Chase is offering a number of popular credit cards, notably the Chase Freedom® MasterCard, Chase Sapphire℠ and Slate℠ from Chase, which now include a set of features the company calls “Blueprint.” The Blueprint features give the credit cardholder some flexibility in organizing and paying off the various expenses he or she charges to the card. Customers can visit the website to customize their experience as they pay back what they have spent, and possibly avoid paying interest at the same time.
Here are some of the configurable options in the Blueprint program.
- You can choose categories, like gasoline or groceries, and Chase will separate those items from the rest of the statement. The payment you send will go to these expenses first, so as long as you pay more than you spend each month, you will not pay any interest in the categories you choose.
- For larger purchases, you can decide how may monthly payments you’d like to make. Chase will calculate the portion of the monthly payment.
- If you want to pay your credit card off in full — and who doesn’t? — you can set the target date and Chase’s statements will tell you how much you need to pay each month in order to make your goal.
- Your expenses are categorized immediately, and you have access to view your data at any time. Many other cards, if they share your categorized data at all, send a summary only at the end of the year.
Chase Freedom® MasterCard
In addition to Blueprint, you can earn up to 5% cash back with the Chase Freedom® MasterCard. This card offers a flat 1% cash back on all purchases, but every three months Chase will present a number of spending categories for which they offer an increased benefit of 5% cash back. This is a new increase as of March 15, 2010.
In general, the categories earning the higher cash back bonus will be those categories where consumers spend more money during those months. On average, this works out well for the diligent (Type B) credit card user who never pays interest, pays their bill in full each month, and collects cash back.
Slate℠ from Chase:
The current primary benefit of the Slate℠ from Chase is a introductory interest rate of 0% APR for purchases and balance transfers. It has been a long time since 0% APR balance transfers were in style for making money.
In fact, with a 3% fee for balance transfers including those within the introductory period, you would have to carefully consider whether a transfer just to earn money in a savings account is worthwhile. With low savings interest rates on accounts traditionally considered high-yielding, balance transfers are not safe bets.
Regardless, an APR of 0% can be beneficial in many circumstances. With new rules in force thanks to the Credit CARD Act, when you pay off this card each month, your payments will go to your introductory offer balances first.
Chase Sapphire℠
The points you earn by using a Chase Sapphire℠ have many uses, including travel (any airline, hotels, and cruises), rewards available through Chase’s website, and cash back. According to the current program rules, the points you earn never expire.
If you apply for the Chase Sapphire℠ today, you will also receive 10,000 points after you make your first purchase with the card. These bonus points are worth $100 in rewards and will be credited to your account after six to eight weeks, a typical bonus delay across the industry. For all purchases including that first purchase, you will earn 1 point for ever dollar you spend. If you purchase airfare with the card and while using Chase’s online booking system, you will earn twice as many points.
The Chase Sapphire℠ does not offer the Blueprint service.
With or without Blueprint, these Chase cards are among the best deals out there for those who use credit cards responsibly. Have you had any experiences with these credit cards from Chase? Whether good or bad, please share your thoughts.
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I just got the Chase Sapphire card — the first card I’ve applied for in 6 years or so. The 10,000 bonus points made it stand out, although the 17.9% interest rate is far beyond the interest rates on my other cards — 6.49% and 10.9% — and by far the highest rate I’ve ever had.
I’m definitely not happy about the high interest rates that abound. The reasons for paying balances in full keep getting better.