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You get eight chips a season and half of them expire in January. Four are available in the first half, and a fresh set of all four unlocks at Gameweek 20. Anything unused before then is lost - it does not carry over. Most chip value is thrown away by holding out for a perfect week that never arrives.
| Chip | What it does | Best used | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | Unlimited transfers, permanent squad | When the squad is structurally wrong, not for one injury | Not available in Gameweek 1 |
| Free Hit | Unlimited transfers for one gameweek, then the squad reverts | A blank gameweek, or a week most of your squad has no fixture | Not available in Gameweek 1 |
| Bench Boost | Your bench scores as well as your XI | A gameweek where all 15 play, ideally a double | Available from Gameweek 1 |
| Triple Captain | Your captain scores 3x instead of 2x | A premium with two good fixtures, or one very kind single | Available from Gameweek 1 |
Every chip has a first-half window and a second-half window, and Gameweek 20 is the boundary. That turns chip strategy into two shorter planning problems rather than one long one: you are not asking “when is the best week all season”, you are asking “when is the best week before the deadline”. A Bench Boost saved for a hypothetical double that never materialises scores nothing at all, where the same chip on a decent full-fixture week scores something.
Time each of these against the fixture difficulty ticker and the fixture swings, check captain projections before committing a Triple Captain, and read how to plan transfers for the moves around a Wildcard.
Eight in total - two each of Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost and Triple Captain. They are split across the two halves of the season: one of each in the first half, and a fresh set of all four from Gameweek 20. You can only play one chip in any single gameweek.
No, and this is the mistake that costs the most points. A first-half chip you have not played by the Gameweek 19 deadline is simply lost - it does not roll into the second half. The second set unlocks at Gameweek 20 regardless of what you did or did not use.
No. The Wildcard and the Free Hit both become available from Gameweek 2. Bench Boost and Triple Captain can be played in Gameweek 1. Assuming every chip is live from the opening weekend is one of the most common planning errors.
Most managers get the best value somewhere between Gameweek 4 and Gameweek 9. Early enough that you still have most of the season to benefit from a repaired squad, late enough that you have real evidence about who is actually nailed on, who has been priced wrongly and which promoted sides are coping. Playing it to fix two injuries in Gameweek 2 usually wastes it.
A Wildcard makes unlimited transfers and the new squad is permanent. A Free Hit makes unlimited transfers for one gameweek only, after which your previous squad returns exactly as it was. Use a Wildcard to fix a squad that is structurally wrong, and a Free Hit to survive a single awkward gameweek - a blank, or a week when half your team has no fixture.
In a gameweek where all fifteen of your players have a fixture and, ideally, several have two. That usually means a double gameweek late in the season. The chip is only worth the four bench scores you actually get, so playing it while a bench player is injured or benched throws away most of its value - prepare the bench a gameweek or two in advance.
Usually, but not automatically. Two fixtures at 3x is the obvious appeal, though a premium forward at home to a bottom side in a single gameweek can beat a rotated player with two hard doubles. Compare the projected points for the specific players rather than the number of fixtures.
No. FPL allows exactly one chip per gameweek. That constraint matters most in a busy double-gameweek stretch, where Bench Boost and Triple Captain both look attractive in the same week and one of them has to move.