What You Need to Know About the New Chase Freedom Flex Card
Last week, Chase unveiled new bonus credit card offerings, including the new Chase Freedom Flex, as well as new cashback bonuses for the existing Chase Freedom Unlimited. Both will be available on September 15, 2020.
Benefits of Chase Freedom Flex
The Chase Freedom Flex – the $ 0 annual World Elite Mastercard – offers an impressive array of benefits. You can earn 5% cashback (up to $ 1,500) on quarterly changing categories like grocery stores, gas stations, gym passes, and more. There is one catch, however: you have to activate those 5% categories every quarter. Otherwise, you will only receive 1% cashback.
Chase Freedom Flex also offers 5% cashback on rides purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, 3% cashback at restaurants, 3% cashback at a pharmacy, and 1% unlimited cashback on everything else.
When a credit card offers a 5% cashback return, you usually don’t see more than 1% cashback in other categories, so 5% on travel, 3% on restaurants and 3% on pharmacies deserve special attention.
Other Perks for New Applicants: Chase offers a $ 200 signup bonus if you spend at least $ 500 in the first three months. Plus, you can get 5% cashback on grocery purchases (not including Target or Walmart) up to $ 12,000 in the first year.
You also get the benefits of the World Elite Mastercard: USD 800 per application (USD 1000 per year) for mobile phone insurance; $ 10 Lyft credit for every five rides per month; 5% cash reward for boxed purchases; Free membership to ShopRunner; and double VIP + points for Fandango movie tickets. You also get two previously announced benefits: 5% cashback on Lyft rides through March 2022 and a free 3-month trial of DoorDash with 50% off for nine months thereafter.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Benefits
Chase Freedom Unlimited cardholders, who currently receive 1.5% cashback on all purchases, also receive a boost. Chase Freedom Unlimited will begin offering new categories of cashback rewards, including the same 5% cashback on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, 3% cashback at restaurants and 3% cashback at pharmacies.
Chase Freedom Unlimited cardholders will also receive the same 5% cashback on Lyft through March 2022 and a free three-month trial of DoorDash (with a 50% discount for nine months).
New applicants can claim the same $ 200 signup bonus by spending $ 500 in the first three months, plus a 5% cashback on products up to $ 12,000 (not including Target and Walmart).
Should I apply to be part of the Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited program?
While the new Chase Freedom Flex offers the best perks, both cards offer competitive cash-back rewards without paying an annual fee. Doctor of Credit advises that existing Freedom cardholders can apply for the Chase Freedom Flex and claim the sign up bonus.
However, one of the biggest drawbacks to using any card could be the possibility of Chase’s 5/24 rule triggering, which could temporarily deny you access to other Chase travel reward cards. If you’d prefer to receive travel rewards, check your credit reports before applying for Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited. You will need to know how many cards you have already applied for in the last 24 months.
Know your credit card spending habits
Of course, the biggest risk of any reward credit card might be the temptation to overspend. If you are struggling with credit cards, reward cards usually have higher interest rates, which can make them difficult to pay off. So if you’re not sure if you can pay off the balance in full each month, you might be better off with a different product.