How to earn 17x on dining this quarter (Freedom Flex + Paze)
Here’s how to earn 17x on dining this quarter with a totally free card. It’s the Chase Freedom Flex®, and it’s one of my favorite points and miles stacks because it rewards spending I’m already doing.
Ordering dinner is a treat, and earning 17 points per dollar, totaling about 25k points, that I can put toward business class flights later makes it even sweeter.
This guide covers what the stack is, how it works, and exactly how to check out so you earn the points correctly.
Activate the Q4 dining category by December 14, 2026, confirm the targeted Paze 10x in your Chase account, then order from a Clover restaurant’s online ordering page and pay with Paze using your Freedom Flex. That stacks 3x, 4x and 10x for 17x on up to $1,500 of quarterly bonus spending.
How to earn 17x on dining this quarter, explained
Between October 1 and December 31, 2026, you can combine three separate earning rates on a single restaurant order. The Freedom Flex already earns extra on dining, Chase has made dining a Q4 bonus category, and there is a targeted Paze offer that adds 10 more points per dollar.
Every $100 at a qualifying restaurant earns 1,700 points. Put $1,500 through the stack and that’s 25,500 points, compared to 4,500 at the card’s normal dining rate.
The Chase Freedom Flex has no annual fee, which makes this an easy one to try. If you don’t have the card yet, you can apply through my referral link, and I may earn a referral bonus at no cost to you.
This only works at restaurants that accept Paze, and those can be hard to find. I’ll show you the best tool I’ve found for that below.
How the 17x dining stack works
The stack has three layers, and each one earns on top of the last.
| Layer | Points per dollar |
|---|---|
| Freedom Flex standard dining | 3x |
| Q4 dining bonus category (activation required) | +4x |
| Targeted Paze offer | +10x |
| Total | 17x |
Chase confirms the first two layers in its own Q4 announcement. When dining is the quarterly category, the base 1% is only earned once, so the total before Paze is 7x, not 8x.
The Paze 10x is a targeted offer, so not every cardholder has it. You need to confirm it in your Chase account before you order, and I’ll show you where to look below.
The two caps run on different clocks
| Offer | Cap | Resets |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 bonus categories (dining, grocery excluding Walmart and Target, Red Cross donations) | $1,500 combined | Once for the whole quarter |
| Paze 10x | $1,500 in Paze purchases | Every month |
The full 17x applies to the first $1,500 of combined bonus spending. After that, dining drops back to 3x, but Paze orders still earn 13x until you hit the monthly Paze cap.
Grocery stores pull from the same $1,500 quarterly cap as dining. If you’ve already spent $400 at grocery stores this quarter, only $1,100 is left for dining at the full 17x, so keep an eye on your running total.
How to do it, step by step
You activate the Q4 categories, confirm your Paze offer, find a Clover restaurant, and pay with Paze using your Freedom Flex. Do these in order, since the first three happen before you place any order.
- Get the card. You need the Chase Freedom Flex, and the Paze offer only works for the primary cardholder on a personal account. Authorized users and business customers aren’t eligible. Here’s my referral link if you want to apply.
- Activate the Q4 categories. Go to chasebonus.com and activate before December 14, 2026. Skip this and you only earn the standard 3x on dining, so do it before your first order.
- Confirm you have the Paze 10x. Log in to the Chase app or website, open your Freedom Flex account, and look under card benefits for the additional 10x Paze offer. If you don’t see it, the 17x won’t apply to your card, so it’s better to find that out before you order.
- Find a restaurant that takes Paze. Restaurants that use Clover for online ordering often accept Paze, but there’s no official list. NextCard has a free Paze Clover map with more than 35,000 merchants you can search by city. Some restaurants are listed on Clover without actively taking online orders, so treat the map as a starting point and confirm that Paze appears at checkout.
- Order from the restaurant’s own online ordering page. Open your phone’s browser, go to the restaurant’s website, and use its online ordering link. Do not use the Clover app, because Paze doesn’t appear there.
- Choose Paze at checkout and pay with your Freedom Flex. The first time you use Paze, you’ll sign in with the phone number or email tied to your bank and pick your card. Make sure the Freedom Flex is the card selected inside Paze, since paying with a different Chase card in your wallet won’t earn the stack.
If you can’t find Paze as an option, the restaurant doesn’t accept it, and it’s worth trying another spot.
What can go wrong
Most problems come down to one of a few things, and all of them are easy to avoid once you know about them.
- There’s no Paze button at checkout. This usually means the restaurant isn’t set up for it, or you’re in the Clover app instead of a browser. Switch to your phone’s browser and try the restaurant’s website again. If it’s not there, don’t do it!
- A gift card is in your cart. Clover-issued gift cards can’t be bought with Paze anymore, and if one is in your cart, Paze won’t show up. Chase’s 10x promo also excludes gift card merchants, so this is a food and drink play only.
- The purchase doesn’t code as dining. The Q4 bonus only applies if the merchant is classified as a restaurant. Chase excludes bakeries, caterers, meal kit services and gift card merchants, and food sold inside places like stadiums or hotels usually doesn’t count either.
- The points don’t show up right away. The Paze bonus can take up to 8 weeks to post, so check your account before assuming something went wrong.
Using your points for business class
Freedom Flex points are Chase Ultimate Rewards, which are worth about a cent each as cash back. On its own, the card can’t transfer points to airline partners.
If you also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or an Ink Business card, you can combine your points there and transfer them to Chase’s airline and hotel partners. That’s how 25,500 points from dinners can turn into a business class seat later.
I offer free guides and full consultations if you’re interested in learning more!
Frequently asked questions
It combines three earning rates on one restaurant order. The Freedom Flex earns 3x on dining, the Q4 bonus category adds 4x, and a targeted Paze offer adds 10x, for 17x total from October 1 through December 31, 2026.
No. It runs from October 1 through December 31, 2026. The limit is on how much you spend, not when. The Q4 bonus caps at $1,500 for the whole quarter, and the Paze 10x caps at $1,500 per month.
The maximum is 25,500 points, which comes from putting $1,500 of qualifying dining through the full 17x. Paze spending beyond the quarterly cap still earns 13x, up to $1,500 in Paze purchases each month.
It’s targeted, so not every cardholder gets it. Check your card benefits in the Chase app. If it isn’t there, the stack won’t reach 17x on your account.
No. The original Chase Freedom earns 5x on dining in Q4 and doesn’t have the Freedom Flex’s standard 3x dining rate. If your card shows the Paze offer, the total comes to 15x.
No. Paze doesn’t appear in the Clover app. Order through the restaurant’s own online ordering page in your phone’s browser.
It works for online orders placed on a restaurant’s Clover ordering page that code as dining. Third-party delivery apps generally don’t offer Paze.
The standard earning posts like any other purchase, but the Paze bonus can take up to 8 weeks to appear. Check your account before assuming something went wrong.
Final thoughts on how to earn 17x on dining this quarter
To earn 17x on dining this quarter, activate your Q4 categories, confirm your Paze offer, and order from a Clover restaurant’s own page in your phone’s browser. Pay with Paze, and make sure the Freedom Flex is the card selected.
It takes a little effort to find restaurants that accept Paze, but it’s one of the best ways I know to turn everyday dinners into business class points before the year ends.
Inside the Upgrade is not affiliated with or endorsed by Chase or Paze. Offers, caps and eligibility can change, so confirm the details in your Chase account before you order.
