Bench Boost Chip: Everything You Need to Know

Bench Boost is the quietest of the four chips, no dramatic multiplier, no rebuilt squad, just your four bench players suddenly counting toward your score. Get the timing right and it’s worth 15-20 free points. Get it wrong and it barely moves the needle.

What Is the Bench Boost Chip

Normally, only your starting XI’s points count, and your four substitutes sit there doing nothing unless someone needs replacing. Play Bench Boost and every point your full 15-man squad scores that gameweek counts, bench included.

There’s no multiplier and no player selection involved. It’s purely about whether your bench happens to be strong that week.

How To Use Your Bench Boost in FPL

Head to Pick Team, hit the Play button above your squad, and select Bench Boost. It applies automatically to whichever 15 players you have selected when the gameweek deadline passes, so there’s no separate activation step beyond confirming it’s on. Like Triple Captain, it can be switched off again any time before the deadline if you change your mind.

Because it boosts your whole squad rather than one player, there’s no risk of it being “wasted” the way Triple Captain can be if a captain doesn’t play. Whatever your bench scores, you get, for better or worse.

The Rules

• You get two Bench Boost chips across the season: one to use before the Gameweek 19 deadline, and a second one after it.
• Chips don’t carry over. Miss the Gameweek 19 cutoff with your first one and it’s gone.
• Only one chip can be active in a single gameweek, so it can’t be combined with Wildcard, Free Hit, or Triple Captain in the same week.
• It applies to your full squad exactly as selected when the deadline passes, so lock in your bench order and any late team-news changes before then.

When to Use It

The chip is only as good as your bench, so the real skill is building toward it rather than deciding on the day. The strongest Bench Boost weeks come from four genuine starters sitting on your bench with a good fixture, not four cheap fillers you’d never normally play.

The classic combo is pairing it with Wildcard. Use your Wildcard a gameweek or two before, build a 15-man squad where even your bench players are attacking threats with kind fixtures, then play Bench Boost once that squad is fully assembled. Double Gameweeks make this even stronger, since a strong bench with two fixtures each has roughly double the scoring chance of a single gameweek.

If you’re not planning that far ahead, it’s still worth watching your bench naturally. If your fourth-choice player happens to have a great fixture and your front three are all set, that’s a reasonable week to fire it even without a dedicated Wildcard setup.

Common Mistakes

The most common mistake is playing Bench Boost with a bench that’s mostly there for insurance rather than points, goalkeepers you’d never start, defenders from relegation-threatened sides, or players who are rotation risks. A weak bench under Bench Boost still scores like a weak bench, just with the chip already spent.

The other mistake is treating it as a spur-of-the-moment decision. Because the value depends entirely on who’s sitting on your bench, it rewards planning a transfer or two ahead rather than checking on deadline day and hoping for the best.

FAQ

Does Bench Boost affect my starting XI’s points too? No, your starting XI scores as normal. Bench Boost only adds your four substitutes’ points on top.

Can I still make substitutions if a bench player doesn’t play? Automatic substitutions still apply as normal if a bench player doesn’t play, but the whole point of Bench Boost is that every player counts anyway, so it matters less than usual whether someone is subbed in.

Is Bench Boost better in a Double Gameweek? Generally yes. A strong bench with two fixtures each usually outscores the same bench in a single gameweek, which is why most managers try to save at least one for a Double Gameweek.

Can I cancel Bench Boost after activating it? Yes, any time before the gameweek deadline.