Chase Ultimate Rewards - Checking Chase Freedom Category Balance.

I am sure I am missing it somewhere on Flyertalk, but after having searched without luck, I'm posting: Is there an easy way to check how close you are to your $1,500 limit on the %5 category bonus? Especially with the current 'restaurants and gas' categories, it's super-easy to run up against the limit. I suspect I am near it already, if not over it, but I am unsure of an easy way to check.

I am sure I am missing it somewhere on Flyertalk, but after having searched without luck, I'm posting: Is there an easy way to check how close you are to your $1,500 limit on the %5 category bonus? Especially with the current 'restaurants and gas' categories, it's super-easy to run up against the limit. I suspect I am near it already, if not over it, but I am unsure of an easy way to check.

Sadly there isn't just a quick check. I did see that chase plans to one day put that in but nothing as of yet. You have to do it manually. Look at the blueprint categories for restaurants/gas for July-Present to see and add them up. There's no easy meter anywhere, which there really should be. I do it by hand every few weeks.

look at previous statements for the "Bonus from 5% categories: July-September" amounts. add them up. divide by 4. then look at your current charges since your last statement and add the gas and restaurant charges to the previous total. unfortunately i don't think theres an easier way to keep track of bonus spend :(

Also, I have many transactions of restaurant purchase do not fall into "restaurant" category :(

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I am sure I am missing it somewhere on Flyertalk, but after having searched without luck, I'm posting: Is there an easy way to check how close you are to your $1,500 limit on the %5 category bonus? Especially with the current 'restaurants and gas' categories, it's super-easy to run up against the limit. I suspect I am near it already, if not over it, but I am unsure of an easy way to check.

For me, the easiest way is to check blueprint. I only use my freedom for bonus categories, so I don't have to worry about transactions from previous quarters getting counted.

Under "Track It," click "See Spending." From there you can see your spending in the various categories. If you click on the category, it gives you the spending in each category for current and previous billing cycles.

Also, I have many transactions of restaurant purchase do not fall into "restaurant" category :(

If the purchases are not falling into the "restaurant" category according to Chase, it's unlikely that you're getting the bonus for them.

I recently started using Mint.com. It provides a very easy way to track category spending.

In Mint.com, click on Trends on the top toolbar.

- Enter your categories. For my current Citi AA bonus, the categories are supermarket, drugstore, gas, and restaurant. For Freedom, obviously, 3rd quarter was gas and restaurant.

- Under "From:", select only the relevant credit card.

- Under "During:". put in your custom dates.

You get a spending summary like below and also a graph. Note that if your transactions aren't categorized correctly, the totals will be off.

Your Spending
CATEGORY SPENDING

Food & Dining $947.24
Health & Fitness $180.48
Auto & Transport $61.19

Total $1,188.91