Earn 10x on Hotels and Car Rentals Booked in March

by Gary Leff

I do not have referral links for Chase Freedom or Freedom Unlimited cards and information about the products is neither provided nor reviewed by their issuer.

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Barclays and Capital One. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all credit cards that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.

Chase is offering 10 points per dollar to Freedom and Freedom Unlimited cardholders on hotel and car rental bookings made at made ChaseUltimateRewards.com in March, up to $2500 in spend.

This is an extra 9 points per dollar with Chase Freedom and an extra 8.5 points per dollar with Freedom Unlimited (which normally earns 1.5x on all spend).

You need to make your purchsaes in March, but travel can be into the future.

Bear in mind that hotel reservations made through the Chase portal don’t generally earn credit in hotel loyalty programs, so this is best used for non-chain hotels or hotels where you’re not an elite member of the program (perhaps hotels you might otherwise book through an online travel agency site like Expedia or GetARoom.com).

As always, points earned with a Freedom or Freedom Unlimited card can be transferred to your Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Chase Ink Business Preferred Card. And once transferred you’re no longer limited to 10x being 10% cash back, you’ve got 10 points per dollar that can be transferred to:

  • Airlines: United, Singapore, Korean, British Airways, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Air France KLM
  • Hotels: Hyatt, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, IHG Rewards Club

Terms and conditions:

Freedom: During the promotional period of March 1 to March 31, 2017, earn an extra 9% cash back on up to $2,500 in combined hotel and car rental agency purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards® using your Chase Freedom card. The bonus cash back earned is in addition to the 1% cash back you earn on all purchases for a total of 10% cash back, which means you can earn up to $250 total cash back ($25 cash back plus your $225 bonus cash back). Bonus cash back will post to your account within a week of the transaction posting, and will appear on your monthly credit card billing statement and be available for use within 1-2 billing cycles. To qualify for this promotional offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. This promotional offer is non-transferable. For more information about your rewards program, see your Rewards Program Agreement.

Freedom Unlimited: During the promotional period of March 1 to March 31, 2017, earn an extra 8.5% cash back on up to $2,500 in combined hotel and car rental agency purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards® using your Chase Freedom Unlimited card. The bonus cash back earned is in addition to the 1.5% cash back you earn on all purchases for a total of 10% cash back, which means you can earn up to $250 total cash back ($37.50 cash back plus your $212.50 bonus cash back). Bonus cash back will post to your account within a week of the transaction posting, and will appear on your monthly credit card billing statement and be available for use within 1-2 billing cycles. To qualify for this promotional offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. This promotional offer is non-transferable. For more information about your rewards program, see your Rewards Program Agreement.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

More articles by Gary Leff »

Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.

Comments

  2. Probably should be noted that Freedom, unlike the higher tier Chase unlimited rewards related cards, provides on secondary not primary rental car insurance.

  3. @Larry- my thoughts as well. So while this may be fine for booking hotels, I wouldn’t rush to use the CF/CFU over the CSP/CSR for rental car bookings. On a $300 rental, you’re trading your superior rental insurance benefits for an extra $21 ((10% – 3%) x $300). Fortunately when booking through the Chase portal all the prices should be in USD so you won’t face the additional CF/CFU 3% fx fee.

  4. Gary isn’t recommending car rentals per se, he’s just informing us of the option. You guys are right, I wouldn’t find this offer valuable for car rentals. Non-chain hotels, sure.

Comments are closed.