20K Chase Freedom Signup Bonus and Q1 2015 5X Categories

A 20,000 Chase Freedom Signup Bonus Offer and Q1 2015 5X Categories have been announced. See Best Travel Credit Cards for the link, at the end of the post. The usual signup bonus is just 10,000 points (or $100), so if you were planning to get this card anyway, it's a good time.

Here are the details, along with why you may want this no annual fee credit card, even without a high signup bonus.

Earn 20,000 points after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

Earn 5% cash back on up to $1500 in combined purchases each quarter

Earn 1% cash back on all other spend

No annual fee

Q1 2015 5X Categories

Only the following Q1 2015 5X categories have been announced, so we don't yet know the full Chase Freedom 2015 Calendar, but I'll be sure to post on it when it's announced.

Grocery Stores
Starbucks
Movie Theaters

A big thumbs up for grocery stores! I'm thrilled to see that return as a 5X category, after missing from the Chase Freedom 2013 and 2014 calendars. Sure, many of us already earn 5X on all Whole Foods spend thanks to an Ink Plus or old Ink Bold card, but that leaves out other grocery stores. In my case, I continue to do significant shopping at Trader Joe's, not only due to lower prices, but also because there are specific private label products that we can't get anywhere else.

Back to the 20K Chase Freedom bonus–should you get the Chase Freedom card if you don't already have it? I've had my Chase Freedom longer than most of my other credit cards, thanks to the no annual fee, but it's also true that I don't use it nearly as often on a regular basis as I used to, before Chase eliminated the Old Chase Exclusives for the Chase Freedom Card, Even for Grandfathered Members.

Here's what I view as the pros and cons of the card:

Pros

No Annual Fee: No need to ever cancel this card, since there's no annual fee to pay. That helps your credit score over the long run, by increasing your average age of accounts.

5X for Dining: My favorite Chase Freedom 5X category is 5X on dining, although sadly it's just for one quarter (this past year it was in Q2 2014). Just buy gift certificates for all your favorite restaurants and enjoy 5X on dining, which is even better than 3X on Chase Sapphire Preferred First Fridays.

Transfer to Frequent Flyer Miles: While the con (see below) is that you need a Chase card linked to Ultimate Rewards such as the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Plus, which carry annual fees, if you have either one, you can transfer out to several frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. I'm glad that Singapore KrisFlyer is a Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partner and I also like to transfer to Korean Skypass.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall: While bonuses used to be higher for a number of merchants and usually Ultimate Rewards Mall bonuses are the same for all Chase cards, it's still worth checking the Chase Freedom version of the Ultimate Rewards Mall in case the merchant offers a higher bonus than is available when clicking through from your Ink Plus or Sapphire Preferred Account.

Cons

Low signup bonus, which is true of most no annual fee cards. Still, the current 20,000 signup bonus is better than the usual 10,000 signup bonus.

Must have a Ultimate Rewards linked annual fee card to transfer points out: You'll need a Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold (if you already have one–note that no new applications are possible since the Ink Bold has been eliminated–see Bye Bye Ink Bold) or Ink Plus in order to transfer points earned with your Chase Freedom to Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners, such as Singapore KrisFlyer, Korean Skypass, United MileagePlus, Hyatt Gold Passport, etc.

5X categories have gotten less lucrative. I no longer max out my 5X categories for some quarters, particularly when the 5X categories are gas stations and Kohl's or department stores. Generally speaking, unless there's a great Ultimate Rewards Mall bonus for a given store, Amazon has lower prices so I do better with 5X on all Amazon spend. See 2014 Chase Freedom 5X bonuses are disappointing

Have to activate your 5X each quarter: Look, I know you can just set an automatic alert, and that Chase is trying to encourage “engagement” with their card product, but I hate having to do this. The bonus should be automatic, as it is with virtually every other card's category bonus.