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Chase Adds Grocery Bonus to Sapphire Cards

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Over the past few months, Chase has made several permanent and temporary improvements to its credit card portfolio. Now Chase is at it again with an announcement of another new temporary benefit for its Sapphire cards.

Chase Adds Grocery Bonus to Sapphire Cards
Through April 30, 2021, Chase Sapphire cardholders will get bonus points on grocery spending.

New Grocery Bonus

Chase is adding grocery store purchases as a new bonus category on its two Sapphire cards:

This new bonus category starts Nov. 1, 2020, and ends on April 30, 2021.

These cards have always been geared towards travelers. However, with travel halted for many people for the foreseeable future, Chase is obviously looking for ways to keep the value of its cards high. I know for me personally, I’m spending a lot more on groceries this year and nothing on travel, so this is welcome news for my current spending habits.

Does this make the Sapphire Cards a “go to” for grocery spending?

In my opinion, the American Express® Gold Card is still the top card for grocery spending. I like it because it earns 4x points on up to $25,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each calendar year. Another great card to consider for grocery spending is the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. It earns 6% on the first $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets per calendar year.

However, if you don’t own either of those or any other card that earns bonus points on groceries, the Chase Sapphire cards should definitely be your new temporary “go to” grocery cards.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Credit

For Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders, Chase also recently announced an extension of it’s expanded $300 travel credit. Besides travel, cardholders can use their annual credit on gas and groceries through June 30, 2021. So if you have no upcoming travel plans, it does make sense to use your Sapphire Reserve on groceries to get that $300 credit.

Recent Chase Changes

As a quick recap, here are the other recent Chase announcements:

Bottom Line

While this news doesn’t vault the Chase Sapphire cards past the Amex Gold card for grocery purchases, it’s nice to see that Chase is willing to adjust to the world in which we currently live. I’m going to use my Chase Sapphire Reserve card on gas and groceries until I reach my $300 travel credit. After that, however, I’ll switch back to my Amex Gold card for all grocery spending. If I didn’t own an Amex Gold, then my Chase Sapphire Reserve would be my new grocery “go to” card. And based on your own credit card portfolio, it might become your “go to” as well.

What Credit Cards are in my Wallet (September 2020)

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I ran through this drill almost exactly a year ago, so now’s the perfect time to revisit what’s in my wallet. Every purchase I make, I want to maximize the potential reward, so it’s critical to have the right cards in my wallet at any given time. If you don’t review what’s in your wallet at least a few times a year, you’re probably losing valuable points or miles earning opportunities.

My main overarching goal is always to maximize earning points and miles. For day-to-day spending, I almost always choose which credit card to use based on earning the most points possible for every transaction. For example, I pay for travel expenses with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card because it earns me more points in that category than any other card I own. Similarly, I use my American Express Gold card for dining and grocery store transactions because those earn 4x Membership Rewards points.

However, there are times when I need to change my credit card usage. In general, there are three reasons why I change which cards I use and thus which cards I carry in my wallet.

  1. Spending on a new credit card in order to meet the minimum spending requirement for a sign-up bonus
  2. Taking advantage of a special credit card promotion
  3. Earning points or miles towards a specific goal

So with that being said, here are the credit cards currently in my wallet and when I use each.

My Wallet as of September 2020

American Express Gold Card

As was true a year ago at this time, the American Express Gold card is my most used credit card. In a given month, the majority of my transactions can be grouped into dining and grocery purchases. And since this card earns 4x Membership Rewards (MR) points on both restaurants and groceries, it gets the most use of any card in my wallet.

American Express Blue Business Plus

My next most used card is one of my two “catch-all” cards. This card earns 2x MR points on all purchases. Any spending that doesn’t fall into a bonus earning category on another card goes on this one. Cards like the Amex Gold (4x on dining) or the Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on dining) earn only 1x points on purchases outside of their bonus categories. So I’d rather earn 2x points on this card then 1x points on any other card. Plus Amex makes it easy by pooling MR points, so spending on any card in the MR family are put into the same account automatically.

Chase Freedom Unlimited

Chase Freedom Unlimited

My other “catch-all” card is the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which earns 1.5x Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points on all purchases. I use the Amex Blue Business Plus a little more often, but I like to spread out non-bonus purchases between both cards. Chase recently announced, however, that cardholders will earn bonus cash back on travel, dining and drugstore purchases! So in addition to being one of my “catch-all” cards, I use this now for all purchases at my local Walgreens.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase Sapphire Reserve

While I view Chase Ultimate Rewards as the most valuable points program, this card usage has taken a hit this year. The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3x UR points on travel and dining expenses. If I was traveling, this would be my go-to card for all travel expenses, but COVID-19 had other ideas. And for dining, I mostly use my Amex Gold card. Even though I value Chase UR points over American Express MR points, I can’t pass up 4x MR points on dining with the Gold card. So this card mainly comes out of my wallet at any restaurant that doesn’t accept American Express or if I’d rather earn Chase UR points on a particular purchase.

Chase Freedom

Chase Freedom

My Chase Freedom card is in my wallet year round. This card earns a 5% return in rotating categories that change each quarter. Right now through September 30, Chase is paying 5x UR points at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, on up to $1,500 in combined purchases. I’ve been using this card exclusively at Amazon.com, so I really don’t need to carry it in my wallet. So we’ll consider this card to be part of my “virtual” wallet instead.

Discover it®

Discover It

My other rotating categories card, the Discover It card, has been in my wallet since the third quarter began. During this quarter, cardholders earn 5% cash back at restaurants an online purchases made via PayPal. I’ve mostly used the card online when checking out using PayPal, but I also have it in my wallet for occasional use at restaurants.

Costco Anywhere Visa

The Costco Anywhere Visa card is always in my wallet even though I don’t use it all that much. For part the year, I use it to earn 4% on purchases at gas stations. During the rest of the year, I use my Chase Freedom or Discover It cards since gas stations usually earn 5% in multiple quarters. I also use this card for 2% cash back on my Costco runs.

US Bank Business Cash

The US Bank Business Cash card is a new card I applied for just this past June. It was in my wallet in order to meet the minimum spending requirement needed for the $500 sign-up bonus. Even though I’ve already received the welcome bonus, I’m still using the card to pay my monthly mobile phone bill. I do this because I earn 3% cash back on purchases from cell phone providers, but also because I get mobile phone protection up to $800 per claim as long as I pay my bill with the card.

Recently Dropped from my Wallet

Hilton Honors Aspire Card

Since hitting my Hilton Honors points goal for an upcoming trip to Hawaii, I removed this card from my wallet. I haven’t stayed even one night at any hotel this year, so until I start traveling again, this card stays on the sidelines. Currently, the only thing that would bring it back into my wallet is a compelling promotion from American Express. There’s a current offer of 1,000 Hilton points for every $1,000 spent, but with Hilton points only worth 0.5 to 0.6 cents per point, the return on that offer is pretty poor.

United Explorer Card

United Explorer Card

I had planned to keep this card to get free checked baggage fee and lounge access during my trip to Hawaii. After returning home, I was then going to downgrade the card to the no annual fee version. But after the pandemic caused me to cancel my Hawaii trip, I decided to keep this card for at least another year. Hopefully we can travel to Hawaii in 2021 and use the benefits then. In the meantime, this card hasn’t been in my wallet all year, since I value earning flexible points from Chase and American Express over United miles.

Bottom Line

This group of cards is what works for me right now. Remember that while this is currently my ideal wallet, a different set of credit cards may work better for you. I don’t foresee any changes to my wallet or credit card usage for the rest of the month. However, I do expect the credit card companies to announce holiday promotions soon. When that happens, I will review each one and change my spending habits to take advantage of those that make sense for me.

Chase Announces Q4 2020 Bonus Categories

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Registration is now open to activate your 5x category bonus earning with your Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cards. For the fourth quarter of 2020, the bonus categories are Walmart and and purchases made using PayPal.

Note: Non-Walmart merchants operating within or on Walmart premises, such as fast food restaurants and beauty services, are not included.

Chase Freedom 2020 Calendar

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 December 14, 2020
  • The promotion runs from October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020
  • The promotion is valid at Walmart and PayPal

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.

It’s becoming standard for Chase to provide bonus categories for Q4 that are geared toward shopping. So it’s not a surprise to see Walmart and PayPal. I personally prefer Amazon to Walmart, but since Amazon was a bonus category in Q3, it makes sense to go with Walmart Q4.

I particularly like that they’ve added PayPal again as virtually every online merchant accepts payment via PayPal. Remember to set your Chase Freedom or Freedom Flex card as the default within PayPal, and you’ll earn 5% cashback all quarter.

Happy holidays and happy spending!

Chase Introduces New Travel, Dining and Drugstore Bonus Categories for the Freedom Unlimited Card

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Chase Introduces New Travel, Dining and Drugstore Bonus Categories for the Freedom Unlimited Card

Since it’s introduction in 2016, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card has been extremely well liked by both beginners and experts. The primary reason is its straight forward earnings structure of 1.5% back on all purchases. Now Chase has announced that they’re making a good thing even better. Starting September 15, 2020, cardholders will earn bonus cashback on travel, dining and drugstore purchases!

New Chase Freedom Unlimited Categories

Starting September 15, 2020, the Chase Freedom Unlimited will offer three new bonus categories:

  • 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
  • 3% back on dining
  • 3% back at drugstores

There’s no activation required and all other purchases will continue to earn 1.5%. Plus there’s no cap on how many points you can earn! That’s an improvement over the Chase Freedom® whose bonus category earnings are capped at $1,500 per quarter.

5% Back on Travel

The biggest new bonus category is travel. To earn 5% cash back, however, cardholders must purchase travel through the Chase Travel Portal. In my experience, rates for hotels and airfare are often the same when booked through the portal versus direct. Just remember that hotels will usually not honor elite benefits on travel booked through any third-party travel portal.

3% Back on Dining

This new bonus category is kind of a head-scratcher from Chase’s perspective, but it’s certainly a nice benefit for cardholders. Chase’s premium Sapphire Reserve card earns 3% on dining but has a $550 annual fee. So it’s a little odd that Chase decided to give 3% back on dining (including takeout and delivery) for a card with no annual fee. And while there are lots of other cards that offer 3% or higher on dining purchases, this card is a great way to maximize returns from a no fee card.

3% Back at Drugstores

My favorite new bonus category is 3% back at drugstores. There are so many cards that offer great benefits on travel and dining, but almost nothing for drugstores. The Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card lets cardholders choose to earn 3% cashback at drugstores. But that’s only on up to $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter. Since the Chase Freedom Unlimited has no earnings cap, this becomes the new go-to card for drugstore purchases.

Now I’ll earn 3% cash back on my frequent Walgreens runs!

Chase Freedom Unlimited and Ultimate Rewards

This card is a very popular pick among beginners because it’s earnings structure was so simple — 1.5% cashback on all purchases. It’s also popular with experts because when paired with with a Chase credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you effectively turn that 1.5% return into 1.5x points.

Pairing with Chase Sapphire cards

On its own, points earned from the Chase Freedom Unlimited are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed for cash back, gift cards or travel. However, if you transfer those points to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred cards, you open up a new world of possibilities.

For Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred cardholders, points are worth 1.25 cents per point when redeemed in the Chase Travel Portal. For cardholders of the Sapphire Reserve, points are worth 1.5 cents per point when redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel Portal.

So moving your Freedom Unlimited points to any of these cards gets you at least 25% and up to 50% more value. But the Chase Travel Portal isn’t your only option. You can often get even greater value by transferring points to any of Chase’s 13 travel partners.

For example, you could transfer 70,000 Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines to fly first class from New York to Los Angeles. Tickets often sell for around $1,750, so the value of those 70,000 points is around 2.5 cents per point ($1,750 / 70,000 points). That’s 150% more value than redeeming at 1 cent per point!

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

Chase Freedom Flex℠

All of the above sounds pretty darn good, but Chase didn’t stop there. In the same announcement, they also introduced the new no annual fee Freedom Flex℠ MasterCard. This is essentially a re-branded version of the Freedom Card, with some significant improvements. The new card combines a set of rotating bonus categories (like Chase Freedom) with the same trio of fixed bonus categories (like Chase Freedom Unlimited): 5% cash back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal, 3% cash back on dining and 3% cash back at drugstores.

It’s worth noting that the current Chase Freedom card will no longer be available to new customers, though existing cardholders can choose to keep their current card or request a product change to the new Freedom Flex.

Current Sign-up Offer

Both the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex cards are currently offering new cardholders a $200 bonus (effectively 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 in the first three months. Plus, new cardholders will also earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases up to $12,000 spent in the first year.

If you maximize this offer, you’ll earn a bonus of $600 cashback from grocery purchases in addition to the $200 sign-up bonus. That’s $800 cashback, or when transferred to an Ultimate Rewards-earning card, 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Bottom Line

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card is already one of the most popular cards out there. Now with the addition of 5% back on travel, 3% on dining and 3% at drugstores, this card should have a place in everyone’s wallet.

Apply here for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card.