Q2 Chase Categories: Earn the maximum points for travel

In the points and miles world, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are often regarded as the most valuable currency thanks to the variety of cards they have and the wide range of transfer partners available for the points. The original Freedom and Freedom Flex cards are valuable components of our points earning strategy because of the quarterly categories that offer 5x points. We appreciate having the ability to earn 7,500 Ultimate Rewards points per quarter per card while also paying no annual fee. The 7,500 points comes from spending the maximum of $1,500 on the elevated categories.

The Q2 Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex categories are restaurants, hotels, and Amazon purchases. While we would never advocate spending money you don’t need to, if you’re going to spend money on these categories in the future, here are some ideas to get the maximum amount of points now.

Amazon

If you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, you can load your Amazon account with the balance of what you haven’t spend towards that $1,500 maximum. Amazon is one of the more challenging places to stack points – we typically get 1.5x on Amazon purchases with our every day credit card. By loading your account, you can get 5x on future Amazon purchases instead of 1 or maybe 2x points depending on the credit cards in your wallet.

If you don’t use Amazon for purchases, take a look at the gift cards they offer. For example, they have gift cards to Netflix. The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 3x on streaming charges, which isn’t bad. But if you buy a Netflix gift card from Amazon, you could cover months of your subscription at 5x rather than the regular 3x. Apple is another gift card option. Purchasing a new phone or laptop soon? Buy a gift card through Amazon for 5x rather than the lower points you’d accrue on your regular credit card.

Other gift card options include Instacart (5x on groceries!), Ulta, AirBnb, Hulu, Nordstrom, Spotify, Sephora, Old Navy, and more.

Restaurants

Many cards offer elevated dining points. The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited both offer 3x Ultimate Rewards points while the American Express Gold card offers 4x Membership Rewards points. But 5x points for travel is better than 3x or 4x, right?

Got a favorite local restaurant that offers gift cards? Buy a treat for future you and get 5x on your nights out in Q3 and Q4.

Order delivery frequently? Buy a DoorDash, Grubhub, or UberEats gift card through the United MileagePlus X app to earn 5x plus United miles.

Starbucks fanatic? Load your Starbucks card through the United MileagePlus X app to turn that coffee into travel.

And, as a bonus, if you have a Freedom Flex card, you’ll actually earn 7x Ultimate Rewards points on dining/restaurants instead of 5x. How, you ask? Dining on the Chase Freedom Flex earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points even when it’s not a quarterly category. All purchases earn 1x on the Freedom Flex. So Chase explains the math like so: 1x for all purchases + 2x dining + 4x for the quarterly category = 7x.

Hotels

Hotels are the third of the quarterly Chase categories for Q2, but they’re likely not the best one to purchase now for future use. Hotel stays can frequently change for a variety of reasons, and you don’t want to be stuck with funds you aren’t sure when you can use.

Summary

Travel hacking relies on being smart with your spending. Even if you don’t spend $1,500 a quarter on the elevated categories, you can be strategic about your spending to capitalize on the 5x. The quarterly Chase categories are a great way to maximize your points earnings for future spend.