Chase Freedom 1st Quarter 2018 Bonus Categories

The Chase Freedom credit card earns 5% cash back in bonus categories that change each quarter. The categories for the 1st quarter of 2018 have just been announced. Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases from January 1 – March 31, 2018 at:

Gas Stations
Internet/Cable/Phone Services
Chase Pay, Android Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay

Gas Stations are a welcome bonus category. The Internet/Cable/Phone Services bonus clashes with holders of Chase’s Ink Plus or Ink Cash business credit cards. Those Chase card holders already get 5x Ultimate Rewards points in that category.

Chase has recently been offering bonuses for using digital wallets. It looks like this trend will continue into 2018.

Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay allow you to use your compatible smartphone to pay for purchases. Using a digital wallet at the point of sale is more secure than using your physical credit card. Your actual card number is never shared with the merchant and is not stored on your device. Instead, a Device Account Number is used to process your payment – further protecting your personal information.

Chase Pay is a bit different. You need to use the Chase Pay app to generate a QR code that the merchant needs to scan. Merchants that accept Chase Pay in store are extremely limited.

For more information on setting up and using each payment method as well as participating merchants, click on the following links.


Android Pay	Apple Pay	Samsung Pay	Chase Pay

As a reminder, with Freedom, you need to activate your card’s bonus categories every three months. To activate the bonus categories for the 1st quarter, please click the following link on or after December 15, 2017: