Chase Freedom^® Credit Card — Full Review [2024]

Great Card If

• You want a card that earns flexible rewards
• You want a card with a strong earning structure
• You want a card with no annual fee

Don’t Get If

• You want a card that earns travel rewards, benefits, and perks.

The Ideal Cardholder

There are 2 specific groups that would benefit from a card like the Freedom card.

The first is those looking for a no-annual-fee card that offers great cash-back rewards. The other is those looking for a great secondary card to pair with their premium Ultimate Reward earning card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve^®.

The Freedom card offers cardholders the ability to earn 5% cash-back on all purchases within the given quarterly category up to $1,500 in spend (amounting to $75 in cash-back).

However, this cash-back comes in the form of Ultimate Reward points which, when paired with a premium Chase credit card, can be used for massive travel value for flights and hotels.

How To Earn More Chase Points

Rotating Bonus Categories

The Freedom card offers quarterly rotating bonus categories that allow you to earn a massive 5% cash-back on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter, the equivalent of 7,500 Ultimate Reward points.

In years past, the bonus categories have included groceries, gas, restaurants, and department stores, leaving you plenty of opportunities to earn 5x per $1.

Chase Shopping Portal

All Chase cardholders have access to the Chase shopping portal. Chase has partnered with several brands like Apple, Nike, and Samsung to offer anywhere from an extra 2x-20x points per $1 spent.

Adding Additional Ultimate Rewards-Earning Cards

Since the Freedom card is technically a cash-back card, the ways in which you can use your rewards points can be limited.

However, by combining your Freedom card with a premium Ultimate Rewards-earning card, you can unlock huge value for your points. This method can make for a very powerful points-earning combo.

Take the Chase Sapphire Reserve, for example. This card earns 3x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 spent on all travel and dining purchases. With this 2-card combo, here’s an example of how you could allocate all your business spending to maximize your rewards:

• Use the Chase Sapphire Reserve card for all of your travel and dining purchases, while utilizing its premium travel benefits and protections.
• Use the Chase Freedom to earn 5x Ultimate Reward points for all purchases falling within the quarterly bonus category. Then pool those points together with the ones earned from your Chase Sapphire Reserve card for huge travel savings!

Interested in learning more about Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards that will allow you to pool your points for huge value? Our favorites include the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card.“

How To Use Chase Points for Max Value

When it comes to how you can use your Ultimate Reward points, there certainly is no shortage of redemption options. So what redemption offers are available to you and which methods are best?

Cash-Back

Since the Freedom card is a cash-back card, the main redemption is obviously in the form of cash-back.

You can receive your cash-back via a statement credit to offset purchases you’ve made, or get a deposit straight into the bank account you have linked with your account.

Either way, you will receive a value of 1 cent per point, making 15,000 points worth $150.

Redeeming for Gift Cards

Another option is to redeem your points for gift cards from over 150 different merchants. Chase will give you 1 cent toward the card of your choice for each point you have — so generally, a $25 gift card to Amazon would cost 2,500 points.

If this is a method you would consider, you should really just opt for cash-back instead.

Often times you can receive cash-back at an equal or better rate than a gift card and you won’t be tied to using it at a specific merchant.

Shop With Points on Apple and Amazon

If your card is linked to your Apple and/or Amazon account, Chase will give you the option to use your points toward purchases you make with either retailer. Again, your points are worth a fixed 1 cent per point with this method.

Chase Experience Portal

Chase cardholders can even use their points to book one-of-a-kind experiences through the Chase Experiences Portal, like VIP access to sporting events or a night of fine dining.

While these experiences are only available to Chase cardholders, it is generally better just book them with cash, since using your points will only earn you 1 cent per point in value.

Redeeming Points Through the Chase Travel Portal

If you head to Chase Travel, you’ll find that you can also use your points to offset travel purchases like airfare or hotel stays.

Your points will be valued at 1 cent per point toward such purchases, and you can enjoy perks like no blackout dates.

Pair With Other Ultimate Rewards Cards to Transfer to Airline and Hotel Partners

If you hold an Ultimate Rewards-earning card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you can transfer the points earned from your Chase Freedom card to unlock huge value.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are incredibly valuable because of their ability to be transferred to Chase airline and hotel partners. This opens up a wealth of different options for your points in terms of the experiences that can be booked with them.

If you’re strategic about how you use your Ultimate Reward points, you can book first/business class flights, or 5-star hotel stays for just pennies on the dollar.

New to the world of points and miles, or find it difficult to navigate the different transfer partners and award charts? We are here to help! Start with our Beginner’s Guide.

Using your reward points as cash-back in the Chase rewards portal offers the same or lesser value, and can be used for a variety of merchandise.

However, the most valuable way to redeem these points would be to get a Chase travel rewards card, and then either use the points in the travel portal with a 25% to 50% bonus or transfer to a travel partner at a 1:1 ratio.

Many options exist for redeeming your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, so using this last strategy will give you lots of ways to earn greater value for your points!

If you only have the Freedom card, you won’t have access to Chase’s airline and hotel transfer partners.

However, if you also have a Chase Ultimate Rewards credit card that carries an annual fee (for example, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card or Chase Sapphire Preferred card) you will have access to their travel partners. This is achieved by transferring your points earned by the Freedom card to your premium Chase card award balance.

Alternatives to the Freedom Card

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

If you’d prefer a cash-back card with a strong earning structure that can still be paired with a premium Ultimate Rewards card, the Freedom Unlimited card could be a great choice.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 5% back on travel through Chase Travel, 3% back on dining and drugstores, and 1.5% back on all other purchases.

Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

If you’re looking for a cash-back card that offers bonus categories for what you spend the most on, consider a card like the Capital One Savor card*×Information collected independently. Not reviewed by Capital One..

The Capital One Savor card earns unlimited 3% cash-back on dining, entertainment, select streaming services, and grocery stores (excluding superstore like Walmart and Target) and 1% on all other purchases.