$50 Bonus on Chase Freedom Rewards Card
January 21, 2008
Along with the Amex Blue Cash rewards card, the Chase Freedom Cash Rewards card is one of my favorites. The reasons for this are simple… Generous rewards, no annual fee, and a $50 cash bonus following your first purchase.
The rewards follow a flexible 3%/1% structure wherein you 3% cash back in the three “everyday” categories where you spend the most each month. All other purchases earn 1% cash back. But it’s actually more generous than this… If you save up $200 in rewards before redeeming, they’ll give you $250. That’s a 25% bonus, which effectively turns the rewards into 3.75% on your top three categories and 1.25% on everything else.
If you’re curious as to what’s available in terms of “everyday” categories, here’s the list:
» Gas Stations & Convenience Stores
» Grocery Stores
» Quick Service & Fast Food Restaurants
» Utilities (Gas, Electric, etc.)
» Drugstores
» Cable/Satellite TV & Internet Providers
» Department Stores
» Pet Stores & Veterinarian
» Phone/Cell Phone Bills
» Movie Theatres
» Gym Memberships
» Beauty Salons & Spas
» Movie Rentals
» Dry Cleaners
» Local Commuting
This card is a great complement to Blue Cash, which I use as my primary reward card.
Posted in Credit Card Offers, Reward Cards, Signup Bonuses
March 17th, 2008 at 6:15 am
I have a question…on the fine print, it says, “Maximum bonus rebate accumulation on net purchases earning a 2% bonus rebate is $12 monthly, which equates to $600 in net purchases.”
So does that mean you can only earn a maximum of $144 a year on your top three categories (excluding the 1% on everything else)?
March 17th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Akon: You technically earn 1% on every purchase with a 2% bonus on your top 3 categories, resulting in the 3% net reward on those purchases. Each month, that 2% bonus is limited to the first $600 in purchases in those categories. After you hit the $600 threshold (on those 3 categories), then you earnings for the remained of the month will fall back to a flat 1% level. This is the reason that I actually recommend taking a hybrid approach, with Amex Blue Cash as your primary card, and this Chase card as your backup. Use it whenever you can’t use Amex, or pick three categories of charges (e.g., fast food, utilities, and cell phone service) for this card and then put everything else on Amex.
Also, whenever you save up $200 in rewards before requesting a check, they top it off with an additional $50 bonus. This equates to a bonus 0.25%, which effectively brings the 1%/3% up to 1.25%/3.75%.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Thanks for the explanation! I looked at the Blue Cash card but, since I don’t charge very much, I wasn’t sure if it was a good card for me. Do you happen to know how fast within a year you should charge at least $6500 for this card to be worthwhile over just using this Chase card?