Comments on: $50 Bonus on Chase Freedom Rewards Card

By: makson

makson — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:31:30 +0000

We are a business looking for the best cash reward or statement credit, credit card for gas purchases. We pay off our bill in full each month. What do you recommend?

Thank you.

By: akon

akon — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:35:08 +0000

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?

By: admin

admin — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:31:26 +0000

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%.

By: akon

akon — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:15:21 +0000

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)?