Chase Freedom Card Review

• Tweet
• Email

Chase Freedom Card: Unlimited 1% Rewards, 5% Seasonal Rewards, No Annual Fee, & $100 Cash Back Bonus

The Chase Freedom Visa wasn’t really on my radar as a go-to credit card until a reader commented that it was the better of the two Chase credit rewards cards for consumers (the Chase Slate doesn’t offer rewards). To sum up the Chase Freedom card, it offers:

• $100 bonus cash back after you make $500 in purchases in your first three months
• 0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers
• There are rotating new 5% cash back categories every three months. For example, you can get 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent at grocery stores and movie theaters from 4/1/12 – 6/30/12!
• Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases without limits on what you can earn
• Up to an additional 10% Cash Back when you shop online at select merchants through Chase
• No annual fee
• Rewards never expire

Bonus Signup & No Annual Fee Benefits

Chase Freedom is offering a $100 cash back bonus when you make $500 in purchases in your first three months. There are no annual fees for this card.

Chase Freedom Cash Back Rewards Program

Much like the Chase Sapphire, Chase Freedom offers an unlimited 1% cash back minimum on all purchases. Also, like Sapphire, Freedom has no expiration date on rewards. They never expire. Where the two cards vary the most is in their bonus categories. Where the Sapphire is focused on airline miles – you get 2-for-1 points on flights booked through Chase – the Freedom focuses on seasonal bonus categories, where you can get an additional 4% (for a total of 5%) cash back.

Chase Freedom 5% Bonus Categories

To give you an idea of categories where the Freedom card gives you the 5% cash back bonus, let’s look at the 2012 calendar:

• January – March: Amazon, gas stations
• April – June: Grocery stores, movie theaters
• July – September: Gas stations, restaurants
• October – December: Hotels, airlines, Kohl’s, Best Buy

It’s a very nice benefit that the bonus is as high as 5% in these popular categories and that the categories are in line with seasonal purchases that many of us make. If you’re disciplined and make strategic timely buys, you can really play this to your advantage.

Chase also touts as much as a 10% cash back bonus on purchases made through selected partner merchants on their site.

The Downsides to Chase Freedom & All Credit Cards

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – only use credit cards if you pay off your balance every month and your purchase behavior is not altered by the ease of use of credit cards. If you don’t, you should not be using a credit card, and credit card rewards programs are pointless.

Chase Freedom Review Final Thoughts

The Chase Freedom is definitely one of the top five consumer credit cards out there. Depending on whether you fly a lot and want to book through Chase’s site, the Chase Sapphire might be the better card for rewards. If you don’t fly extensively, I’d give the nod to the Chase Freedom for a more lucrative cash back rewards program. The 0%  intro APR and balance transfer rates are also a huge bonus. Note that the $100 bonus cash back offer is a limited-time offer.