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) 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 11.99%-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 17.24%-22.24% 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.