Chase Freedom - Deep Dive Review 2019
Chase Freedom
Chase Freedom Visa Card - Florida Beach Vacation
Key Benefits
5% cash back or 5x Ultimate Rewards Points for quarterly rotating categories - Complicated earning structure
No Annual Fee - Free downgrade option from the CSP or CSR
0% intro APR for 15 months - Solid beginner credit card
5x Ultimate Rewards Points on Lyft purchases
1. Gas Stations
2. Internet, Cable, Phone Services
3. Streaming Services
To the Point
The Chase Freedom, commonly referred to as the "CF", is one of the most popular beginner credit cards and is a solid foundation to begin your credit journey. In fact, the CF was one of my first credit cards, meaning I'll be holding onto it for the rest of my life to keep my average credit age nice and old. The CF is a no annual fee card that earns 5% cash back on quarterly rotating categories. Historically, the 5% rotating categories tend to be on everyday expenses such as restaurants, supermarkets, drug stores, gas stations, and department stores. Basically, money that you would be spending anyway! As of Q1 2019 the categories include: gas stations, drug stores, and tolls. Unfortunately, there is a catch. The cash back is limited on only the first $1,500 spent per category, per quarter, bringing the maximum reward earning per quarter to $75. After the cap is met, you will only earn 1% cash back, per dollar spent regardless of the category. The current sign up bonus for the CF is $150 after you spend only $500 in the first three months of opening the card. Since Points Passport is all about the points and all about the miles why would we recommend this seemingly cash back card? Luckily, Chase allows you to transfer the cash back you've earned into Ultimate Reward points (UR). The UR can then be transferred to your other Chase cards redemption accounts, such as a the Chase Sapphire Reserve which provides a 50% UR redemption bonus. Essentially, if you utilize this points transfer method you could be making upwards of 7.5% back on purchases in the rotating categories. The tricky thing about the CF is that it requires a little extra work. You have to activate the 5% categories on a quarterly basis on the Chase website as well as keep track of your spending to take advantage of those specific categories, keeping in mind the $1,500 spending cap. As you can see, the CF is not a "go to" kind of card for every purchases if you are trying to optimize rewards. If you are no longer getting value out of your Chase Sapphire Reserve ($450 AF) or Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95 AF), and no longer want to pay their annual fees, you have a free downgrade path to the CF. Simply contact Chase and downgrade your annual fee card into the free CF card. If you are looking to supplement your Chase Sapphire in categories other than travel and dining look no further! The CF is a free option to add more rewards on those rotating categories such as gas stations.
Interested in applying? Click here to apply for the Chase Freedom and get a sign up bonus valued at $200.
Value Proposition
At the Points Passport, we like to make the value proposition of the cards we review easy to understand. In order to do that, we break down the value into two parts: the initial sign up and the cost to sustain every year after. Luckily, with the CF there is no year after cost because there is no annual fee. Your first year will be the most valuable. You will receive the $200 sign up bonus once you reach the minimum $500 spend in the first three months. If you have another Chase card in the Ultimate Rewards ecosystem, you can transfer the cash back into UR which can increase your valuation.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Business Preferred offer a 25% UR redemption bonus, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a 50% UR redemption bonus when booking travel in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. This bonus is done when Chase is converting your points to dollars, so your point balance essentially goes further.
If you can reach the max spend of $1,500 each category quarter, you will earn 7,500 UR each quarter, totaling 30,000 UR annually. We value a UR at an optimized value of $0.02/point. This equates to $600. Since the card has no annual fee, it is all net value.
As mentioned above, if you transfer your 30,000 UR from your Chase Freedom to your Chase Sapphire Reserve, you will have the ability to get 50% more value out of the 30,000 points when you spend it on travel within the Chase portal. This means the points will be worth $675 when transferred to a Chase Sapphire Reserve card and redeemed through the Chase UR portal, or up to approximately $900 when transferred to a travel partner and fully optimized! (transfer partner include Marriott, British Airways, SouthWest Airlines, United, and many, many more)
Primary Benefits
5% Cash Back or 5x UR on quarterly rotating categories up to a maximum spend of $1,500 per quarter
1% Cash Back or 1x UR on all other purchases
5% Cash Back or 5x UR on Lyft purchases
No Annual Fee
Chase Offers - Simply sign in to your mobile application and activate these offers! You will receive even more cash back or UR points when using your card at these specific merchants
Interest Rate: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months
Balance transfer fee: 3% or $5 whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee: 3%
Final Point
Whether you are just starting your credit history or you are an experienced points enthusiast, we believe the Chase Freedom has a place in everyone's wallet. It's the perfect beginner card and also an ideal addition to your existing Chase Ultimate Rewards ecosystem. It pairs perfectly with either of the Chase Sapphire cards and with the Chase Freedom Unlimited, creating a serious UR earning trifecta. The rotating categories can be a little extra work to manage, but you can simply label your card with the three categories quarterly with some tape or paper! This little extra thought can lead to a plethora of extra points in the long run. The CF doesn't shine with any special perks and you certainly do not want to use this card outside of the United States due to the 3% foreign transaction fee, but that is fairly typical for a no annual fee card. The Points Passport highly recommends the CF to anyone looking to get into the points and miles game, doesn’t mind the minimal extra work required to keep track of the rotating categories to earn 5x UR for everyday purchases, and wants a great no annual fee card.