Chase Freedom 2027 Q1 5x Categories Leaked Early: Grocery Stores + Streaming

The Chase Freedom / Freedom Flex 2027 Q1 5x categories appear to have leaked early:

• Grocery Stores + Top Streaming Services

In other words:

• Grocery Stores: 5x Ultimate Rewards
• Select streaming services: 5x Ultimate Rewards

The most surprising category is grocery stores. Q4 2026 already had 5x on groceries, and now Q1 2027 is apparently continuing the grocery category, which means you can effectively earn 5x at grocery stores with Freedom for six months in a row.

After activation each quarter, Freedom earns 5x on up to $1,500 in combined spending across the bonus categories. If you max it out entirely at grocery stores:

• $1,500 × 5x = 7,500 UR

Used directly as cash back, that is $75. If you transfer the points to a CSP / CSR and then to airline or hotel partners, based on our valuation of UR at 1.6 cents per point, they are worth about $120. Grocery stores are also a category where most people do not need to manufacture spending on purpose; you can gradually use the card for regular grocery shopping. If your regular spending is not enough, some grocery stores also sell plenty of third-party gift cards. Note that under Chase’s current definition of grocery stores, places like Walmart, Target, and Costco usually do not count as ordinary grocery stores.

The other category is Top Streaming Services. Merchants Chase currently lists include Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Spotify, YouTube Premium, YouTube TV, Apple Music, and others. This category is useful, but most people’s streaming bills are only a few dozen dollars per month, so grocery stores will likely be the real way to max out the quarterly $1,500 cap.

The official 2027 Q1 promotional period should be January 1 through March 31. As usual, activation is required in advance, and the 5x cap is $1,500 in combined spending for the quarter.

Freedom cards have no annual fee, and they are still quite useful when strong categories like grocery stores, Amazon, and PayPal show up a few times each year. If you still have the old Freedom, you can use multiple cards together, as each card has its own quarterly cap.

• Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card Review
• Summary of Credit Card Quarterly 5x Bonus Categories