Can I get 5% cash back with my Chase Freedom card at Walmart?

Chase Freedom works at Costco because it is on the Visa network. Costco only accepts Visa cards at its stores. Costco previously accepted only American Express cards until 2016, when it made the switch to Visa.

The Chase Freedom card offers at least 1% cash back on all purchases, up to 5% back on $1,500 spent in special bonus categories each quarter. The Q4 2018 bonus categories included wholesale clubs, such as Costco. Chase Freedom’s 5% Costco rewards rate is not guaranteed to return because the card’s bonus categories are not the same year to year. Keep that in mind if you’re comparing new cards to apply for.… read full answer

On that note, an even better credit card than Chase Freedom for Costco purchases is the Costco Anywhere Visa, the store’s own co-branded card. Issued by Citi, the Anywhere Visa offers 2% cash back at Costco, 3% back on dining and travel, and up to 4% back on gas. Plus, its annual fee is $0.

Chase Freedom bonus categories are the types of purchases on which cardholders earn 5% cash back, up to $1,500 spent each quarter, instead of the regular 1% cash back rate. It is possible to earn as much as $300 in rewards per year by spending up to $6,000 in the Chase Freedom bonus categories. Spending that much on other types of purchases would get you just $60. The 5% cash back categories change each quarter.… read full answer

Chase Freedom bonus categories can be purchases at specific retailers or a particular type of merchant. There can be more than one bonus category per quarter, too. The Chase Freedom bonus categories for April - June 2019 are grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target) and home improvement stores. No further categories have been announced yet, but you can check Chase’s calendar for updates. In the first quarter of 2019, the Chase Freedom bonus categories were gas stations, tolls and drugstores.

The downside to Chase Freedom’s bonus categories is that you have to activate the new ones every quarter. The good news is it’s pretty easy to do. You can activate your Freedom card’s bonus categories online, by email, by phone or at any Chase Bank location. Plus, cardholders with Chase checking accounts can activate through an ATM. As long as you activate by the end of the quarter, you’ll get 5% back for all qualifying purchases retroactively.

The categories can have exclusions. For example, 5% back on gas station purchases doesn’t apply to places that don’t specialize in fueling cars, like a boat marina. Plus, earning rewards will depend on how a merchant is categorized, which isn’t under Chase’s control.