Updated 2026-09-28: Citi stopped accepting applications for the Custom Cash on May 28, 2026, per its Custom Cash page; existing cardmembers keep the card. The Custom Cash details below were correct when this was published.
The Chase Freedom Q4 2026 categories are grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target), dining, and donations to the American Red Cross. They earn 5% cash back from October 1 through December 31, 2026, on up to $1,500 in combined purchases, and only after you activate. The activation deadline is December 14, 2026. Both the original Chase Freedom and the Chase Freedom Flex get the same three categories, and Flex cardholders get one extra twist on dining that pushes those purchases to 7%.
That's a strong quarter for most households, because two of the three categories are places you already spend every week in November and December. The fine print is where the value lives, though. "Grocery stores" means a specific merchant code, and plenty of stores that sell food don't have it.
What Are the Chase Freedom 5% Categories for Q4 2026?
The Chase Freedom 5% categories for Q4 2026 are grocery stores, dining and American Red Cross donations. Chase announced them on September 15, 2026, and its Freedom and Freedom Flex calendar pages list the same three for October through December:
- Grocery stores, with Walmart and Target excluded by name.
- Dining, covering restaurants from fast food to fine dining.
- American Red Cross donations, made through the Red Cross's official channels.
The $1,500 cap is combined across all three, not per category. Chase's terms say that after $1,500 in combined bonus purchases in a quarter, you "go back to earning 1% Cash Back rewards for each $1 spent, with no maximum."
A purchase also has to post by the last day of the quarter. Chase's FAQ warns that a merchant who charges on the shipping or delivery date can push a late December order into January, where it won't earn the Q4 bonus.
How to Activate Before December 14
Activate by December 14, 2026. Chase lists six ways to do it: chasebonus.com or chase.com/ultimaterewards, the Chase Mobile app, a one-click email, the phone number on the back of your card, a banker at any Chase branch, or a Chase ATM if you're a Chase checking customer.
Here's the detail worth knowing. Activation is retroactive within the quarter. Chase's FAQ says that if you activate any day up to December 14, you'll earn 5% on bonus category purchases "dating back to October 1, 2026." Miss December 14 and you won't earn the 5% in that quarter's categories.
If you carry more than one Freedom card, Chase says to activate each account separately. Each one earns 5% on up to $1,500 in combined bonus purchases on its own.
Grocery Stores: What Counts and What Doesn't
Chase defines grocery stores as supermarkets, stores with a full-service grocery line including a deli and bakery, and smaller grocery stores. Delivery services count if they code as a grocery store merchant.
The exclusions are longer than the headline suggests. Chase's category definition leaves out:
- Walmart and Target, plus wholesale clubs, warehouse clubs and discount stores
- Drugstores and merchants that specialize in only a few grocery items
- Gas stations run by merchants that also operate grocery stores
So Costco runs, Target grocery hauls and the fuel pump at your supermarket all fall outside the 5%. Your regular supermarket, a neighborhood market and a grocery delivery app that codes as a grocer are the targets.
Does Dining Earn 7% on the Freedom Flex?
Yes, per Chase. The Flex already earns 3% on dining year-round. When dining is also a quarterly bonus category, Chase's Freedom Flex FAQ says "you will earn 7% cash back (3% Dining cash back + 4% bonus category cash back)." The release explains the math: the 1% base is earned once, the dining offer adds 2%, and the quarterly bonus adds 4%, "until you reach the applicable spend cap(s)."
Chase's dining definition covers sit-down restaurants, fast food and fine dining, plus delivery and takeout services that code as restaurants. Bakeries, caterers, meal kit services and gift card merchants are out. So is food sold inside stadiums, hotels, casinos, theme parks, grocery stores and department stores, unless that merchant codes its sales as a restaurant.
The 7% is a Flex feature. The original Freedom's FAQ describes the Q4 bonus as 5% cash back on dining along with the other two categories.
Where to Make Red Cross Donations
Donate directly through the American Red Cross's official channels. Chase links to redcross.org/chase, where the Red Cross confirms that Freedom and Freedom Flex cardmembers can earn 5% on donations from 10/1/26 through 12/31/26, with activation required. Chase's FAQ notes that local chapters may not be eligible because of how their transactions are processed, so give through the national site rather than a chapter page.
The Most You Can Earn This Quarter
Chase puts the quarterly maximum at $75: $15 in base cash back plus $60 in bonus cash back on $1,500 of spending. Its own example splits the cap three ways: $600 at grocery stores earns $30, $800 on dining earns $40, and $100 to the American Red Cross earns $5.
That's Chase's 5% view, and it's the right number for the original Freedom. On a Flex, the dining slice does better. Say you run that same $800 of restaurant spending through a Flex: at 7%, that's $56 instead of $40, because the card's 3% dining rate stacks with the quarterly bonus.
If you'd rather hold points, Chase tracks this cash back as points, with each $1 equal to 100 points. Cardholders who also carry a Sapphire card can move those points over; our guide to transferring Ultimate Rewards points between Chase cards walks through it.
Which Card to Use Where This Quarter
Put your supermarket spending on the Freedom until the $1,500 cap is gone, because grocery store purchases earn 1% on a Freedom card after that. If a different card in your wallet pays more at U.S. supermarkets, compare the rates before you pick. Our roundup of the best rotating category credit cards shows how the Flex stacks up against Discover it Cash Back and the Citi Custom Cash.
Watch where your holiday shopping happens. A Target or Walmart grocery run won't earn the bonus, and neither will a warehouse club. Last year's Q4 worked differently, with PayPal in the mix; our Q4 2025 PayPal recap covers how that quarter ran.
One more thing for planners: Chase has already posted Q1 2027. From January through March, the categories are grocery stores (again excluding Walmart and Target) and top streaming services, with activation opening December 15, 2026. Chase says this is the first time grocery stores have appeared in consecutive quarters. Flex cardholders can now preview categories a quarter ahead in the Chase Mobile app too.
The Bottom Line
Activate now, before December 14, so you don't have to remember later. Point your supermarket and restaurant spending at the Freedom card through December 31, skip the Walmart, Target and warehouse club runs for this card, and make any Red Cross gift through redcross.org/chase. If you don't have a Flex yet, the Chase Freedom Flex currently carries a $250 bonus after $500 in purchases in the first 3 months, and Chase dropped its foreign transaction fee on September 21, 2026.
