Tag Archives | Chase Freedom

Chase Freedom® Visa Review

By on October 28, 2011 in credit cards

The Chase Freedom® Visa is one of my personal favorites. If you need a card that gives cash back and 0% on purchases then this is a card to consider. This card offers 5% cash back on purchases like gas, home improvement, and department stores. If you are an online shopper this card is part of the Chase Rewards Plus program that offers up to 10% cash back when shopping online. An added perks is that this card does not charge an annual fee and new cardmembers can earn $100 cash back. Let’s check out the details.

  • 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 Jan 1 and Mar 31, 2013 at gas stations, drugstores and Starbucks® stores
  • 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

0% Introductory Rate

The card offers a 0% introductory rate on purchases for 15 months. This is ideal if you are making a big purchase and you know you will need some extra time to pay it off. If you need a balance transfer card then you’re in luck because this card also gives 15 months. When you combine both the 0% on purchases and 0% on balance transfers this card is a tough one to beat. After the introductory period is over your rate will be between 12.99%-22.99% (Variable), based on your creditworthiness.

Rewards Program

Let’s first talk about the nice bonus this card offers – $100 Cash Back. All you have to do is spend $500 within 3 months and you will earn $100 cash back. For rewards, you can earn 5% cash back categories like gas, home improvement and department stores. They are rotating categories which change every quarter so you have to stay on top of what the categories are so you can maximize your earning. On all purchases that fall outside the 5% categories you will earn 1% cash back with no spending tiers or caps. Chase also offers up to an additional 20% cash back at select merchants when you shop online through Chase.

Blueprint

The Chase Freedom® Visa offers flexible payment options and online tracking to monitor your spending. With Blueprint, your payment and money management options include the following:

  • Full Pay: With full pay, you can select the categories of purchases you want to pay in full each month. Chase will then show these purchases separately on your bill, and you can pay them in full even while you carry a balance in other categories of purchases.
  • Split Pay: For larger purchases, you can set up a payment plan, and track your progress month to month.
  • Finish It: If you want to pay off your balance, you can set up a payment plan that will help you eliminate your credit card debt.
  • Track It: The tracking feature allows you to set spending goals by category and track your progress throughout the month. For example, you can set a spending limit for groceries or restaurants, and Blueprint will track your spending throughout the month. It can even send you alerts as you near your spending goal.

How to Apply for the Chase Freedom® Visa

Applying for this credit card is quick and easy. We’ve provided a link below that will take you to the official Chase Freedom® Visa website. From this page, you can click on the apply now button to go to the Chase Freedom® Visa secure online application. The application takes just a few minutes to complete, and they will even notify you about the outcome of your application.

To get started, visit the Chase Freedom® Visa official website.

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Chase Freedom(SM) MasterCard vs. American Express Everyday Blue Card

By on October 21, 2011 in Cash Back Credit Cards

When it comes to rewards credit cards, many prefer a cash back rewards card over points or miles because of the simplicity. With cash, you can obviously use the rewards anyway you want to. With that in mind, we thought a comparison of two of the most popular cash back cards available was in order: the Chase Freedom(SM) MasterCard card and the American Express Everyday Blue Card. Depending on your card usage habits, you might want to consider one of these two cards as your primary rebate earnings card. If you can’t settle on just one card, you could use a combination of them both for full rebate earning potential. This article will highlight the offers of both cards and help you determine which card you should consider based on your spending habits.

Comparison Chart: Chase Freedom(SM) MasterCard vs. Amex Blue Cash Everyday

Chase Freedom(SM) MasterCardAmex Everyday Blue Cash
Top Cash Back Reward3% on categories that change throughout the year.3% at supermarkets, 2% at gas stations & department stores
Other Cash Back Reward1% on everything else1% on everything else
Annual Fee$0$0
0% Intro Rate Offers 0% intro on purchases for 6 months, and 0% intro on balance transfers for 12 months0% for 12 months on purchases
Bonus Offer$100 cash backN/A
Official WebsiteAmex Everyday Blue Cash

Chase Freedom(SM) MasterCard

The Chase Freedom(SM) MasterCard offers a nice cash back bonus of $100 which makes this one of my favorite cards. Plus, with this card you can earn on every purchase. There are no spending tiers and no caps on the amount you can earn. The card offers 0% on purchases for 12 months on balance transfers. After that, your APR will be between 12.99%-22.99% (Variable) based on your creditworthiness. This card uses rotating categories and as a result you must register each quarter for the program in order to earn the 5%. Also, remember rotating categories change each quarter which means you aren’t always earning in the same categories.

Card Details

  • 1% Cash Back: The Chase Freedom(SM) MasterCard offers you a 1% rebate for each $1 of net purchases. You will earn an additional 1% rebate for each $1 of eligible airfare net purchases made online through the program booking tool. You do not earn rebates on balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like charges such as travelers checks, foreign currency, and money orders, any checks that are used to access your account, overdraft advances, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or fees of any kind, including fees for products that protect or insure the balances of your account. There is no maximum number of rebates that you can accumulate in the program.
  • 5% Cash Back: The Chase Freedom(SM) MasterCard also offers 5% cash back offers in popular categories like gas, home improvement and department stores. You will be eligible for quarterly bonus rewards offers as long as your account is not in default under, and/or you have not violated, the terms of your Cardmember Agreement and Rewards Program Rules.
  • Bonus Points: You can earn up to 20 bonus points when you shop the Ultimate Rewards Mall. To use the Ultimate Rewards Mall, you must log into your account at chase.com. The Complete Ultimate Rewards Mall details will be provided online prior to shopping.
  • Cash Back Offer: This card gives $100 cash back after you spend $500 within the first month.

If you like this card you might also be interested in the Chase Freedom® Visa which also gives a $100 cash back bonus.

Blue Cash Everyday(SM) from American Express

I like the Blue Cash Everyday(SM) from American Express because it does not utilize rotating categories like the Chase Freedom card. Instead the categories in which you earn don’t change and that makes earning simple and straightforward. With each eligible purchase you make you will earn either 3, 2, or 1% of the purchase amount back. Here’s how it works:3% for purchases at supermarkets (excluding superstores and warehouse clubs), 2% for purchases at department stores and for gasoline purchased, and 1% for all other purchases. You can redeem reward dollars for statement credits, or, additional items like merchandise and gift cards, whenever your available reward dollar balance is 25 or more. The card offers an introductory rate of 0% for 12 on purchases. After that, your APR will be between 12.99%-21.99% (Variable) based on your creditworthiness. This card does not offer an introductory rate for balance transfers.

Rewards Details

  • 1% Cash Back Offer: You will earn 1% back on all your eligible purchase made to your account.
  • 2% Cash Back Offer: 2% for eligible purchases at department stores and for automobile gasoline purchased at stand-alone gas stations
  • 3% Cash Back: You will receive 3% for eligible purchases at supermarkets (excluding superstores and warehouse clubs).

Which Card Is Best For You?

To answer this question we are going to highlight some of the key differences of each card. From there you will be able to determine which card will fit your spending habits the best.

  • Cash Back Offer: The one thing that catches my eye is the cash back bonus with the Chase Freedom Card. This cash back bonus is like free money, you just have to spend $500 within the first 3 months and you get a free $100 bucks. That’s not a bad deal and it makes this card very appealing!.
  • Balance Transfer: If you could benefit from transferring a high balance on another card to a new card then you should consider the Chase Freedom (SM) card and utilize the 0% for 12 months on balance transfers.
  • Introductory Rate: Both cards offers a 0% introductory rate on purchases. Chase offers 6 months and Amex offers either 6 or 12 months, based on your creditworthiness.
  • Regular APR: One major consideration is the Regular APR. As you can see the rate for the Chase Freedom card is much lower. You can avoid interest charges all together by paying your balance off each month, but if you carry over a balance you should definitely consider the rate.
  • Rewards: Chase offers 5% in rotating categories and the categories change each quarter. One quarter you could be earning 5% on gas purchases and the next it could be 5% on home purchases. The Amex card always gives 3% on supermarket purchases and 2% on gas purchases. If you spend a great deal at the supermarket or on gasoline you might want a card that always gives back for those purchases.
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