

If you find yourself struggling to reach the $1,500 maximum this quarter, remember that you can buy gift cards at most home improvement stores to use during the rest of the year. That includes gift cards to the home improvement stores themselves, but many also sell gift cards to other businesses and restaurants. As long as you know you’ll end up using those gift cards, you might as well try to maximize the bonus this quarter. Happy spending!

Best Cash Back Credit Cards (2021)

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Because I love to travel, most of the credit cards I own earn points and miles rather than cash back. Those points and miles can be used to book award flights, free hotel nights and more. However, with travel being non-existent for most of last year and into the near future, earning cash back makes a lot of sense right now. But which cash back cards are the best? I’ve compiled a list of the top cash back credit cards for 2021 and best of all, you won’t find any with an annual fee!

Credit CardBest ForWelcome Offer
Chase Freedom Flex℠Best Overall Cash Back Card$200 bonus (20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Non-Bonus Spending$200 bonus (20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Citi® Double CashSimplicityNone
Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards CardFoodies and Entertainment-lovers$200 bonus after spending $500 in the first 3 months
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American ExpressGroceries$200 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
Discover it® Cash BackRotating Cash Back CategoriesCashback Match™ (Discover will match all the cashback earned during the first year)

Chase Freedom Flex℠

Why I Love this Card

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ card packs a ton of amazing benefits into a card with no annual fee. It has fantastic earnings rates in popular categories like dining and drug stores, as well as a 5% earnings rate on quarterly rotating categories.

Pros

  • $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
  • Earns 5% in rotating quarterly bonus categories throughout the year
  • Earns 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
  • Earns 3% back on dining and drugstores
  • No annual fee
  • Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Chase’s Ultimate Rewards flexible points program

Cons

  • The 5% rotating quarterly bonus is limited to $1,500 in spending per quarter
  • Bonus categories must be activated each quarter to earn the 5%
  • The card earns only 1% on non-bonus spending (purchases in popular categories like groceries or gasoline should be done on a different card)
  • Travel must be booked through Chase to earn the 5% cash back

Final Word

This is a must-own card in my opinion. Maximizing the rotating categories equates to $300 in cash back each year. Add that to the cash back earned on dining, at drugstores and on travel and you’re looking at a sizeable return. The cash back is actually credited to your account as Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem those points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. Or you can transfer those points to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred Card, and really supercharge the card’s value. For more information on how to get even more value from this card, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Why I Love this Card

Chase Freedom Unlimited

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card is great to use as your “everyday” or “catch-all” card. This is the card you should take out of your wallet when there’s no bonus points or cash back to be had. Like it’s Chase Freedom Flex teammate, it has the same terrific earnings rates in popular categories like dining and drug stores. The difference between the two is that the Freedom Flex has the 5% rotating categories while the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% on all non-bonus spending. You can’t go wrong with either card and you could even own both!

Pros

  • $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
  • Earns 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
  • Earns 3% back on dining and drugstores
  • Earns 1.5% back on all other purchases
  • No annual fee
  • Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Chase’s Ultimate Rewards flexible points program

Cons

  • Travel must be booked through Chase to earn 5% cash back

Final Word

This is the card I use as my personal “everyday spending” card. Any purchase that doesn’t hit a bonus category on my other cards is charged to my Freedom Unlimited card. The cash back is actually credited to your account as Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can redeem those points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. Or you can transfer those points to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred Card, and really supercharge the card’s value. For more information on how to get even more value from this card, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Citi® Double Cash

Why I Love this Card

The Citi® Double Cash card is all about simplicity. It has the easiest and most straightforward earnings structure of any card on the list. Essentially this card earns 2% cash back on all spending. You earn 1% on the purchase and 1% when you pay your bill.

Pros

  • Easy to understand earnings structure (no need to remember bonus categories)
  • Earns 2% cash back (1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay your bill)
  • No annual fee
  • Points earned can be combined with another eligible card in Citi’s ThankYou® Rewards flexible points program

Cons

  • No welcome bonus
  • To transfer points, you must own another Citi ThankYou Rewards card that charges an annual fee

Final Word

This is another wonderful “everyday spending” option. And if you pair this card with either the Citi Prestige or Citi Premier cards, you can really increase the card’s value. Once your points are in the ThankYou Rewards ecosystem, you open up more valuable redemptions in Citi’s travel center or by transferring to any of their 16 airline travel partners. For more information on Citi’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Citi ThankYou® Rewards.

Capital One® SavorOne℠ Cash Rewards Card

Why I Love this Card

This is the perfect card for those who like to go out. It’s centered around dining and entertainment, earning 3% cash back on both categories. Earning 3% on dining is a great rate for a card with no annual fee. Plus for those eating at home more during the pandemic, it applies to carryout, delivery and food delivery apps. The entertainment category, although probably not in high demand right now, is nice because it includes so much. Sporting events, movies and theatre, amusement parks, museums, and zoos are just some examples of what counts as entertainment.

Pros

  • $200 welcome bonus, after spending $500 in the first three months
  • Earns 3% back on dining and entertainment
  • Earns 2% at grocery stores
  • No annual fee

Cons

  • There’s no flexible rewards points program associated with this card, so cash back is the only option

Final Word

While this is a solid card, you might want to consider applying for the Capital One Savor Rewards Card instead. The Savor Rewards card has a $95 annual fee, but you earn a higher welcome bonus and higher earnings rate. That card comes with a $300 welcome bonus and earns 4% on dining and entertainment. After spending $4,500 on dining and entertainment, the card has paid for itself, at least in the first year. If after one year, you’re not getting the value you want, you can always downgrade to the no annual fee version instead.

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Why I Love this Card

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express earns a solid 3% on grocery purchases, which is a category everyone is spending a ton on this year.

Pros

  • $200 welcome bonus, after spending $1,000 in the first three months
  • Earns 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets
  • Earns 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and select department stores
  • No annual fee

Cons

  • The 3% cash back is only earned on grocery purchases up to $6,000, then it’s 1%
  • There’s no flexible rewards points program associated with this card, so cash back is the only option

Final Word

Just like with the Capital One cards, there’s a $95 annual fee version of this card that could give you way more value, at least during year one. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has much higher earnings rates and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. That gives you a year to try it out, risk free, to see if the added value is worth keeping the card beyond the first year.

The Blue Cash Preferred card comes with a $300 welcome bonus and earns 6% at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases. It also earns 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions and 3% at gas stations and on transit. You can always downgrade to the no annual fee card, but those increased earnings rates may more than make up for the $95 annual fee. Just spending more than $3,167 on groceries per year would make keeping the Blue Cash Preferred a good deal.

Discover it® Cash Back Credit Card

Why I Love this Card

The Discover it® Cash Back Card is is the original rotating quarterly bonus categories card! Plus during your first year of card ownership, Discover will match all of your cash back earned dollar for dollar!

Pros

  • Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year
  • Earns 5% in rotating quarterly bonus categories throughout the year
  • No minimum cash back redemption
  • No annual fee

Cons

  • The 5% bonus earnings rate is limited to $1,500 in spending per quarter
  • Bonus categories must be activated each quarter to earn the 5%
  • The card earns only 1% on non-bonus spending, so it shouldn’t be used on anything that’s not part of the rotating quarterly bonus categories

Final Word

Depending on how much you spend during the first year, this card could end up with the highest welcome bonus of any. If you maximize the rotating categories, you’ll net $300 in cash back each year. Plus in the first year, Discover will match your total cash back earned. You can redeem your rewards for cash at any time, with no minimum value for redemption. And for flexibility, you can use your rewards to pay for purchases at Amazon.com. The biggest downside to the Discover It card is that you have to remember to activate the bonus categories each quarter, or you won’t earn 5% cash back.  

Bottom Line

While there’s uncertainly over travel, now is a good time for many to focus on earning cash back. Any of the credit cards listed above would be terrific choices for those looking for simplicity and cash back. For people who still plan to travel or have an appetite for a little more complexity with their credit card rewards, there are also plenty of amazing travel rewards cards out there. For a list of five great options, see the article on the Best Travel Credit Cards of 2021, written by my friends at Money.com

Chase Announces Q1 2021 Bonus Categories

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Registration is now open to activate the 5x category bonus earning with your Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cards. For the first quarter of 2021, the bonus categories are purchases at Wholesale Clubs, on Internet, Cable and Phone services, and select streaming services.

As usual, the 5x earning rate only applies to the first $1,500 in spending in those categories. If you max out your bonus category spending for the quarter, you’ll get 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.

7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth $75 in cash. But you can get much more value by transferring to any of the following credit cards:

Once your points have been transferred to one of the above cards, you can amplify the value even further! If you transfer the points to Chase’s travel partners like United Airlines, Southwest or Hyatt, you can get way more value than the original $75.

7,500 points could be enough for a one-way flight to lots of great destinations!

For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Key Things to Remember

  • You need to activate the 5x earning rate by March 14, 2021
  • The promotion runs from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021
  • The promotion is valid on purchases at Wholesale Clubs, on Internet, Cable, & Phone services, and select streaming services

How to Activate

Unfortunately Chase doesn’t automatically enroll you into the bonus category earning promotion each quarter. To activate, you can go to the Chase Activation website and enter your last name, zip code and the last four digits of your credit card.

Alternatively you can log into your Chase Freedom or Freedom Flex account and activate from there.

You can also sign-up one time to have Chase send you a reminder email each quarter. That email contains a button for easy 1-click activation.

Bottom Line

All of the above applies to both the old Freedom and brand new Freedom Flex card. Remember that the Freedom Flex also offers 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase travel portal, 3% on dining and drugstore purchases and 1% on everything else.

These categories are an exact match to the first quarter categories from 2020. Most people should do well this quarter since the categories definitely align with the country’s pandemic spending habits. The emphasis on being at home is evident with bonus points on internet and both cable and streaming TV services. People are also stocking up at wholesale clubs, like Costco, Sam’s Club or BJ’s.

If you find yourself struggling to reach the $1,500 maximum this quarter, remember that you can buy gift cards to the wholesale clubs to use during the rest of the year. As long as you know you’ll end up using those gift cards, you might as well get the full bonus this quarter.