MyCardBlog

Chase has just updated its famous and most popular credit card product—the Chase Freedom Credit Card. You can’t find any link to apply for the previous Chase Freedom Visa Signature Card. Since this is a new credit card product or more accurately, this is the replacement of the previous Chase Freedom Card, I will do a short review of this card and give some tips here.

The Chase Freedom Card is one of my favorite credit cards, and I use it a lot. But it seems the new card members will not receive the great cash back offers now. Now, it seems that the Chase Freedom’s rewards program just got downgraded to a program that’s like other general rewards programs: 3% Bonus Cash Back on Gas, Groceries, and Fast Food Purchases for the First 6 Months. 1% Unlimited Cash Back on Everything Else. No Cap. No Expiration. This is a huge change of their rewards program! It’s very obvious that this rewards program is not as good as previous one! Besides, Chase also do the rewards as discover card: cardholders will receive quarterly bonus opportunities, which offer 3% cash back. I’m really disappointed at the rewards program.

The only highlight of this card is the 0% intro APR on purchases for up to 12 months. I think Chase is aimed at those in great need of money because of the financial crisis. For general consumers, this Chase Freedom Card is not a recommended card any longer.

One thing I am still happy with the Chase Freedom Card is, however, the great Chase Rewards Plus program. If you are a Chase Freedom Card owner, you are automatically enrolled in the Chase Freedom Rewards Plus, a shopping rewards program like ebates.com, ShopDiscover etc. Your rewards earned through the Chase Rewards Plus is credited to your Chase Freedom Card and you can redeem the rewards altogether.

Plus, according to Chase, this credit card is designed for those who have excellent credit and who plan to take advantage of the cash rewards program.

A very useful tip: If you apply for the new Chase Freedom card through www.chasefreedomnow.com, you can get 5,000 bonus points which can be redeemed for a $50 gift card. So you can still get $50 sign up bonus from this card, but only at www.chasefreedomnow.com.

So it’s very obvious that this Chase Freedom Card is not a great cash back card for everyday rewards. The question is: are there other cards that give you great cash back rewards?

Following are some suggestions:

TrueEarnings Business Card from Costco and American Express: 5% cash back at pumps, 3% cash back for eating out, 2% cash back for traveling, and 1% cash back for everything else.

Blue Cash from American Express: You can get 5% cash back on everyday purchase if you spend over $6,500 each year.

Discover More Card: earn 5% cash back on selected categories for every quarter which is way better than curerrent Chase Freedom Card.