Chase Freedom 5% Cash Back Bonus Categories for 2013

If you buy gas, like coffee or shop at Amazon, get excited: The Chase Freedom card just announced its 5% bonus categories for 2013, and they’re pretty darn good ones: Gas in two quarters, Amazon, Starbucks and more. This is reason enough to consider the Freedom if you don’t have one already. And that’s before we’ve mentioned the $100 signup bonus.

Chase Freedom® Visa
	This offer is for people with a good to excellent credit history which means, among other things, that your credit history is clear of bankruptcy and seriously delinquent accounts Earn $100 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening 0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent between Apr 1 and Jun 30, 2013 at restaurants, movie theaters, and Lowe's® You'll enjoy new 5% categories every 3 months like gas stations, restaurants and Amazon.com. It's free and easy to activate your bonus each quarter! Unlimited 1% Cash Back on all other purchases No annual fee and rewards never expire		Pros Bonus cash back categories No annual fee 0% for 15 mos on transfers

2013 Chase Freedom bonus categories:

• Q1 (January – March): Gas, drugstores and Starbucks
• Q2 (April – June): Restaurants and movie theaters
• Q3 (July – September): Gas, theme parks and Kohl’s
• Q4 (October – December): Amazon.com and “select department stores”

The card earns 5% back on bonus categories up to $1,500 spent per quarter, and 1% thereafter. You can also get up to 20% cash back in the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall, which allows you to click through to online retailers as diverse as Macys.com and the Holiday Inn.

Look to the Freedom for gas rewards

Earning 5% cash back on gas for 2 quarters, the Freedom effectively has a 3% average rewards rate on gas for the entire year. This places it among the best of the no-fee gas cards, while also earning rewards on other categories (ie caffeine fixes).

The Freedom is ideal for an Amex or Discover cardholder looking for a backup in case the primary card isn’t accepted, a frequent driver looking to earn 5% rewards with no annual fee, and for someone looking to establish a credit history – anecdotally, we nerds with thin files have found it relatively easy to qualify for.

However, if you’ve got excellent credit or travel frequently, you can also consider:

The Chase Sapphire Preferred: Requiring excellent credit, the Preferred’s main appeal is its killer 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards signup bonus. It earns 2% rewards on travel and dining and 1% elsewhere, but gives a 7% points dividend at the end of the year and bumps up your points’ value 25% if you redeem for travel through Chase. Effectively, then, your rewards rate is somewhere between 1.07% base/2.14% bonus and 1.34% base/2.68% bonus. While the rewards rate isn’t as good as the Freedom’s and it has a $95 annual fee (waived the first year), the signup bonus is an order of magnitude larger – particularly considering that its value can be up to 25% higher. Key for travelers, it has no foreign transaction fee.

The Tag not recognized: The Tag not recognized earns 2% rewards on all purchases, making it one of the most lucrative cards out there. Its $59 annual fee is also waived in the first year, and you can redeem your rewards as a statement credit against any travel expense whatsoever. It, too, has no foreign transaction fee.

Capital One® VentureSM Rewards Credit Card	Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Signing Promo
Earn 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months, equal to $100 in travel	Earn 40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months
Intro APR Promo
Purchase: None Bal Trans: None	Purchase: None Bal Trans: None
Annual fee
$0 intro for first year; $59 after that	$0 1st year, then $95
Details
2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day As seen in Money® Magazine's "Best" issue three years in a row. - Money® Magazine May 2010, 2011, 2012 Earn 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months, equal to $100 in travel Redeem your miles for any travel expense No limit on the miles you can earn and miles don't expire Fly on any airline, any time with no blackout dates No foreign transaction fees $0 intro annual fee for the first year; $59 after that	40,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months - that's $500 toward travel rewards! 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Get 20% off airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises when you redeem through Ultimate RewardsSM No foreign transaction fees Receive a 7% Annual Points Dividend on all new points earned on purchases - even on points already redeemed 1:1 point transfer to leading frequent travel programs - that means 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points equal 1,000 partner miles/points Direct access to expert service advisors anytime Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95