How chips work in 2026/27
There are four chips: Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain. You get one of each for the first half of the season and another of each for the second half. The first set must be played before the Gameweek 19 deadline. Anything you haven't used by then is gone, so don't hoard them.
You can only play one chip in a single gameweek, and you activate a chip before the deadline. Once the deadline passes, the chip is locked in.
Wildcard
A Wildcard lets you make as many transfers as you like in one gameweek without losing any points. The changes are permanent: the team you build is the team you keep.
Best time to play it: when your team needs five or more changes at once. That usually happens after a run of injuries, when several of your players face hard fixtures together, or just before a double gameweek when you want to load up on teams that play twice.
Free Hit
A Free Hit also gives you unlimited free transfers, but only for one gameweek. When the next gameweek starts, your squad goes back to how it was before.
Best time to play it: a blank gameweek, when many teams don't play and you would otherwise field fewer than 11 players. It also works in a big double gameweek if you want a one-week team full of players with two games.
Bench Boost
Normally only your starting 11 score. With Bench Boost, the four players on your bench score too, for one gameweek.
Best time to play it: a double gameweek when all 15 of your players have two matches. Plan a week or two ahead so your bench players are actually likely to start.
Triple Captain
Your captain usually scores double points. With Triple Captain, they score three times their points for one gameweek.
Best time to play it: on a reliable, high-scoring player who has two home games in a double gameweek. If there is no double before the Gameweek 19 cut-off, use it on your best player's easiest home fixture rather than letting it expire.
A simple plan for the first half
- Keep your Wildcard for a moment when your team truly needs a rebuild, not for one or two problems.
- Watch for blank and double gameweeks as cup schedules are confirmed. They decide when Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain are worth the most.
- From around Gameweek 15, check which first-half chips you still hold and plan where each one will go before Gameweek 19.
Use the fixture difficulty grid to spot doubles and blanks, and the captain picks page to choose your Triple Captain.
Last updated October 2026.