![]() The Chase Freedom card is a good 1 percent cash back card that offers no annual fee, as well as paying 5 percent cash back on purchases in categories that rotate quarterly throughout the year. You can use the points in a variety of ways, including cashing them out, buying merchandise, redeeming for gift cards or booking travel. There is, however, a $1,500 cap on purchases in bonus categories each quarter that makes this card less valuable. ![]() ![]() Earn Chase Points by Using An Ultimate Rewards Credit Card. The backbone of earning Chase points is the credit cards that earn them. Unlike airline loyalty programs. Activate 5% cash back on your Chase Freedom card. Freedom cardmembers enjoy 5% cash back on new categories every 3 months - activation is quick and easy. ![]() After you spend $1,500, your cash back rate drops down to 1 percent for all categories. Solid cash back card with bonus categories As go, Chase Freedom is a solid choice. One percent cash back might not feel like anything special, but the 5 percent categories help make up for the low regular rate. The bonus categories, which rotate every three months, are usually defined quite broadly – categories for 2017 included purchases made at select grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, wholesale clubs and more. The 5 percent bonus cash is limited to $1,500 per quarter. Decent sign-up bonus The current sign-up bonus is $150 after spending $500 in the first three months from the date of the account opening. Good for cash back or debt consolidation, but not both The Chase Freedom credit card comes with a zero percent introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months. ![]() You can take advantage of this offer to consolidate your debt from a high-APR card. If you do use the Chase Freedom card as a consolidating tool, however, do not treat it as your go-to card. The best way to repay your balance is to use this card only for balance payments and forget that it exists for any other purpose. A good tool for people interested in travel rewards The Freedom card belongs to the Chase Ultimate Rewards family. But as an entry-level card, it can’t do what other premium Chase cards – such as Sapphire Preferred or Ink Cash – can do; namely, transfer points to airline and hotel partner programs. Premium Chase cards enable you to transfer points to a wide number of travel partners, including United Airlines, British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Hyatt, to name a few. These transfers can get you a much better value in travel than 1 percent cash back. On the other hand, none of Chase’s premium cards has 5 percent rotating categories. Since Chase does allow you to transfer points from your Chase Freedom card to other Chase cards, you can use the Chase Freedom card to accumulate extra points on 5 percent bonus categories, and then transfer all those points to a premium card. This is why using the Freedom card in tandem with a Chase premium card makes good sense if you’re interested in maximizing travel awards. And even if you don’t want to transfer points to an outside program, you can still book travel using the points on your premium card at 1.25 cents per point. Why get the Chase Freedom card? • You hate annual fees and love sign-up bonuses. • You want a simple cash back card that gives you a little extra return through rotating categories. • You are planning to buy a big-ticket item and want a zero percent intro APR on purchases for 15 months. • You are a travel lover who already holds (or plans to apply for) a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards card. How to use the Chase Freedom card: • Do not forget to charge at least $500 and add an authorized user in the first three months to receive the $175 bonus. • Find a balance between charging as much as possible in the rotating categories (up to $1,500) and buying things that you don’t need. As a compromise, a lot of retail establishments carry gift cards that you can use at a later date. • Avoid carrying a balance if you want to maximize your rewards. • If you love travel, consider getting one of the premium Chase Ultimate Rewards cards in addition to Freedom. Our reviews and best card recommendations are based on an and are not driven by advertising dollars. However, we do receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. All reviews are prepared by CreditCards.com staff. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, presented in the review is accurate as of the date of the review. Check the data at the top of this page and the bank’s website for the most current information. Responses to comments in the discussion section below are not provided, reviewed, approved, endorsed or commissioned by our financial partners. It is not our partner’s responsibility to ensure all posts or questions are answered. ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE CreditCards.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear on this site are from companies from which CreditCards.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our proprietary website's rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact how and where products appear on the site. 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