Is the Chase Freedom Flex Worth It?

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers a surprising number of ways to earn bonus cash back through everyday spending and quarterly rotating bonus categories, making it a potential game-changer for Chase Ultimate Rewards® collectors.

But with so many Chase Ultimate Rewards® members already carrying several different Chase cards, it's worth asking: Does it make sense to add the Chase Freedom Flex℠ to your portfolio? Here’s a look at the card's features to help you decide.

$0 annual fee

The flagship cards in the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program — Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® — come with annual fees, $95 and $550, respectively. The Chase Freedom Flex℠ on the other hand has a $0 annual fee, which means you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points without paying an annual fee.

» Learn more: Chase Sapphire showdown: Reserve beats preferred, mostly

Valuable perks of the Chase Freedom Flex℠

Lots of ways to earn bonus cash back

Here’s where the Chase Freedom Flex℠ really shines: You earn 5% cash back on quarterly rotating bonus categories as well as bonus points on several other useful categories, including:

• 5% cash back on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

• 5% cash back on Lyft rides through March 2022.

• 3% back for dining out, takeout, qualifying delivery services and drugstore purchases.

When you use the card to make purchases not in one of the bonus categories, you earn 1% cash back.

By comparison, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® pays only 3% back on travel and dining out, despite its high annual fee.

» Learn more: Should you get the Chase Freedom Flex? Four things to consider

$200 cash back welcome bonus

Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!  This offer requires less spending than the bonus of another popular no-fee card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

Streaming

Only subscription services paid for with the listed select merchants will qualify for this offer:

• Disney+.

• Hulu.

• ESPN+.

• Netflix.

• Sling.

• Vudu.

• Fubo TV.

• Apple Music.

• SiriusXM.

• Pandora.

• Spotify.

• YouTube TV.

Purchases other than subscription services, such as music or video downloads, equipment or gift cards do not count towards the quarterly bonus category.

Fraud protections

The card also offers an entire suite of credit protections to protect you from fraud and unauthorized transactions, including zero liability protection, real time fraud monitoring and free credit score and identity restoration services.

The bottom line

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is a good addition for just about any Chase Ultimate Rewards® collector. A $0 annual fee means that there’s essentially no risk in trying the card out, and the large selection of high-earning bonus categories means this card offers tons of earning potential.

The only reason not to get the Chase Freedom Flex℠ is if you can’t fit your spending habits into the card’s bonus structure. Considering that this card offers cash back on both eating out and buying groceries, most users won’t have that problem.

All information about the American Express Cash Magnet® Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The American Express Cash Magnet® Card is no longer available through NerdWallet. 

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