Starting June 15, activate Chase Freedom 5X for Restaurants and Wholesale Clubs for July – September 2016 spend. Restaurants, along with grocery stores, are my two favorite 5X categories. What other card, after all, gives you 5X points on all dining out?
You don't need to spend $1500 on restaurants within 3 months (although it wouldn't surprise me if a number of New Yorkers do actually spend $500 or more a month on dining out)–you can simply buy gift cards for your favorite restaurants to front load your spend, then use the gift certificates throughout the year when you go out to lunch or dinner. We'll be maxing out each of our Chase Freedom cards to earn 15,000 points from $3000 in restaurant dining and gift certificate spend for Q3, 2016.
If you don't dine out much, Chase is also extending the 5X on wholesale club stores for the rest of 2016. So don't worry if you don't have time to get to Costco at the end of June, when Costco starts accepting Visa; you can earn 5X with your Chase Freedom for the rest of the year, as long as you activate your Q3 and Q4 5X bonuses. In fact, you may as well max out your Q2 5X bonus on grocery stores, if you haven't already spent the maximum of $1500 for the quarter.
FAQ
Will Wholesale Clubs as a 5X Category Increase the 5X Eligible Spend from $1500 per Quarter?
No–the maximum spend that will earn 5X in a given quarter (e.g. in Q3 2016) is still $1500. After you hit that maximum spend, any spend above that amount will earn 1 point per dollar. It's up to you to decide your mix of spend, e.g. spend all $1500 at wholesale clubs, all $1500 at restaurants, or a mix of the two.
Which Wholesale Clubs are Eligible for the Chase Freedom 5X Bonus?
The key wholesale clubs that are eligible for the 5X bonus are BJ's, Costco, Sam's Club and Texas Jasmine, and include purchases made online for these wholesale clubs as well as in-store. Note, however, that certain wholesale club purchases do NOT earn 5X:
- Gas and fuel
- Specialty services such as travel, insurance, cell phone and home improvement
Which Restaurants are Eligible for the Chase Freedom 5X Bonus?
Restaurants that are eligible for the 5X bonus are stand alone restaurants. You're unlikely to earn 5X points for restaurants and cafes that are located in stores, casinos, theme parks, stadiums, etc. since the purchases are likely to code as the larger establishment, and not as a restaurant.
How About International Restaurants?
I don't recommend using your Chase Freedom out of the U.S. since it incurs foreign transaction fees. Use your Sapphire Preferred instead, which earns 2X on all dining as well as travel (so if it's a hotel restaurant you'll earn 2X either way).
Which NYC Restaurants Do You Recommend?
The nice thing about NYC is that you can find just about everything from bbq to bahn mi and from sushi to khachapuri, at a range or price points. Some of our very favorites are:
- New American: Gramercy Tavern
- Seafood: The Clam
- Family Friendly BBQ: Blue Smoke
- Dim Sum: Oriental Garden
- Issan / Northern Thai: Somtum Der
- Southern Thai: Up Thai
- Cambodian Banh Mi: Num Pang
- Sushi in Midtown: Tsushima
- Neapolitan Pizza: Pizzetteria Brunetti
- Georgian / Khachapuri: Oda House, Tone Cafe
- Chocolate: Kee's Chocolates (see Can't Miss Best Dark Chocolate in NYC)
- Gelato: Grom
- Breads and Pastries: Maison Kayser, Breads Bakery
Where do you plan to earn your Chase Freedom 5X in Q3 2016?
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