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Activate the Chase Freedom 5X Bonus for Q1 2024 for Grocery Stores, Fitness Clubs, and Spa and Salon Services.
The Chase Freedom Q1 grocery store 5X bonus is one of our favorites, since it can be so easily maximized by purchasing grocery store gift cards, thereby front loading spend. For example, we have 5 Chase Freedom cards, so by spending the maximum of $1500 per card, equating to 7500 points per card, we earn 37,500 points this quarter. That may not sound like much, but when combined with recurring Ultimate Rewards transfer bonuses (at time of writing, there's a 20% transfer bonus to Air Canada Aeroplan and a 20% transfer bonus to Air France/KLM Flying Blue until 1/15/25, and past transfer bonuses have been to British Airways Avios, Iberia Plus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, etc.) it can be a significant part of a business class award flight such as Iberia Business Class or ANA Business Class.
Note that in order to transfer points earned on the Chase Freedom to airline frequent flyer programs, you'll need a card linked to Chase Ultimate Rewards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred.
Spa and salon services was a new bonus category last year and has returned this year. It's perfect for those who get regular massages or other spa services. Again, at many salons it should be possible to front load spend by purchasing gift cards to use later in the year, so as to max out the bonus. Be careful, however; as the Chase FAQ notes, spas and salons that are part of a hotel won't count. It's always wise to first do a single purchase to see how it codes, before charging more to your enrolled card.
Fans of Norwegian Cruise Lines will enjoy this as a new 5X category; TravelSort Clients can take advantage of Virtuoso Voyages shipboard credit on select sailings.
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Best Uses of Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
One of the key benefits of transferable points currencies such as Chase Ultimate Rewards points and AMEX Membership Rewards points is the ability to transfer to multiple airline frequent flyer programs, instead of being locked into a single airline's miles (such as Delta SkyMiles, one of the least valuable frequent flyer currencies). While it's possible to redeem Ultimate Rewards points for gift cards, Amazon purchases, and paid flights, you'll earn the greatest value by transferring to certain frequent flyer programs to reserve first class or business class award tickets. Keep in mind that award ticket availability is limited, so you'll want to reserve far in advance (most frequent flyer programs open their award calendar 330-360 days in advance) and be flexible with your dates. Search for award availability before transferring points, and note that not all points transfers are instant.
Due to earning 3X-5X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on most of our major spend, thanks to Chase Freedom 5X quarterly bonuses and 5X from our Ink Cash and an old Ink Plus card on cell phone, Internet, as well as gift cards, we find it useful to transfer points to British Airways with a transfer bonus so as to reserve Iberia Business Class, and less frequently, to Aeroplan or United MileagePlus for SWISS Business Class, Brussels Business Class, Austrian Business Class and SAS Business Class, as well as United Polaris Business Class. In the past we've also transferred to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to redeem for ANA The Suite First Class.
Which Chase Freedom 5X category in Q1 2025 is your favorite?
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