Review of Chase Freedom(SM)

The Chase Freedom^SM was last reviewed on 8th February 2010

Summary - I just got my Chase Flexible Rewards Card converted to the The Chase Freedom(SM), and in this review, I will reveal the full scoop on his rewards program (which is actually quite good).

Rewards - The Chase Freedom(SM) has been through several changes in their rewards. Compared to what other cards are offering now, I must say that the rewards are actually not bad. You can choose to redeem your rewards for cash or other rewards. At its core, you earn 1% rebate (or 1 point depending on how you look at it) for every dollar that you spend on the card. You can earn unlimited rebates. But if all this card were to give was 1%, then it wouldn't be very good. But there is a lot more.

Rotating Categories - Rather than paying more than 1% on certain expenses like it used to, the Chase Freedom now pays 5% rebates on categories on a 3 month rotating basis. They do not exact state the categories for the whole year.

Discounts at merchants' online store - Chase has taken a leaf from Discover and now offers cardholders the chance to shop on their online shopping portal and get discounts (or rebates) when they shop through their Chase account. Shopping through the Chase account allows the merchants and Chase to track your purchases and give you the rebates. Below are screenshots of their merchant partners.



Rewards - Travel - The Chase Freedom(SM) will also allow you to redeem points for travel items. There are several ways to do this. Firstly, you can book your travel through Chase's online travel booking site (which is actually powered by Orbitz). By doing so, you can use a combination of points and cash to pay. You can also transfer points into Continental OnePass Miles, or to hotel frequent guest programs and also to auto rental reward points. Below are screen shots of their travel partners.



Rewards - Gift Cards - Chase Freedom(SM) also allows you to redeem points for gift cards. Below are their gift card partners.



Rewards - Merchandise - Like most other programs, there are also lots of merchandise to redeem with your points and you can donate points to charities as well. But since there are so many merchandise, I will not list them here.

Fees - The Chase Freedom(SM) has no annual fee.

Verdict - One of the things that stood out in the rewards was the flexibility to get cash rebates and use points the traditional way as well. Most dedicated cash back credit cards allow you to earn use cash rebates. And though most reward cards allow you to redeem points for cash, the payouts are not as good. The Chase Freedom(SM) is a great card for those who want the flexibility to earn both cash rebates and use points for other stuff like travel rewards.

One of the things that struck me about the new rebate formula is that it really resembles what Discover has with their cards. So if you are really going to make use of their shopping portal, then I suggest you also check out the Discover® More Card as they have a whole list of online merchant partners as well. In fact, there are some overlaps and you may want to see which card pays more rebates for a particular merchant.