From a branding perspective, each credit card issuer looks to group similar offers with a catchy name, helping consumers to immediately identify a type of credit card with the associated benefits. Chase offers quite a few slightly different cards under the Chase Freedom banner, and while the core features are the same, the offers differ in several details.

All Chase Freedom configurations include one percent cash back on all purchases, beginning immediately. This cash back is earned in the form of points. For example, if you spend one dollar, you earn one point. If you buy two CDs from Amazon.com for $10 each and return one, you earn ten points, not twenty, because the points are based on the net spending. You can cash in the points you earn to receive a check at the rate of one dollar per hundred points. With 2,000 points accrued in your account, a result of spending $2,000, you could request a check or statement credit for $20.

In addition to the guaranteed one percent cash back, there are several ways to earn more points.

• 5% opportunity. If you enroll once a quarter in Chase’s five percent cash back program, you will earn an extra four points per dollar (five points total) in certain spending categories, like gas or restaurants on up to $1,500 spend each quarter. Keep in mind that each merchant must classify the retail establishment correctly in order for Chase to trigger the five percent bonus.
• 10% opportunity. If you shop online through Chase’s portal, you can receive up to ten percent cash back in addition to the cash back above.

In its television commercials, Chase compares the Freedom card with “the largest cash back card,” a thinly-veiled reference to the Discover More card. One of the points for comparison in the commercial is the fact that the Discover More card offers the five percent cash back tier on up to only $300 in spending. The most you can earn in one year from this benefit is $15, although Discover is increasing this limit. Chase, on the other hand, allows you to earn five percent cash back on up to $1,500 in spending, resulting in a maximum benefit of $75. There was a time when the best cash back cards offered unlimited five percent back on all purchases, but that isn’t the case today.

The points you earn in the Chase Freedom program can be redeemed at Chase’s Ultimate Rewards center. You can trade points in for a check or statement credit as mentioned above and get the typical exchange rate ($1 for 100 points), or you can cash in your points for other benefits like gift cards, sometimes at a better exchange rate.

Chase Freedom comes with some important fees to consider: Read the full article →

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