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Chase is offering a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 in the first three months of opening a Chase Freedom FlexSM card account. This bonus can be worth more when you pool this card with certain other cards from Chase. Compare this with other top card bonuses here.
Earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® or Walmart® purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year. Also, earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate, 5% on travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases.
Chase Freedom Flex℠ is the new and improved version of Chase Freedom®. It comes with many of the same benefits, like rotating bonus categories and no annual fee, but now holds a lot more value and has access to World Elite Mastercard benefits. Existing Chase Freedom cardholders can keep their current card or switch to Chase Freedom Flex℠.
The Chase Freedom FlexSM card earns rewards in the form of Ultimate Rewards points. This means you can pool points with other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points as well. Read more about this here.
Let’s go over Chase Freedom FlexSM features and offers below.
Keep in mind, Chase also has great bonuses for their Checking and Savings accounts.
$200 Sign-Up Bonus
Chase is offering a $200 cash bonus if you spend at least $500 within your first three months as a Chase Freedom Flex℠ cardmember.
Chase Freedom FlexSM is considered a different product from Chase Freedom Unlimited®. Existing Freedom cardholders can request a product change without a hard credit pull or affecting your 5/24 status and still receive the welcome bonus if you haven’t claimed a Freedom credit card bonus within the last 24 months.
You’ll need to spend at least $167 per month for your first three months to reach the $500 spending threshold. If you think you’ll have a tough time hitting that mark, here are some tips.
Earning With Chase Freedom FlexSM
Chase Freedom FlexSM makes its grand debut with an impressive amount of earning power, especially for a no-annual-fee credit card. Not only does it come with bonus rewards on the rotating categories you activate, Chase Freedom Flex℠ also offers elevated cash back rates on travel purchased through Chase, dining at restaurants and drugstore spending. You’ll earn:
- 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® or Walmart® purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year
- 5% cash back on quarterly rotating bonus categories, on up to $1,500 in combined purchases
- 5% on travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, including car rentals and vacation bookings
- 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3% on drugstore purchases
- 1% on all other purchases
As you might have noticed, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ rewards structure competes with, and in some cases outperforms, Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card when it comes to earning potential. Again, an admirable feat for a card with no annual fee. For quick reference:
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
| $550 annual fee | $95 annual fee |
| 3x points on travel & dining 1x points on all other spending | 2x points on travel & dining 1x points on all other spending |
Redeeming With Chase Freedom FlexSM
The cash back you earn with Chase Freedom Flex℠ comes in the form of Ultimate Rewards points, and Ultimate Rewards is one of the most beneficial programs out there.
Take, for example, the card’s sign-up bonus. You’ll be rewarded with 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you can redeem for a $200 statement credit. We recommend going this route because it’s simple and it has decent value. If you want better value for your points, you’ll want to use a multi-card strategy with other Ultimate Rewards cards (more on that later). You can also redeem your points for gift cards, merchandise, travel and more.
Maximizing With Chase Freedom FlexSM
To get the most out of your Chase Freedom Flex℠, use it for purchases that fall under bonus categories. For all other spending, we recommend a higher flat-rate rewards card, like the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card (1.5% cash back, no annual fee).
But the best pairing strategy is to pool the Ultimate Rewards points you earned with a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. These three Ultimate Rewards cards offer more value when you use your points to book travel through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal. For example:
- Points are worth 25% more for Ultimate Rewards travel with Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. So, 20k points are worth $250 for travel, instead of $200 with the Chase Freedom Flex℠.
- Points are worth 50% more for Ultimate Rewards travel with Chase Sapphire Reserve®. So, 20k points would be worth $300 in travel.
Even better, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card cardmembers can transfer their Ultimate Rewards points to other travel loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio. This can potentially squeeze even more value out of your rewards, although it will ultimately depend on your booking criteria. A good game plan is to compare a travel booking with Chase’s partners, rather than directly through the Ultimate Rewards portal. We’ve seen point values of 2 cents each (20k points = $400) with certain partners and booking scenarios.
Here’s a list of Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners.
Bottom Line
The no-annual-fee Chase Freedom FlexSM is a welcome addition to the Freedom product portfolio, with bonuses on rotating categories, travel, dining and drugstore spending, as well as World Elite Mastercard benefits and more. And with a multi-Chase card strategy, you’ll be able to earn Ultimate Rewards points that’ll get you the most value.
Existing Freedom cardholders can hang onto their account, but we recommend ditching it and making the switch to Chase Freedom Flex℠.
What’s The Competition?
CHASE FREEDOM UNLIMITED®
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® credit card has an offer for $200 bonus cash after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
This card also earns 5% on travel purchased through Chase, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1.5% on all other purchases.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns Ultimate Rewards points. Points can be pooled with those from other eligible Chase cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. More on this here.
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Disclaimer: These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. It is not the bank advertiser's or any other entity's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.