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Chase Freedom

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The Freedom card is Chase’s version of the “5% cash back” cards, which pay bonuses of 5% cash back on  categories that rotate each quarter. The other two competitors are the Discover More and the Citibank Dividend Platinum Select.

Each of these three cards tend to have similar rewards program structures, and they each offer roughly the same bonus categories each quarter.  Plus all three require that cardholders sign up at the beginning of each quarter, in order to earn these bonuses.

But where the Freedom stands out from the competition is that it pays an unlimited 1% on all purchases, rather than requiring a user to hit a spending minimum first (like with the More). And it has the highest cap on bonus rewards – up to $1,500 in spending each quarter – while the Dividend caps total annual rewards at $300.

Below is the calendar of bonus categories for 2011:

  • Jan – Mar: Grocery and drug stores.
  • Apr – Jun: Home improvement, lawn & garden, and home furnishings.
  • Jul – Sep: Gas, hotels, and airlines.
  • Oct – Dec: Dining, department stores, movies, and charity.

Although we often gripe about how these cards require users to proactively “opt in” to their rewards each quarter, Chase allows users to sign up retroactively, and still earn the rewards.

And right now, Chase is also offering a new $150 signup bonus that makes the card a lot more appealing.

 

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  • Joe

    I went to the program highlights of the Ultimate Program and slide down to the travel section. In there, I slide down to the transfer your points to your airline mileage card and read that the Saphire and the Ink Business card can do it, but did not see the Freedom card, so does this mean that the Freedom card will not be able to transfer the points to your airline frequent flyer program?

    Also, what other airlines participate in the program besides British Airways and the United-Continental

    • http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet

      Hey Joe, the reason for that is because the Freedom card doesn’t pay Chase Ultimate Rewards, it pays cashback rebates. You can opt to receive those rebates in point form, and then exchange those points for gift cards, merchandise, and such, but those points don’t have the same option to transfer to airlines. That is a benefit offered only for cards like the Sapphire and Ink that pay rewards in the form of Ultimate Rewards Points.

      As for which airlines participate, there aren’t many. We did a write-up comparing the options for Ultimate Rewards and the options for Starwoods points – check it out here.

      • Joe

        Does the Sapphire card have a higher requirement of credit? Because right now I am applying the Freedom card in a joint-account with my mom because I don’t have credit history. Does it usually for me to take like a year of accumulating credits to upgrade to Sapphire?

        also, I know this question is a little irrelevant to the topic, but does it apply to the United Mileage Plus card too that you need to have close to perfect credit score in order for you to apply?

        • http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet

          Both cards are typically only approved for people with “good” credit, though the credit card companies take a number of different pieces of information into account when deciding whether to approve you.

          Your best bet is to try to apply, and see what they say. If they reject you, they’ll generally tell you why, and then you can work to improve whatever problems they have.

          • Joe

            In your opinion, do you think the Freedom Card is better or the Sapphire card is better, and their pros and cons? Thank you again

  • http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet

    Hey Joe, they’re both very different cards, so which is better will depend on how you’re going to use the card. Here is a link to our Chase Sapphire page, so you can see what we think about it.

    The biggest difference is probably that the Sapphire is geared towards travelers, since it pays double points on airfare and hotel purchases, and the Ultimate Rewards are transferable to airline mileage programs.

    Freedom, on the other hand, is a cash back rewards card. This may be a better choice for most users, because cash back is the simplest reward you can get. Plus it pays 5% back on rotating categories.

    • Joe

      But at the bottomline, the Freedom card can still earn point for each dollar you spend and can redeem merchandise or gift at the points it needs for you to accumulate to redeem right? It is a little disappoint to know that the Freedom card cannot transfer the points to the frequent flyer mileage, but it is better than nothing.

  • Joe

    I have one more question regarding to the Chase Freedom Card. I recently received my Freedom Card and actually spend my first purchase using the card with paying my Sprint phone bill. After two days when they post the final amount that I owe on my account for the Freedom Card, I paid it off instantly. However, the problem is I still haven’t see the reward points posted to my account after 2 days. Plus, since they said that you get 5000 points after you made your first purchase, until now, I still haven’t see that post either. I have read that it may take them 6-8 weeks for them to post that 5000 points, not sure whether it really takes that long to post it. So does it mean that paying my bill using the Freedom Card doesn’t count toward point rewarding?

    • http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet

      Paying your bill should definitely count for the 5,000 points. Sometimes these cards do take 6-8 weeks to post your sign-up bonuses, and the points you earn on day-to-day purchases might not show up until your billing period ends.

      When you get your first statement, check it for a rewards summary. If you still don’t see your rewards, give Chase a call because something is wrong. The sign-up bonus, however, may not post until your second statement.

  • Joe

    I just got my statement of my Freedom card and review the reward points. However, I only saw 1,000 points being added to my account. I emailed and asked the Chase Customer Service about my situation and they replied that they don’t see a promotion of 5,000 points or $50 cashback offer on my account. Instead, they said it only showed that I got an offer of 1,000 points bonus. That left me wonder where did that 1,000 points offer came from and why the 5,000 points offer does not applied to me. Do you know what went wrong during this transaction and what is the whole situation? Thank you

    • http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet

      It’s hard to say Joe, since Chase has changed the sign-up offer on this card so many times in the past few months. You can see they’re offering $100 cash back now, and they were actually offering $150 not too long ago.

      Do you have paper or electronic copies of the offer that you signed up for? When did you sign up for it? And where did you sign up for it – on Chase.com or another site?

      You may want to call them again and complain that you signed up for a $50 cash back offer. You know that they’re offering $100 right now, so the least they can do is give you $50. Basically, give them hell and threaten to close your account if they don’t treat you right.

      • Joe

        I got it all straight. Once they replied the message about the 1,000 points, I immediately replied to them with the website that showed the $50 cashback offer and asked about the $100 cashback. What they replied to me is that not only I got back the $50 or 5000 points, but I also got $100 or 10,000 points from them added to my account even though I haven’t spend $500 yet.

        • http://www.nerdwallet.com NerdWallet

          Nicely done!

  • Jblujean

    I have a Chase account already. I just want to apply for the cashback

  • Jeffjahnz

    I’m looking for a card to save money on being we purchase a lot of gas for our business. Is this a good card for that? Or do I only get cash back when ti is in the quarter where the rewards are for gas? I’m looking for those rewards of cash back every month.

    • http://www.nerdwallet.com/ NerdWallet

      Hi Jeff,

      You receive 5% cash back in the quarters where gas is a bonus category (Q1 and Q3), and 1% rewards on non-bonus spending, so you average 3% rewards on gas every year. One good card for businesses is the Costco TrueEarnings business card: http://www.nerdwallet.com/card-details/card-name/American-Express-TrueEarnings-Business-Card-from-Costco
      It gives 4% on gas, up to $6,000 in purchases per year, plus 2% on dining and travel. The major bonus is that it earns bonus rewards on Costco gas, whereas most merchants won’t give you a bonus on warehouse (ie, Costco) spending. It’s a better deal than the personal Costco Amex.

      If the $6k cap is restrictive, try the Amex SimplyCash for Businesses – it gives 3% cash back on gas up to $12k spent annually.

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