Card benefits change often, and this page may be out of date by the time you read it. Always check the bank’s page and your card’s guide to benefits for the current terms before you rely on a benefit.
The Freedom Flex is Chase’s no-annual-fee rotating-category card: 5% back on up to $1,500 a quarter in categories you activate, 5% on Chase Travel, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on everything else. Since its 2026 refresh it also has no foreign transaction fee.
Like the Freedom Unlimited, its “cash back” is really Ultimate Rewards points, so with a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink Business Preferred those points can be transferred to airlines and hotels. Below is the current category calendar, the DoorDash and Lyft extras, the protections (including what happened to cell phone protection), and my verdict.
Freedom Flex at a glance
- Annual fee: $0
- Current public offer: $250 (25,000 points) after $500 in purchases in the first 3 months (as of October 14, 2026, per Frequent Miler)
- Is it the best ever?: Yes. Frequent Miler calls $250 the highest it has seen on the Freedom Flex; Chase labels it limited-time and shows the usual $200 struck through, so I wouldn’t wait on this one.
- Foreign transaction fee: None (new with the 2026 refresh)
- Best for: People who’ll activate the categories every quarter and want a no-fee card that also works abroad, especially alongside a Sapphire card.
- Skip it if: You won’t remember to activate each quarter (outside the categories it’s a 1% card), or you’re close to 5/24 and would rather spend the slot on a bigger bonus.
- Bank’s page: Chase Freedom Flex on chase.com
Jump to: Highlights · Earning · Credits · Other perks · Insurance · Transfers · Application rules · My take · The catch · Keep it? · Offer history · Quick Answers
The highlights
- 5% on rotating categories on up to $1,500 a quarter, only if you activate each quarter; October to December 2026 is grocery stores (not Walmart or Target), dining and the American Red Cross
- 5% on Chase Travel, 3% on dining and drugstores, 1% elsewhere; no annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees since the 2026 refresh
- 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (balance transfer fee applies)
- 6 months of DashPass (then it auto-renews at the paid rate) plus $10 off one non-restaurant DoorDash order per quarter, through 12/31/2027; 2% on Lyft through 9/30/2027
- Points become transferable to airlines and hotels only when combined with a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink Business Preferred
- Trip cancellation up to $1,500 per traveler, secondary rental car coverage in the U.S., purchase protection and extended warranty; cell phone protection is no longer listed
How it earns
| Category | Rate | Caps and fine print |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly 5% categories | 5% | On up to $1,500 in combined category purchases each quarter you activate, then 1%. Oct–Dec 2026: grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target), dining, American Red Cross. Jan–Mar 2027: grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target), top streaming services (activate from December 15, 2026). |
| Chase Travel | 5% | No cap. |
| Dining | 3% | Includes takeout and eligible delivery (5% this quarter as a category, up to the $1,500 cap). |
| Drugstores | 3% | — |
| Lyft rides | 2% | Through 9/30/2027, booked in the Lyft app. |
| Everything else | 1% | — |
Maxing a quarter is $1,500 x 5% = $75 (7,500 points), or $300 a year if you hit every quarter. Chase tracks the cash back as points (1% = 1 point per dollar), worth 1 cent each as cash or in Chase Travel (0.8 cents at Amazon or PayPal checkout, which I’d avoid). Frequent Miler reports the refresh also added a 10% Points Boost on select Chase Travel hotels, though Chase’s card page doesn’t mention it.
Credits and how to use them
There’s no travel credit on a no-fee card. These are the extras, and both DoorDash pieces have a catch.
| Credit | Amount | How often | Where / how | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DashPass membership | 6 months free | Once | Activate by 12/31/2027 with the card as your DoorDash payment method | After 6 months you’re automatically enrolled at the then-current monthly DashPass rate until you cancel, so set a reminder if you don’t want to pay for it. |
| DoorDash promo (non-restaurant) | $10 off one order a quarter | Each calendar quarter | One grocery, convenience or other non-restaurant order, while enrolled in DashPass | Restaurant orders don’t qualify, unused value is forfeited, and it doesn’t roll over. Through 12/31/2027. |
Other perks
- No lounges, status or travel credits; this is a category card.
- No foreign transaction fees, which is unusual for a no-fee cash back card (the Freedom Unlimited charges 3%).
- 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR (a balance transfer fee applies).
- Chase Offers: targeted cash back deals in the Chase app or on chase.com; you activate an offer, pay with the card at that merchant and get a statement credit within 30 days.
Insurance and protections
| Benefit | What the bank says |
|---|---|
| Trip cancellation / interruption | Up to $1,500 per covered traveler and $6,000 per trip for prepaid, non-refundable fares from the carrier One-way and award tickets: Yes to both: the guide covers a round-trip or one-way common carrier fare charged all or in part to the card or paid with points, so award taxes on the card count. |
| Auto rental collision damage waiver | Secondary to your personal insurance in the U.S.; the guide says it’s primary outside the U.S., up to $60,000 |
| Purchase protection | 120 days, up to $500 per item (90 days for New York residents) |
| Extended warranty | Adds one year to U.S. warranties of three years or less |
| Cell phone protection | No longer on the card page. Frequent Miler reports it was removed with the 2026 refresh; the older Guide to Benefits (effective 10/01/24) still lists it, so check the guide Chase sends you before relying on it. |
There is no trip delay, baggage delay or lost luggage coverage on this card. Coverage rules for one-way and award tickets come from Chase’s Guide to Benefits for the Freedom Flex (effective 10/01/24).
For how this compares with other cards, see my card travel benefits comparison.
Transfer partners
On its own, the Freedom Flex can’t transfer points to airlines or hotels. Chase lets you combine Ultimate Rewards points between your cards, so if you also have a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink Business Preferred, you can move the Flex points to that card and transfer them from there. The ratio is whatever that card gets: World of Hyatt is 4:3 from a Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, and still 1:1 from a Sapphire Reserve. Ratios and transfer times are in my transfer partners guide.
With transfers, a maxed 5% quarter is 7,500 transferable points, which is where this card gets interesting.
Application rules for this card
- You can’t get this card if you have it open now, and the bonus isn’t available if you received a Freedom Flex bonus in the last 24 months (per the card page). Holding a Freedom Unlimited or a Sapphire doesn’t stop you.
- Chase’s 5/24 rule applies: you’ll be denied if you’ve opened 5 or more personal cards from any bank in the last 24 months, and this card counts as one of the five once you have it.
The full rules for every bank are in my credit card application rules guide.
My take
There’s no fee, so the fee math is $0, and the current $250 is the best offer this card has had, which makes this a good time to get it if it fits your 5/24 plans.
It’s worth it if you’ll activate the categories every quarter and actually spend in them: this quarter’s grocery and dining is about as good as rotating categories get. If you know you won’t remember, the Freedom Unlimited’s flat 1.5% is the better no-fee Chase card for you.
Paired with a Sapphire, the 5% categories become 5 transferable points per dollar on up to $1,500 a quarter, and with no foreign transaction fee now, it’s also a reasonable backup card abroad.
The catch
You have to activate the 5% categories every quarter, the cap is $1,500 per quarter, and some quarters are close to useless depending on how you spend (PayPal, “select” merchants, a charity). Outside the categories, dining and drugstores it earns 1%.
The refresh took away cell phone protection, which was one of the better reasons to hold a no-fee Flex, and the rental coverage is secondary in the U.S.
The DashPass membership quietly turns into a paid subscription after 6 months, and the $10 quarterly DoorDash promo only works on non-restaurant orders. Chase, like other banks with these kinds of hard-to-use perks, hopes that you forget about them.
Keep it after year one?
There’s no annual fee, so the fee math is $0 and I’d keep it as long as you activate the categories. Even in quarters you skip, an open no-fee card helps the age of your credit history, and if you ever get a Sapphire later your points become transferable.
Offer history
Chase doesn’t publish an offer history. The usual offer was $200 after $500 in 3 months; the current $250 (since the September 2026 refresh) is the highest Frequent Miler has seen.
Quick Answers
Neither, as of October 2026. Chase dropped the foreign transaction fee in the 2026 refresh.
As of October 14, 2026 the offer is $250 (25,000 points) after $500 in purchases in the first 3 months, a limited-time increase from the usual $200.
Grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target), dining and the American Red Cross, on up to $1,500 in combined purchases after you activate. January to March 2027 is grocery stores and top streaming services.
Chase’s card page no longer lists it, and Frequent Miler reports it was removed with the 2026 refresh. Check the Guide to Benefits Chase sends you before relying on it.
Only if you also have a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink Business Preferred. Combine the points into that card’s account and transfer from there; Hyatt is 4:3 from the Preferred cards and 1:1 from the Sapphire Reserve.
Last checked: October 14, 2026. Card terms change often, so confirm on the bank’s page before you apply. There are no affiliate or referral links on this site, ever; links go to the bank’s own page.