Chase Freedom 5% Categories For Q4 2026: Grocery, Dining, Red Cross (Up To 17x at Paze Restaurants)

The 5%/5x categories on the Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex cards for Q4 2026 will be:

• Grocery – Always an easy one to use. Can also buy gift cards at grocery stores to maximize. (Note: Walmart and Target are excluded in the terms.)
• Dining – Another easy favorite for 5x earning.
  • On the Freedom Flex, you always get 2x bonus (3x total) on Dining, and so for Q4 2026 you’ll end up getting 7x total (1x base + 2x bonus + 4x quarterly bonus). 
  • If you pay at a restaurant with your Freedom card on Paze, you should get 10x bonus from Paze (up to $1,500 spent per month) + 5x from the quarterly category (up to $1,500 for the quarter). On the Freedom Flex you should end up with 17x total. Wow! Many restaurants are on Clover which accepts Paze.
• Red Cross donations  – Reminder that starting in 2026 the IRS now allows a charitable deduction of up $1k/single or $2k/couple even for those who are not itemizing their deductions.  

Once activated, you’ll earn 5%/5x points per dollar spent on grocery, dining, and Red Cross, up to $1,500 in spend throughout the fourth quarter of 2026.

Hat tip to Reddit user BaseballSubstantial1