The Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom 5% bonus categories for Q3 2021 are grocery stores and select streaming services

• The Q3 Chase Freedom rotating bonus categories are grocery stores and select streaming services.
• You can earn 5% back on the first $1,500 spent in combined purchases in these categories (then 1%).
• Q3 runs from July 1 to September 30, 2021, and activation is required by September 14 to earn the bonus.
• Read Insider's guide to the best rewards credit cards.

Chase has just revealed the new Q3 rotating quarterly bonus categories on one of our favorite cash-back credit cards, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ . From July 1 to September 30, 2021, you can earn 5% cash back (5x points) on up to $1,500 in combined purchases (then 1%) at grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target) and on select streaming services when you activate the bonus.

These categories also apply to the Chase Freedom®, which is no longer available to new applicants. 

Chase Freedom Q3 2021 categories

Here are the Chase Freedom 5% bonus categories from July 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021:

• Grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target)
• Select streaming services

If you're staying closer to home this summer, the new Chase third-quarter 2021 bonus categories are a great fit. Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cardholders can activate the Q3 bonus categories through their Chase account starting June 15 until September 14, 2021.

Read more: The best Chase credit cards in 2021

Once you activate, the bonus will retroactively apply to purchases, up to spending limits, from the start of the current quarter. Keep in mind Chase has some restrictions around what counts as a grocery store or streaming service; for example, Walmart and Target sell groceries, but they don't qualify as a grocery store for this bonus.

How Chase Freedom quarterly bonus categories work

Each quarter of the year, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cards earn 5% back (or 5x points) on a different set of bonus categories.  Activation is required, and once you hit the quarterly max of $1,500 spent in the bonus categories, your rate reverts to 1% back.

Read more: The Chase Freedom and Freedom Unlimited aren't just cash-back cards — here's how you can turn their rewards into travel points

While these are marketed as cash-back cards, if you also have a card that earns transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can combine rewards between the two cards and transfer them to Chase's airline and hotel partners. That's why you can think of the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® bonus categories as earning you either 5% back or 5x points.

You'll earn 5% back or 5x points on up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter, so if you max this out, you'll earn $75 back, or 7,500 Chase points. Each quarter, you need to activate the quarterly bonus categories in order to be eligible for cash back or bonus Ultimate Rewards points. You'll receive an email prompting you to activate them through your online account.

Previous Chase Freedom quarterly bonus categories

For Q2 2021 (April to June), the Chase Freedom bonus categories are gas stations and home improvement stores. If you've already activated these categories, you'll continue to earn the bonus (up to spending limits) until the end of June, even if you activate the Q3 bonus.

Q1 2021's bonus categories were cable, internet, and phone services, wholesale clubs, and streaming services. In 2020, the previous quarterly bonus categories were as follows:

• Q1: Gas stations, internet, cable, and phone services, select streaming services
• Q2: Grocery stores, fitness club and gym memberships, select streaming services
• Q3: Amazon and Whole Foods purchases
• Q4: Walmart and PayPal

Here are the previous quarterly bonus categories from 2019:

• Q1: Gas stations, tolls, drugstores
• Q2: Grocery stores and home improvement stores
• Q3: Select streaming services and gas stations
• Q4: Department stores, PayPal, and Chase Pay

Chase Freedom Flex card details

In addition to earning 5% back (5x points) on quarterly bonus categories, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% cash back on dining and drugstores, and 1% back on everything else.

It's a no-annual-fee card, but it does charge foreign transaction fees, so you won't want to use it for international purchases.

Read more: Chase Freedom Flex credit card review

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is currently offering a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. 

If you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can transfer your bonus to travel partners like United Airlines, Hyatt, and Marriott.

Other credit card options

If you want to explore other options before committing to the Chase Freedom Flex℠ , there's one very similar card to check out, as well as other cash-back credit cards with different bonus category structures.

Also with quarterly bonus categories: Discover it® Cash Back

This Discover it® Cash Back doesn't offer the ability to convert cash back into points for travel, but it does offer different 5% bonus categories each quarter of the year.

The Discover it® Cash Back earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter when you activate the bonus categories (then 1% Discover It Cashback rotation), similarly to the Chase Freedom Flex℠ , so you max out at $75 back each quarter, or up to $300 back each year.

The card has no annual fee, and earns 1% back on all other purchases. New cardholders will get all their cash back matched at the end of their first year, so if you earned $500 back total, Discover would match that for a total of $1,000 back Discover It Cashback rotation.

Read more: Discover it Cash Back card review

Unlike Chase, which announces quarterly cash-back categories every three months, Discover reveals its calendar for the year at once.

Here's the 2021 Discover it 5% cash-back calendar:

• Q1: Grocery stores, Walgreens, and CVS
• Q2: Gas stations, wholesale clubs, and select streaming services
• Q3: Restaurants and PayPal
• Q4: Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and Target.com

Earn 5% on your top eligible monthly spending category: Citi Custom Cash℠ Card

The brand-new Citi Custom Cash℠ Card makes it easy to earn 5% cash back (5x Citi ThankYou points) without having to keep track of rotating categories or remembering to activate a bonus. Cardholders earn 5% back on up to $500 in spending (then 1%) on the eligible category they spend the most in that billing cycle.

Categories that qualify include:

• Restaurants
• Gas stations
• Grocery stores
• Select travel
• Select transit
• Select streaming services
• Drugstores
• Home improvement stores
• Fitness clubs
• Live entertainment

Read more: Citi Custom Cash card review

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card offers a welcome bonus of Citi Custom Cash℠ Card. If you also have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card, you can pool your points and transfer them to Citi's airline partners, like JetBlue or Singapore Airlines.

A strong alternative: Chase Freedom Unlimited®

If you don't want to keep track of quarterly bonus categories, you may want to consider Chase's other cash-back Freedom card instead.

Read more: Chase Freedom Unlimited card review

The no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through the Chase portal, 3% cash back on dining and at drugstores, and 1.5% back on everything else with no limit. If you're a new cardholder you can currently earn $200 after spending $500 in the first three months from account opening.

The trick of turning cash back into Ultimate Rewards points when you have another eligible Chase card works with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® too, so you could be earning at least 1.5x points on all your purchases — a very solid return on spending.

Sarah Silbert is the Senior Reviews Editor at Personal Finance Insider. She's covered personal finance topics, including credit card rewards, for the last six years, and she's a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).

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