Chase has the best portfolio of credit cards overall but for everyday spending the Freedom card really stands out. Freedom cards we have talked about on our site since it first came out and they can earn Ultimate Rewards points without the annual fee.
The Freedom cards from Chase are more rewarding than ever before. Both cards are currently offering improved welcome bonuses that are among the best we’ve seen.
Both Freedom Cards are Similar but Chase Freedom Flex is Our Pick
The cards have most things in common. Identical sign-up bonuses & eligibility requirements, Both the Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited offer excellent bonuses for no annual fee cards, which were recently improved. Each card currently offers:
20,000 points or $200 BONUS after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months
Additionally, earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases including Target (not Walmart purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year
Furthermore, both cards have identical eligibility requirements:
Each card is only available to those who don’t currently have that specific card, and those who haven’t received a new cardmember bonus on that specific card in the past 24 months Both cards are subjected to Chase’s typical eligibility restrictions, including the 5/24 rule Overlapping bonus categories Both the Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited offer the following overlapping bonus categories on spending:
5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
3x points on dining, takeout, and eligible delivery services
3x points on drugstores
Flexibility to earn cash back or Ultimate Rewards points
Both the Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited accrue the same types of rewards:
Each point earned on either card can be redeemed for one cent cash back If you have either card in conjunction with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, or Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, then points can also be transferred to the Ultimate Rewards program; Ultimate Rewards points have a value around ~1.7 cents each, so to me that increases the value of these points by 70%
Earn Ultimate Rewards points with Chase Freedom cards
Differences between Chase Freedom cards
There is one primary area where the Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited differ, and that’s one aspect of the bonus categories. Both cards offer:
5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
3x points on dining, takeout, and eligible delivery services
3x points on drugstores
But each card has one unique bonus category:
The Freedom Flex offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, on up to $1,500 of spending per quarter The Freedom Unlimited offers 1.5x points on everyday spending, making it one of the best cards for non-bonused categories, and beating the Freedom Flex in that regard by 50%
The Freedom Unlimited offers a better return on everyday spending
Which Chase Freedom card is better?
Deciding whether the Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited makes more sense comes down to one very simple question — would you rather earn 1.5x points on all purchases (with the Freedom Unlimited), or would you rather earn 5x points in rotating quarterly categories and 1x points on non-bonused purchases?
Everyday spending will work out differently for everyone, but here are a few general considerations:
What card do you otherwise use for non-bonused spending, and how much do you spend in categories that don’t otherwise qualify for bonus categories? If you don’t have a great card and you spend a lot in non-bonused categories, then the Freedom Unlimited is the obvious choice Do you have another great card for non-bonused spending but think you could get value from the 5x points categories on the Freedom Flex? Then the Freedom Flex is the obvious choice The good thing is that you don’t have to choose — you can get both the Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited, and that’s a great way to maximize your rewards, especially since neither card has an annual fee. Personally, that’s my approach, but I also get that lots of people want a simpler credit card strategy than that.
Bottom line Both the Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited are great no annual fee cards that can help you maximize the Ultimate Rewards points that you earn. For savvy consumers they’re an essential complement to a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Which Freedom card makes more sense depends on your circumstances. The Freedom Unlimited is the all-around more rewarding card, given that it offers one of the best returns of any card for non-bonused spending. But some may get more value out of the Freedom Flex’s 5x points categories.
One great thing is that you don’t have to choose, as you can always pick up both cards at the same time or upgrade from another card if you change your mind by calling Chase.
Dosh is a new card linked loyalty app where you link your debit or credit card and you receive credits for making purchases with Dosh partners. The credit can then be donated to charity or transferred to your bank account. They also have a travel section where you can earn credit for booking hotels, renting cars or booking activities.
Go to the Dosh App here and get a $5 Bonus for adding a card. We now highly recommend the Ibotta app now that Dosh has shut down.
$1 Per Card You Link You get a $5 bonus for adding your first card but you can also add another dollar per additional card you add. Just make sure to click in and out of the cards section of the settings and you’ll see a banner at the top that says $1 bonus for adding another card. It worked for 2 additional cards for us.
Max this out with $200 in spend. Not sure when this offer will expire.
Dosh has raised over $6 million in investments so we know this app may be around for awhile (at least a year- ha!). According to Dosh they have partnered with over 100,000 brands and merchants to offer their users opportunities to earn credits. Currently, it seems that the card-link offers on Dosh are either for restaurants or some retailers such as Forever 21, Hallmark stores, or Sam’s Club.
Card linked loyalty programs are no-brainers for the most part. You can connect your credit cards and do shopping without worrying about receipts like you do with Ibotta or clicking links like you do with Ebates. Dosh runs on Empyr, along with a number of other loyalty dining programs that run on that platform including MOGL, Living Social, Swagbucks, and Yelp. If you are signed up for Yelp Cash Back for example you cannot use Dosh with the same cards since they use the same backend network.
One great thing about a card linked loyalty programs is merchants cannot restrict what transactions do and don’t earn rewards. You can’t restrict a purchase that uses a coupon for example. Dosh aims to provide value to merchants by using geo-targeted offers which can also benefit the consumer. When there’s an offer in your area you’ll be alerted to that specific deal.
In our area we noticed that the Dosh app offers a few local deals that you do not see on Yelp or Swagbucks:
7% back at Hallmark stores 2% back at Sam’s Club (Wholesale Club) – You can double dip this with a Sam’s Club MasterCard. 10% back at Denny’s restaurants
You only need $15 in credits to redeem your “Dosh.” So the best best would be to try out the app and use it until you hit $15 and cash out and move onto another card-linked app in the network and get that bonus.
Past Promos:
10% cash back on all in-store purchases when you shop at Sam’s Club From Friday April 13, 2018 at 6:00am PT to Sunday April 15, 2018 at 11:59pm PT you can get 10% cash back on all in-store purchases when you shop at Sam’s Club. Doshers will receive 10% cash back automatically for any Sam’s Club in-store purchase at participating locations during the promotion duration when they use a valid Visa, MasterCard, or American Express Credit or Debit card linked to their Dosh account. When using a debit card, cashiers will need to run the transaction as a credit card transaction in order to receive cash back. $25 maximum cash back limit per 24-hour period.
$25 Hotel Booking Offer Dosh is now offering $25 cash back on your first hotel booking made through the Dosh App, and that’s on top of the cash back you will earn for the hotel booking itself. Once you log in to the app, visit the “Travel” section, where the $25 bonus offer will display upon your first visit. There is no registration needed, so you just book a hotel to get your $25 bonus. You can book a huge selection of hotels around the world with the Dosh App and earn cash back for every stay that you complete, so take advantage of this $25 hotel cash back promotion if you are planning to book a hotel stay.
The Rakuten (formerly Ebates) cash back shopping network is currently offering a $10 Gift Card bonus when you open a new account and spend $25 or more at your favorite store. Plus, you can earn $75 when you refer 3 of your friends with the special Tell-A-Friend promotion. Ebates is one of the largest free cash back shopping portals that offers up to 25% in cash rebates when you shop online at over 1,500 brand-name stores and service providers. I’ve made over $800 using Ebates the past few years just because I click on their link before I make a purchase.
You only earn a $5 per referral normally but right now Ebates is giving you a $20 bonus for each of the first three referrals. This means that you will earn $25 for one referral, $50 for two or $75 for three. Even if you only refer one or two people this works out to be a great deal. The people your refer also get a $10 gift card as well so everyone wins. In order to earn your $10 Gift Card bonus, they must spend $25 or more from clicking on a link in their shopping portal. (more…)
New Chase Freedom card members can get a $200 bonus after $500 in purchases, a $25 bonus for adding an authorized user, and a $50 bonus for each new card member that you refer for up to an extra $500 cashback in referrals.
The Chase Freedom card is available directly on the Chase Bank website, in Chase branches, and through our application link here for the up to $200 in bonuses offer.
Chase Freedom Card $200 Bonus Details The Chase Freedom credit card is offering a $200 bonus after $500 in spending within 3 months. Plus, you can also earn an extra $25 bonus when you add your first authorized user to your account and make a purchase within the same 3-month period. SIGN UP HERE!.
Chase Freedom is a cash rebate credit card that provides new applicants with cash bonus promotions and excellent card features. The Chase Freedom card has no annual fees, so you’ll never pay an annual fee with this cash rebate card from Chase Bank.
Chase Freedom 5% Quarterly Rebates for 2022
Chase Freedom 5% past cash back categories include:
We normally put together a list of our favorite credit cards each month and this is what we have come up with from across the web. There are so many offers that it is sometimes hard to decide and because we are one of the only unbiased sites online that does not have affiliate links to offers you can assure we could care less which card you apply for. We just rank these cards in the order that we feel we would want to apply if we had not already had most of these cards and could reapply for them. Let us know if any of the links are broken or if you are having problems with these.
Keep in mind that miles and points are not equal and that each Hotel and Airline are not equal. There are also other factors we look at when weighing programs such as mile bonuses and how many more points we can earn per charge. Always read the small print on these credit card offers to make certain it is the right card for you.
Some recent card changes include The JetBlue American Express card which is being phased out for another program. The Barclays Lufthansa card has dropped the miles bonus so we recommend when it goes back to 50,000 miles. The Bank of America Asiana Miles and the US Bank LifeMiles also need to go back up to better bonus sign-ups before we would consider them again.
Here is the list of the top rated Rewards credit cards right now:
#1 Discover It– Our Favorite Card of 2016 is by far the Discover It Card. Not only is Discover a known pioneer of the credit card industry when it comes to rewards but its DOUBLE cash back offer is the best out there especially when they double your shopping and Apple Pay bonuses. Head here to get a $100 Bonus when you sign up and Double points for a Year.
#2 American Express Cards – American Express has had incredible AMEX offers for their accounts in the past year. Two must have cards are the Discover It card (above) and an American Express in your wallet. AMEX Offers pop-up and save me about a thousand a year. You can get these applied to any AMEX Card. Here are a few AMEX Business and Personal cards we rate the highest:
Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Back down to 35,000 points.One of the top credit card rewards currencies. 35k for the Personal Card and Business Card is only available for a limited time and is the highest offer ever for this card.
75k Points Business Gold Platinum / Gold Rewards
Current offer is : Spend $10,000 in 3 months. Get 75,000 points.
We sometimes see a Possible 100,000 points available for this offer so you may want to wait for that bonus to come around again.
50k Miles (Expires Soon) Delta Airlines
Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 miles.
50k Points Mercedes Benz Platinum
Spend $3,000 in 3 months to get 50,000 Amex Membership Rewards points.
$475 annual fee but comes with benefits like global entry credit and $200 airline credits.
30k Points Everyday AMEX
Spend $2,000 in 3 months to get 30,000 Membership Rewards points. More than the typical offer you will see for this card.
#3 Chase Credit Card Offers:
Free Night Stay at a Holiday Inn or Kimpton or any IHG Hotel you find.
Best Offer is to go to the Southwest Premier link and scroll down to where it says “Not the card for you” and click “More.” That way you will get the same card basically plus 50k points for only $69 instead of the $99 fee. The Plus Card does charge for foreign exchange fees but who uses their Southwest Airlines card for that?
You get 50k points when you spend $2,000 in 3 months.
The Premier Business card will also score you 50k points.
60,000-point Business Premier if you call 1-888-883-2721.
Two highly competitive cards are the Sapphire and the Arrival Card Below:
Sapphire (creditcards.chase.com)
Spend $4,000 in 3 months to get 40,000 points.
These Ultimate Rewards points are highly valuable compared to most card issuers. The Sapphire Preferred card is still the best card to use for travel and restaurant purchases, assuming you don’t have a 3x or 5x card.
Barclays Arrival (FindMyBarclayCard.com)
Spend $3,000 in 3 months to get 40,000 miles.
The Barclay’s Arrival card has great value for non-bonused spending because you can earn 2.22 cents per dollar on everything. This makes it superior to the Sapphire Preferred Card from Chase on non-bonused spend when redeeming for travel purchases.
The American AAdvantage Executive card is back up to 75,000 miles for a limited time.
50k Points Citi Prestige
Spend $3,000 in 3 months and get 50,000 points.
Benefits include a $250 credit per year, but huge $450 annual fee.
60,000-point offer possible if you go into your local branch.
Citibank shows cards you are prequalified for with a tool on their site where you should find this 50k offer. You may be targeted for a 100k point offer that would really be incredible.
If you stay at a hotel for 4 nights you get the 4th night free by calling their travel concierge to book the stay.
50k Points Thank You Premier
Spend $3,000 in 3 months to get 50,000 points.
Similar to the Prestige card but no huge annual fee.
Hot Hotel Card Offers:Free Room at Ramada and Wyndham Hotels with Wyndham from BarclaysCard
15,000 points after first purchase which gets you a FREE night at any of their hotels.
Book any hotel for 15,000 points a night including Ramada hotels!
2 Free Nights Hilton Honors Reserve
Spend $2,500 in 4 months for 2 free weekend nights. Also, the annual fee of $65.
Gold status while you have the card including upgrades, free breakfast, free wifi.
2 Free Nights Ritz Carlton (Marriott)
Spend $3,000 in 3 months to get 2 free nights at any Marriott or Ritz Carlton hotel.
These 2 free nights will cost you at a $395 annual fee but it comes with a travel credit of $300 to use once per year and you can make it add up to $600 in credits if you plan it right.
2 Free Nights Hyatt Hotels
Spend $1,000 in 3 months to get 2 nights, $50, and 5,000 points for adding a user.
80k Points InterContinental Hotel (IHG aka Priority Club)
Spend $1,000 to get a possible 80,000 points plus the small annual fee.
85k Points Club Carlson Premier from US Bank
Spend $2,500 in 90 days to get 85,000 points.
Lot’s of great hotels across the world in beautiful places such as Amsterdam.
You likely do not already have a US Bank Card
2 Free Nights Fairmont Hotel from Chase
Spend $3,000 in 3 months to get 2 nights and breakfast at any Fairmont.
Expensive chain of hotels so the 2 free nights are worth the annual fee!
Up to 80k Points Marriott (Chase)
Spend $2,000 in 3 months to get 50,000 points.
The regular 70,000-point Business link still works plus there are other offers for 40,000 points and $100.
Find targeted 80k point offers by going into a Chase branch or calling.
70k Points Best Western from First Bank of Omaha
First Bank of Omaha offers 4 different card options for this card with up to 70,000 points with one listed.
You have to do some high spending to get the 70k points but you get the annual fee free for the the first year then its $59.
Hilton HHonors has a card from Citibank and American Express. The AMEX Card will get you up to 75k points .
Bank Of America Cards:
25k miles Alaska Airlines
Spend $1 and get 25,000 miles.
Call 1.800.932.2775 and give priority code VACFQ7 if you cannot find a good offer for Alaska Airlines online you can also shop for a flight on their website and see credit card offers listed.
Bank of America cards are easier to churn than other banks meaning you can possibly cancel the card and reapply to get the bonus again.
You can apply for two BOA Alaska Airlines cards at once just by applying with two open browsers at the same time. It will also run on the same credit report inquiry.
$200 Bank Americard Travel Rewards
Spend $1,000 in 90 days to get 20,000 points. Offer is up $100 from its normal offer.
Up to 20k points Amtrak
20,000 and 12,000 points cards offered but limitations on point transfer
Wells Fargo Cards:
40k points Propel
Spend $3,000 in 3 months to get 40,000 points.
Capital One
$500 Bonus Spark Business Card
Spend $4,500 in 3 months to get 50,000 miles or $500 in travel purchases.
Capital One also offers a beautiful green 2% back Spark Business Card with a $500 bonus.
Venture (Personal)
Spend $3,000 in 3 months then get 40,000 miles instead of the normal 20k mile offering.
BMO Harris Bank:
Diners Club Elite (DinersClubUS.com for more information)
3x points at gas station, grocery stores, and pharmacies that can turn into Starwood points.
TD Bank:
25k miles Aeroplan
Spend $1,000 in 3 billing statements to get 25,000 miles.
Not spectacular, but low spend and not the usual issuer.
Comenity Bank:
Virgin America
Airline is expanding but they offer a card that allows you to cancel flights for free even though they barely offer any flights unless you live in their hub San Francisco.
The Virgin America Platinum card has something that we wish all airline credit cards would have which is a cancellation-fee reimbursement. The annual fee is steep but if you fly Virgin America and cancel a lot of flights then this is a great card.
Other cards possibly worth mentioning:
LAN (US Bank)
20,000 miles after first use. Was 25,000 before March 1.
Down from a 40,000-mile offer.
Frontier Airlines (Barclayscard)
Spend $500 in 3 months to get 40,000 miles.
Frontier’s miles expire after 6 months of no activity.
Citibank offers the Expedia card where you can spend $2,000 in 3 months and get 20,000 points.This comes with an annual fee but they offer a 10k card with no fee. Choice Hotels has a card from Barclays and you can see some of their latest hotels here. This could be a good one to own for 4 free stays. Cash Back Cards we wish that had a bigger bonus or any at all are the following:
BarclaysCard NFL Card Offer was great a few years ago when they offered more than a $100 bonus. Let’s hope that bonus goes back up to $500 or so.
As if you need another reason to watch the Winter Olympics now you can monetize the sport when you get this credit card offer.
U.S. Bank is bringing back the Winter Olympics US Bank FlexPerks card promotion. You’ll earn an increased sign-up bonus of 25,000 FlexPoints after meeting minimum spending requirements. Plus bonus FlexPoints for every medal the US Olympic team wins!
Because FlexPoints are worth 1.5 cents each when you redeem them through the US Bank travel portal for airfare, hotels, and rental cars, this could end up being a decent deal. We’ve bought some excellent flights through their portal and for some reason a better deal than Citi ThankYou, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and the much over hyped Membership Rewards.
The US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards card normally comes with 20,000 FlexPoints after spending $2,000 within 4 months of account opening. But US Bank is celebrating the Winter Olympics by increasing the card’s welcome offer and adding bonuses.
With this deal, the US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards card earns 25,000 FlexPoints after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months. And you’ll get bonus points for each medal the US team wins:
500 FlexPoints for each gold medal
250 FlexPoints for each silver medal
100 FlexPoints for each bronze medal
The card also comes with:
2 FlexPoints per $1 spent on 1 category (gas, grocery or airline purchases) which you spend the most on each month and on most cell phone expenses
2 FlexPoints per $1 of eligible charitable donations
1 FlexPoint per $1 of all other eligible purchases
$25 airline credit for every award flight booked with FlexPoints (baggage fees, in-flight food, drinks, etc.)
The $49 annual fee is waived the first year.
During the 2014 Olympics, the US team won 28 medals (9 Gold, 7 Silver, 12 Bronze), which were worth 7,450 FlexPoints (9 Gold X 500 FlexPoints + 7 Silver X 250 FlexPoints + 12 Bronze X 100 FlexPoints). So if the US team earns a similar amount of medals as last time, you’d end up with ~32,000 FlexPoints (25,000 FlexPoints sign-up bonus + ~7,000bonus FlexPoints).
FlexPoints are worth an average of 1.5 cents each when redeemed for airfare, hotels, or rentals cars through the US Bank travel portal. So you could end up with ~$450toward your next trip!
If you were considering applying for the US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards card, now is the best time. You can apply with this link. If you’re a newbie to credit cards we recommend a Chase card first such as the Freedom Card here that comes with a $150 bonus.
The Rakuten (formerly Ebates) cash back shopping network is currently offering a $10 Gift Card bonus when you open a new account and spend $25 or more at your favorite store. Plus, you can earn $75 when you refer 3 of your friends with the special Tell-A-Friend promotion. Ebates is one of the largest free cash back shopping portals that offers up to 25% in cash rebates when you shop online at over 1,500 brand-name stores and service providers. I’ve made over $800 using Ebates the past few years just because I click on their link before I make a purchase.
