Warning: READ THIS REVIEW BEFORE APPLYING!!! Do not look for the Chase Freedom card unless this review has been fully read. As of July 2012, the identified “best signup promotion” is not obtainable anywhere. To obtain the bonus of $100.00 as well as obtain the 0% interest rate for 15 months on both purchases and balance transfers, one can go to the Chase credit card site where this exclusive offer is prominently displayed, available for a limited-time.
Many credit cards with decent rewards and incentives over the years have come, been strong, but eventually were gone. The Chase Freedom card, however, has continued to be steady and strong for almost 10 years running. Over these many years, this card has seen a number of changes with some being better than others. Yet, after all has been said and done, the Chase Freedom rewards card continues to be “king of the cash back cards” for three main reasons:
Reason #1: for 5% cash back, this is the BEST program!
The Freedom card provides the card holder a full 5% rebate…on multiple categories of spending…that rotate each quarter. Unique among peer credit cards, the total amount of one’s spending that qualifies for this 5% cash back is rather high – $1,500 in category spending each quarter – and those tally to a number one can earn 5% on: up to $6,000 of total spending every year! That is a great reward!
Reason #2: High cash back is also earned on other purchases!
One of the biggest bummers with many other credit cards is that the issuers give the card holder some great rewards, but only for a couple categories. One gets a below-average payout on everything else one buys… a definite bummer!
As an example, the Discover More credit card offers a similar 5% program, yet it has an immediate drawback as it will only give .25% as a cash back reward, and for only the first $3,000 spent annually on non-category purchases. In contrast, the Chase Freedom card rewards its holders with an unlimited, full 1.00% on everything else one buys! This makes the Freedom card a perfect “all-in-one” choice because one does not have to do mental gymnastics with multiple cards to get the best deal.
Reason #3: … savings, Savings, SAVINGS!! NO annual fee and NO inactivity fee!
Since the beginning of this card’s near decade run, Chase has NEVER applied a fee. The card is totally free! It has the BEST cash rebate program one can find (really, go search around…) … and, as one Charlie Sheen is apt to say: that combo is winning!
For the researcher’s information, here are the 2012 set of Chase Freedom 5% cash back categories:
- Jan-March: Gas Stations, Amazon.com
- April-June: Grocery Stores, Movie Theaters
- July-Sept: Restaurants, Gas Stations
- Oct-Dec: Hotels, Airlines, Kohl’s, Best Buy
The 5% on gas for two quarters (6 months), is definitely a reward that immediately comes in handy based on current rising fuel prices. Chase has not yet announced the 2013 rewards calendar, but as seen in past years the 5% is very typically offered on differing categories such as home improvement, lawn and garden, charities, home furnishings, department stores, and drugstores.
This is Rewards redemption and NO BS (bad stuff)
As if one could not see it happening, with Bank of America’s credit card the points one has to earn and save are an amazing 25,000 points, and with BofA’s “1 point = dollar” that means one must spend $25,000 just to get cash back that is worth a full 1 cent per point (that is $250 … yikes!!) How stinky is that? Redeem less than that and the point value is cut down significantly, to as low as a 1/2 cent per point.
Sad for the consumer that so many credit card issuers strangle rewards like that. But, for the consumer, it is fortunate that Chase is not one of the stinky issuers.
On Chase’s site, one will see the following:
This is the best evidence that with the Chase Freedom rewards program one always receives a full 1 cent per point value for one’s cash back. To make it even better, one can start cashing out with as little as $20 worth of points – as shown in the above site sample.
For those who like to give gift cards, there are conditions where one’s points will be worth even more! When one redeems gift cards for rewards, there are often times where some are available at discounted values as shown below.
Again, as taken from the Chase card site:
(Please NOTE: This screenshot was taken last year in 2011 to show the researcher some clear examples)
As one may not be aware, the Chase rewards program is much more that just cash back and gift cards. The card holder can also redeem his or her points for:
- Travel – to be used for flights, hotels, and car rentals.
- Merchandise – Amazingly there are literally tens of thousands of choices! One might never see any other credit card that provides so many options for finding the merchandise one really wants.
- Experiences – Just as amazing, there are a continual variety of unique opportunities for outings, concerts, culinary events, the newest games, safaris and tours and so much more.
One also has available a number of unique and useful benefits…
Unless one is a well experienced researcher, what one may simply not realize is that the Chase Freedom card’s benefits go above and beyond just rewards. This lack of realization is probably due to the fact that most credit card reviews simply fail to mention these things. One gets additional purchase and travel benefits, some that one will not even find on most high-end cards that will cost its holder hundreds per year in fees. For example, the following is for Chase Freedom card holders…
Participation in Chase Ultimate Rewards (as seen on the Chase card site)
“What is this?” one might ask. Well, the short story is that this is a part of the rewards program that gives the card holder a head-spinning number of additional ways to save money while earning even more points on one spending.
- Book air travel through Ultimate Rewards and double one’s points on every dollar spent
- Shop at over 400 popular online stores and get up to 10x the rewards for every dollar spent. For example, one will get triple points at Walmart.com, six times the points at Drugstore.com, eight times the points at TurboTax, and a super ten times the points at BananaRepublic.com.
Price Protection or “How does one say, ‘Lowest Price Guarantee’?
Is it not simply stinky when one buys a gift or something personal and it goes on sale the day after? Once one gets this card, whenever this stinky event happens with a qualifying purchase, one can use Chase Freedom’s Price Protection and obtain a refund for the difference. That is nice! This specifics on this coverage is that it is offered for 90 days from date of the purchase, it covers up to $500 per claim, up to/$3,500 annually. Now, here comes the shocker… not a single one of the American Express cards offers this benefit. Only the Freedom card does!
“… and the Verdict is …?”
As one can see in this review, Chase has packed a lot of “wow” into its Freedom card. One gets only top-notch rewards, free, useful, valuable benefits, and savings as there is never an annual fee. One cannot make a bad decision to get this card. So, the best thing to do is apply! Why? Right now one can get this 3-in-1 signup deal when one applies through this exclusive sponsored offer on the Chase card site:
- $100.00 bonus for simply spending $500 in the first 3 months – is that not an easy $100?
- 0% intro APR for a full 15 months on purchases
- 0% intro APR for a full 15 months on balance transfers
Apply now and get the $100.00 bonus plus the intro 0% APR offers!
