Is the Freedom Flex Worth Keeping After Its Changes?

The Freedom Flex is now a more complicated card than it was a month ago. As of September 20, 2026, the 3% foreign transaction fee disappeared, which makes it a genuinely useful card to swipe abroad or on international online purchases. That’s a meaningful upgrade for a no-annual-fee card. The trade-off: cell phone protection is gone. If you were pocketing that benefit, you’ll need to look elsewhere for coverage—but for most people, the loss is less painful than the old 3% FX fee was on a single overseas trip.

The bigger news may be the rotating categories. Chase has already revealed that grocery stores will be a 5% bonus category from October 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027—six consecutive months, the first time that’s happened. That’s a rare stretch of predictability. If you activate each quarter and max out the $1,500 spending cap, you’re looking at up to $75 back per quarter on groceries alone, plus the streaming category in Q1 2027. The card also now lets you preview the next quarter’s categories in the app, so you can plan ahead.

What hasn’t changed: the card still earns 5% on travel booked through Chase (after the first $12,000 in combined travel and dining purchases annually), 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on everything else. The sign-up bonus has been bumped to $250 after $500 spend, which is a solid offer for a no-fee card. If you don’t hold a Sapphire card, the Freedom Flex remains a strong way to build Ultimate Rewards points—just be aware that without a premium card, you can’t transfer those points to airline or hotel partners.