Chase Freedom Flex Q4 2025 categories focus more on travel, less on holiday shopping |

The Chase Freedom Flex® historically leans closely into vacation purchasing with its fourth quarter bonus classes. This yr, nonetheless, journey is taking heart stage.

From Oct. 1 via Dec. 31, 2025, the Freedom Flex will give an additional 4 % cash back on as much as $1,500 in quarterly spending on Chase Travel^SM bookings in addition to purchases at malls and Previous Navy (in-person and on-line). Activation is required and spending past the $1,500 restrict earns 1 % money again. In December, PayPal purchases will even be eligible for the elevated rewards.

In most of those classes, this implies cardholders will earn a complete of 5 % money again (as much as the $1,500 threshold with activation). That’s as a result of the Freedom Flex offers a normal 1 % money again, plus the 4 % promotion on choose spending that modifications each three months. However Chase Journey purchases already earn 5 % again with the Freedom Flex, so the additional 4 % provides as much as a whopping 9 % again through the fourth quarter.

That’s probably greater than you can earn with any of the best travel credit cards.

Chase Journey purchases characterize essentially the most This autumn worth

This boosted rewards incomes is likely to be sufficient of an incentive to get me to make use of Chase Journey in This autumn. I’ve solely used it as soon as beforehand. I are inclined to shrink back from third-party bookings, preferring to make journey reservations immediately with airways and accommodations. It’s extra streamlined that manner, and third-party bookings don’t sometimes earn resort rewards or elite standing perks (though airways do generally award frequent flyer miles when prospects guide via intermediaries resembling Chase Journey, Expedia, Travelocity and so forth).

It’s sensible enterprise for Chase to encourage extra cardholders to make use of its journey portal, which is already one of many largest on-line journey companies. However from the angle of Freedom Flex cardholders resembling myself, Chase Journey is a boom-or-bust inclusion on the This autumn calendar. Journey is a big however episodic spending class, in contrast to fuel, groceries and Amazon.com, which have been featured on the Freedom Flex’s bonus calendar earlier within the yr. My household makes these sorts of purchases each week.

Reserving vacation journey in This autumn is fairly late, so to take full benefit of this promotion, most prospects will in all probability be higher suited to contemplate reservations for Q1 2026 and past. In my case, I ought to take into consideration Spring and Summer season 2026, since I have already got flights and lodging set for my subsequent two household journeys (in December 2025 and January 2026).

Slim pickings except for Chase Journey?

Attempting to maximise this promotion exterior of Chase Journey could possibly be difficult for me and my household. For the previous a number of years PayPal has been the centerpiece of our This autumn Freedom Flex technique. From the cardboard’s inception in 2020 via 2024, PayPal purchases earned 5 % money again all through all the fourth quarter. Solely getting one month of elevated PayPal rewards this yr is a big loss from my perspective. And if I might solely decide one of many This autumn months to get these elevated rewards, December could be my final decide, sadly.

Vacation purchasing begins effectively earlier than Black Friday

Like lots of people, I have a tendency to start out my vacation purchasing a lot earlier. About half of vacation buyers plan to start making their purchases earlier than Oct. 31, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Early Holiday Shopping Survey. Greater than a 3rd plan to start out in November and solely 14 % will wait till December.

These statistics characterize when folks plan to start out, quite than end, their vacation purchasing. However because the season creeps earlier — highlighted by main retail occasions resembling Goal Circle Week and Prime Massive Deal Days, that are each scheduled for early October — many, if not most, vacation purchasing {dollars} are spent previous to Dec. 1. Thanksgiving weekend positively isn’t the vacation purchasing kickoff anymore. Black Friday, Small Enterprise Saturday and Cyber Monday have become mid-season occasions, even perhaps verging on the start of the ultimate push.

I attempt to have my vacation purchasing wrapped up round Cyber Monday, so except I delay it due to the Freedom Flex promo (uncertain), I’ll need to give you different methods to maximise my money again earnings.

I don’t store a lot at Previous Navy or malls

I’m unsure how useful the Previous Navy and division retailer bonuses might be for my household’s spending habits. We don’t have a tendency to buy at Previous Navy. In truth, I don’t consider we store a lot at any of the shops that qualify for the division retailer class.

Amazon, Walmart and Goal usually are not included, a Chase consultant tells me. The terms and conditions particularly exclude “supercenters, low cost shops, or specialty shops (e.g., shops that promote primarily one line of merchandise resembling shoe shops, pet shops, electronics shops, clothes shops), and on-line market web sites.”

What’s included? “Retailers on this class usually have a number of departments which promote attire, house furnishings, furnishings, electronics, cosmetics, housewares, and main family home equipment … Purchases made on a service provider’s web site are included.”

If you happen to’re unsure a couple of explicit retailer, you may need to check a small buy earlier than placing an excessive amount of potential division retailer spending on the Freedom Flex, since your required 5 % rewards may solely be 1 % if the merchant category code doesn’t align to your benefit.

Conventional malls like Macy’s and Kohl’s seemingly rely towards the bonus classes. We don’t store there a lot, both, however I assume we might.

In truth, that change in habits is type of the purpose of those promotions. We’re seeing extra card issuers dangling incentives resembling these rotating quarterly classes, card-linked provides (resembling Chase Offers) and numerous way of life credit (month-to-month, quarterly or semi-annual stipends for sure forms of meals supply, rideshares, streaming providers and so forth).

Bank card rewards turned coupon books

My colleague Ana Staples captured this development completely in her piece, “When did travel credit cards start turning into coupon books?” Ana nailed it with this description of The Platinum Card® from American Express:

If you happen to’re making an attempt to offset the annual payment with assertion credit, the cardboard will dictate the place you spend. You’re to buy at Walmart commonly. Your health club is Equinox. Even digital leisure credit solely apply to Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Occasions, Peacock and The Wall Road Journal [note: Paramount+, YouTube Premium and YouTube TV were later added]. Solely subscribed to Netflix and Spotify? You’re out of luck.

We see this development all through the business, together with the This autumn Freedom Flex classes. The record is nice should you store commonly at Previous Navy, and shops resembling Macy’s and Kohl’s as effectively. In all probability not a lot should you’re extra loyal to Walmart or Amazon. And Previous Navy’s sister manufacturers Hole, Banana Republic and Athleta are particularly excluded, per the phrases and circumstances.

More and more, bank card rewards applications are emphasizing a narrower set of manufacturers that pay to be included (as a type of direct response advertising) and, because of this, this whittles down the record of potential rewards alternatives for you, the cardholder.

The underside line

I achieved the coveted “good yr” in 2024, maximizing all the Freedom Flex’s quarterly bonus categories. This yr, I fell fairly a bit brief in Q2. With a number of days remaining in Q3, it’s going to be an in depth name this time round, and I don’t actually know what to anticipate in This autumn.

If future household journey plans align, I may need the prospect to maximise the Chase Journey class in a single transaction (my household of 4 might simply spend $1,500 on a journey reserving). However I’m unsure we’ve got an upcoming journey that traces up with the promotion, by which case my regular vacation purchasing habits in all probability gained’t be sufficient to shut the hole.

My fallback choice could possibly be to make use of PayPal all through December. Even when my vacation purchasing is completed by then, I might use it at a neighborhood grocery retailer — though I’ve carried out that previously and located it greater than a bit clunky.

It’s additionally okay if I don’t maximize each set of quarterly choices. As good as it’s to earn an additional $75 per quarter by hitting all of the bonus class spending thresholds, the very last thing you need to do with any rewards technique is to overspend or carry a steadiness. I do my greatest to maximise bank card rewards, however I’ll solely go thus far past my regular routine.

Have a query about bank cards? E-mail me at ted.rossman@bankrate.com and I’d be completely happy to assist.