Contents
Chase is offering a $50 cash bonus after making one purchase in the first three months of opening a Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card account. This bonus can be worth more when you pair this card with certain other Chase cards. Compare this offer with other top card bonuses here.
Earn 1% cash back on all purchases. These rewards will never expire as long as your account is open, and there is no minimum to redeem for cash back.
The Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card is a solid first credit card. It doesn’t come with the bells and whistles more experienced young borrowers might want – like extra rewards on certain purchase categories or an introductory 0% interest rate on balance transfers – but it does offer a rewards bonus and a higher credit limit to cardmembers who pay responsibly. Plus, there’s no annual fee.
Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card earns rewards in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, which means you can pool points with other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points. Read more about this here.
Keep in mind, Chase also has great bonuses for their Checking and Savings accounts.
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.
Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card $50 Sign-Up Bonus
While most credit cards require you to spend a certain amount to qualify for the welcome bonus, Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card is different. You’ll get a $50 bonus simply by making a purchase within three months of opening your account. That could be a $2 pack of gum, and you’ll still get the cash bonus.
Earning With Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card
The Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card rewards program is simple. Every purchase will earn one point for every $1 spent, which is equivalent to 1% cash back. That means if you spent $1,000 on your Chase Freedom® Student credit card, you’ll get $10 back in rewards.
Please note that some transactions do not qualify for the 1% cash back, including balance transfers, cash advances, betting transactions, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, and fees.
Redeeming With Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card
You can redeem your Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card rewards for cash at a $0.01 per point redemption rate. This cash back can be applied as statement credit or direct deposit to a checking or savings account. Unlike most other cashback cards, Chase Freedom® Student credit card does not require a minimum amount to redeem your rewards.
The card also allows you to redeem points for other kinds of purchases, like travel bookings, gift cards and merchandise. All options will give you a $0.01 per point value, except for buying merchandise from Amazon. This option will drop your points value to $0.008 each.
Maximizing With Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card
To make the most out of your Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card, use your card regularly when you first open it. If not, you won’t qualify for the credit limit increase, which requires you to pay the bill, on time, for five months within your first 10 months as a cardmember (you must also meet Chase’s credit criteria to qualify).
If you continue to pay your bill on time, you’ll get an extra 2,000 points (worth $20 in cash back) every year upon account renewal, for up to five years.
We also recommend keeping the following promotions in mind:
- Get free delivery for 3 months on any DoorDash order over $12. After that, enjoy a 50% discount on a DoorDash subscription for nine months.
- Get an additional 4% cash back on qualifying Lyft rides purchased via the Lyft mobile app, for a total of 5%, valid through March 2022.
And let’s not forget the best way to maximize your Chase Freedom® Student Credit Card: pooling the Ultimate Rewards points you earned with a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. This strategy offers more value when you use your points to book travel through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal:
- 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® Student credit card.
- 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 $0.02 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® Student Credit Card is a good fit for college students looking for an inexpensive card to earn simple rewards, without having to bother with activating or keeping track of bonus spending categories. It offers unlimited 1% cash back on every purchase you make, with sweet incentives for keeping your account in good standing.
| OFFER LINK | OFFER | OUR REVIEW |
| Chase Business Complete Banking℠ | $300 Cash | Review |
| Chase Total Checking® | $225 Cash | Review |
| Chase Secure Banking℠ | $100 Cash | Review |
| TD Bank Beyond Checking | $300 Cash | Review |
| TD Bank Convenience Checking℠ | $150 Cash | Review |
| HSBC Premier Checking | $450 Cash | Review |
| Axos Business Checking | $100 Cash | Review |
| Aspiration Checking | $150/$200 Cash | Review |
| Ally Invest | Up To $3,000 | Review |
| Betterment | Up To 1 Year Free | Review |
| BlockFi | Up To $250 BTC | Review |
| Voyager (code BH5F1A) | $25 In BTC | Review |
| TradeStation | $100 Bonus | Review |
| Coinbase | $10 In BTC | Review |
| Robinhood | Free Stock | Review |
| Motley Fool | Stock Advisor Discount | Review |
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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.