Credit Card Review: Chase Freedom

Credit Card Review: Chase Freedom

Chase Freedom has always been a favorite among card users seeking cash back rewards. But in recent months, there have been some big changes to this card that was once the hands down best card for cash back rebates. You can still get $100 cash back with a new Chase Freedom card, but once you’re in, things are a bit different than they used to be. Check out this review of the updated Chase Freedom card for the lowdown.

Highlights of Chase Freedom Card

* 1% cashback on every purchase
* 10% to 20% cashback on purchases from selected merchants
* 3% cashback on rotating categories
* $100 cash rebate after sign up
* 0% APR for the first 6 to 12 months
* Access to Chase’s BluePrint budgeting suite
* No annual fee

Details

Cashback Categories

With lots of ways to get cashback, the Chase Freedom card remains a pretty flexible way to save money over the long run. For the rotating categories, there are 15 different spending categories. As someone who signed up a couple years ago, I automatically get 3% cashback for the categories that I spend the most in. So far, no other Chase Freedom cardholders have reported anything definitive about how the categories rotate, but for most cards that claim rotating categories, such as the Discover More Card, the categories are picked (seemingly) arbitrarily each quarter and there is a posted schedule when you log in so you can plan for the changes. Currently, when you log into your Chase account, it just lists out the 15 categories, which include:

* Gas Stations & Convenience Stores
* Pet Stores & Veterinarian
* Phone/Cell Phone Bills
* Quick Service & Fast Food Restaurants
* Utilities (Gas, Electric, etc.)
* Drugstores
* Cable/Satellite TV & Internet Providers
* Department Stores
* Movie Theatres
* Gym Memberships
* Beauty Salons & Spas
* Movie Rentals
* Dry Cleaners
* Local Commuting
* Grocery Stores

Whether Chase has no intention of implementing rotating categories for old users or is simply biding its time to implement the feature, we’ll just have to wait and see. But do note that Discover More gives you 5% cashback while Chase Freedom gives only 3%.

Online Cashback

Like most credit cards, there is an online shopping portal where you can earn extra words when you make purchases from Chase’s partnered merchants. Pretty standard setup here, you can visit https://www.rewardsplusshopping.com/ and browse through the retailers yourself. There are some pretty big names here, such as Barnes and Noble, Target, HP and Hotels.com, so it’s worth a gander if you’re planning on a big purchase.

$100 Cashback Rebate

When you Google Chase Freedom, there are two signup links, one of which gives you $50 cashback and another which gives you $100 cashback. The bigger bonus is just one result down, oddly rewarding those who dig just a wee bit deeper.

The rebate is only available for new sign ups. The $50 cashback reward is a little bit easier to get – all you have to do is make a qualifying purchase (excludes cash advance) and they’ll cut you a check in 6 to 8 weeks. For the $100 cashback reward, you have to make $500 worth of qualifying purchases in your first three months, which includes balance transfers.

0% APR

The introductory period for the 0% APR spans either 12 months or 6 billing cycles, depending on your credit history. And, of course, if you are late even once, you forfeit the low rate and immediately get socked with the default rate. After the introductory period, you get a 23.24% variable rate, unless your credit score is awesome. For “elite” credit scores, you get 13.24% variable and for “premium” you get 18.24% variable.

Also, there’s this disclosure:

Also, we apply payments to introductory balances before balances with higher APRs. This means that the length of your introductory period may vary based on your payment amounts and the APRs for other balances on your account.

That’s really nothing new – your lower APR balance always gets paid down first so your higher APR can rack up more interest. Come February 2010, that will all change, however.

Other Stuff

Balance transfers and cash advances come with a 3% fee with no apparent cap, so be careful. If you’re moving around $5,000, you’ll pay a $150 fee.

Chase cardholders also get access to BluePrint, which is basically a suite of budgeting tools. They advertise it as a way to pay no interest on certain purchases, but really, the reason you don’t pay interest on those purchases is because you pay them off before the grace period is up. It’s more of a self awareness thing than an interest break, but it’s kind of neat nonetheless. Check out our inside look at Chase BluePrint for more information.

All in all, Chase Freedom remains a pretty decent card. Lots of people are up in arms because it’s not quite as decent as it used to be, but for those looking to earn rewards without doing a lot of legwork, this card works.

Sign up for the Chase Freedom card with $100 bonus cashback.