With the New Year comes a long list of financial to-dos. Sorry to add one more, but it’s time to make sure your Chase Freedom Flex℠ and your Discover it® Cash Back cards are doing the most for you by registering them for the first quarter 2025 5% cash-back categories. The good news is that in the case of Freedom Flex, you can earn rewards while you burn calories.
What are the 5% cash back categories for the first quarter of 2025?
The Freedom Flex and the Discover it Cash back each has a select group of purchase types that qualify for extra cash back each quarter. The catch? You have to manually enroll your card via either the card’s website or app before you get the perk. No registration, no bonus.
“I always make sure to enroll for this benefit when it opens since you only earn 1% cash back in these categories if you don’t enroll your card,” says Ryan Smith, News Managing Editor at Upgraded Points. “Luckily, enrolling is easy, and Chase makes it easy to confirm whether you’ve enrolled or not.”
Chase Freedom Flex
The Chase Freedom Flex offers 5% cash back in the following categories for Q1 2025 up to $1,500 in combined spending:
- Grocery Stores (excluding Walmart® and Target®)
- Norwegian Cruise Line®
- Fitness Clubs & Gym Memberships
- Hair, Nails & Spa Services
Discover it Cash Back
The Discover it Cash Back offers 5% cash back in the following categories for Q1 2025 up to $1,500 in combined spending:
- Restaurants
- Home Improvement Stores
- Select Streaming Services
Something else to note: there’s a $1,500 quarterly max on the spending that earns you 5%, and that’s across all categories, not each one. So if you spent $1,500 on groceries and $1,500 on gym memberships on the Freedom Flex, you’ll earn just 1% on the second $1,500 you spend.
Getting both your body and finances in shape
In the “New Year, new you” vein, the Freedom Flex added gym memberships to the first quarter’s bonus categories. Susan DeBruhl, a retired teacher from South Carolina, makes sure to maximize her rewards.
“I use the Freedom quarterly bonuses all the time,” says DeBruhl. “The past quarter included PayPal and pet shops so that was easy to maximize with Christmas shopping and feeding my dachshund.” She says she’s planning to rejoin her local gym and pay for the year upfront, as well as shift grocery spending to the Freedom Flex. It should be easy to max out that $1500 in spending.
Smith also plans to knock out the bonus on fitness. “My wife and I are really excited that the 5% categories include fitness memberships this quarter. We have a monthly Pilates membership and jiu-jitsu classes, and these will likely add up to $1,500 this quarter without effort, maximizing the 5% categories with purchases we’d be making anyway.”
If you love 5% cash back but hate chores, there’s a card for you
There’s a lot to be said for set-and-forget financial choices and if the idea of quarterly registration leaves you cold, the Citi Custom Cash® Card does the work for you. The card figures out where you spend the most and automatically gives you 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent (then 1% cash back thereafter).
These rewards match the $1,500 quarterly spending the Discover it Cash Back and Freedom Flex offer, and the Custom Cash does it without the hassle of opting-in every 90 days. Best of all, as your spending changes throughout the year, the 5% category changes, too, as the card resets the category each month in response to where you put down your plastic.
