Chase AARP Credit Card Review – 3% Back On Gas & Restaurants

The Chase AARP credit card is one of the few co-branded credit cards that Chase offers that isn’t with a travel partner. Because this card isn’t affected by the Chase 5/24 rule, it’s one of the cards a lot of people will be approved for from Chase. Let’s take a look at this card in a bit more depth.

chase aarp credit card review

Card Basics

  • No annual fee
  • Sign up bonus of $100 after $500 in spend within three months
  • Introductory APR of 0% for the first twelve months
  • Chase donates $0.10 for every restaurant purchase to the AARP Foundation in 2015 (up to a maximum of $1,100,000)
  • Card earns at the following rates:
    • 3% cash back on restaurant & gas station purchase
    • 1% cash back on all other purchases
  • No limits on the amount of cash back
  • Minimum redemption of $20
  • Rewards do not expire as long as the card is open

Sign Up Bonus

The current sign up bonus on this card is $100 after $500 in spend within three months, typically the Chase site does not show any bonus on this card. Below you can find the sign up bonus history of this card (if anybody has any other data points, let me know in the comments).

There are plenty of cards that have higher cash sign up bonuses.

On Going Spend

As mentioned, this card earns at the following rates:

  • 3% cash back on restaurant & gas station purchase
  • 1% cash back on all other purchases

I wouldn’t recommend using this card for ‘all other purchases’ as there are cards that earn at 2% or above on all purchases, also with no annual fee. Similarly there are also cards that earn at higher rates on gas purchases. This card does earn at the highest rate of 3% on restaurant purchases with no annual fee though (U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold AmEx does have the ability to earn up to 6% back, but comes with an annual fee of $85 and it’s also difficult to get the maximum redemption value for these points).

Our Verdict

This is by no means a bad credit card, but I think for most people there are better options out there. When it has a sign up bonus of $200 it does become a lot more appealing though. I wouldn’t recommend this card currently, but if it does go up to a $200 sign up bonus again it could make sense if you’re looking for a cash bonus or put some spend towards restaurants but not enough to justify a hefty annual fee. If you have any thoughts on this card or questions, please let me know in the comments. Before applying for this card, I’d strongly recommend you read about things you should know about Chase credit cards.

Card Alternatives

F.A.Q

Do I need An AARP Membership To Apply For This Card?

No this field can be left blank.

This Card Earns Points, Can They Be Transferred To Airline Partners?

No, unlike the Chase Freedom card this card does not earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points which are transferable with a premium Chase card (e.g Chase Ink Plus or Chase Sapphire Preferred). Points are basically just good for cash back at a rate of one point = one penny.

Is This Card Effected By The New Chase Churning Rules?

No, it’s not. You can get this card as long as you haven’t gotten the bonus in the past 24 months.

 

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19 Comments
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Steve
Steve (@guest_344666)
January 27, 2017 11:51

Got this from Chase today:

>We appreciate your business and want to tell you about changes coming to your AARP® Credit Card from Chase rewards program.

> **The additional point you earn on travel booked through Chase ends March 12, 2017**

> One of the rewards benefits we’ve been offering is one additional point for each $1 spent when you use your card to book travel through the Chase Travel Center.

> We’ll be removing that rewards benefit, and you have until March 12, 2017, to make the most of it.

> You will still earn points on purchases made using your card as described in your AARP® Credit Card from Chase Rewards Program Agreement.

> We may offer you other ways to earn bonus points through the rewards program.

> Thank you for being a Chase customer.

> Cardmember Services

Jeff H
Jeff H (@guest_552817)
January 21, 2018 01:18

Might be targeted Jan 15 to March 31st on AARP Visa

Additional 3X points (total of 4x) on:
Utilities
Insurance
Cable
Internet
Phone service

Mike
Mike (@guest_270666)
June 26, 2016 09:16

@ Jan — Those are pre-approved mailers from 5/3 bank, as I am sitting on a few of those, thus far.

Kevin
Kevin (@guest_270281)
June 24, 2016 10:08

If most of your eating out is fast food, the Cash+ is better is you just want cash (not gift cards or travel bookings). It’s 5% on fast food, but only 2% on “real” restaurants. Having said that, if you used it for all of your dining, you may average out more than the AARP’s 3%.

Jan B
Jan B (@guest_270113)
June 23, 2016 17:14

There is an offer out there for 5/3 Bank with $150 bonus with $500 spend. Added benefit: 0% APR for one year. HTH! 🙂

Logan
Logan (@guest_270117)
June 23, 2016 17:46

all i see is the $100 rewards card.
can you link me or email it to lcomstock07(at)gmail(dot)com please?

Rob
Rob (@guest_270025)
June 23, 2016 10:57

Does Chase have a pretty liberal definition of restaurant on this card, like with the Freedom on select quarters? I’m just wondering if fast food places or cafeterias would count here.

Jeff
Jeff (@guest_270048)
June 23, 2016 12:46

Based on reading other boards, the $200.00 signup was replaced at $100.00 in the first or second week in May.

The one positive for the AARP Visa is a 12 months purchases at 0% APR avoiding a BT for some triple digit spending but getting the same net effect or close to it.
Like Freedom, fast food is a definite yes with the AARP Visa.
BUT if most of your restaurant category is fast food, I use the US BANK Cash+ Visa with a five (5%) per cent option for fast food categorized separately from regular restaurants which draws only 2% IF selected as one of three choices.
There are another 6 or more category options for an additional 5% category providing some flexibility to the US Bank Cash+ Visa. US Bank Cash+ Visa gives you the option of collecting the cash rewards each month after the statement is issued.

Rob
Rob (@guest_270067)
June 23, 2016 14:05

Thanks Jeff. I already have the Cash+ but I max out the 5% quarterly with different categories.

If fast food is included I’m certain it works with the Freedom categories.

Jeff H
Jeff H (@guest_305018)
October 9, 2016 19:50

Chase AARP Visa – Which Credit Bureau Does Chase Pull?
Reside in Nebraska
Applied on line
TransUnion AND Experian Mar 15, 2018
Recon – Experian only Mar 23, 2016

Barb
Barb (@guest_270267)
June 24, 2016 08:46

there are some fastfood joints like Pizza Hut and Starbucks INSIDE Target that are not coded as restaurant purchases but posts as Target purchase so I keep this in mind all the time when eating inside supercenters to use 2% cards instead.

Logan
Logan (@guest_270007)
June 23, 2016 10:02

I like this card and don’t see myself ever closing it.
Got the $200 sign up bonus for only $500 in spend earlier this year. Quite the ROI.
It’s nice to use this card for 3% gas/restaurants by default when the other major cc 5% categories aren’t available.

Barb
Barb (@guest_270001)
June 23, 2016 09:50

I’ve had this card for years, although it’s not a bad card, I don’t recommend it because the least redemption amount for statement credit is set at $25. I prefer to use cards with 5% bonus for restaurants before I use this.

B
B (@guest_270069)
June 23, 2016 14:10

which one has a 5% bonus?
As of right now, I’ve been using the Chase Ink 5x and buying Visa GC to do restaurant spending.

Barb
Barb (@guest_270264)
June 24, 2016 08:42
  B

different CCs with rotating cats. this quarter ending June 30, DiscIT has 5% for restaurants. Next Q, it’ll be ChaseF.

FB
FB (@guest_270072)
June 23, 2016 14:11

My records are showing a $20 minimum for redemption.

Barb
Barb (@guest_270265)
June 24, 2016 08:43
  FB

You may be right, I haven’t used the card in a long time I’ve forgotten least redemption amount.

Mike
Mike (@guest_270000)
June 23, 2016 09:48

Wife got the $200 signup on 3/31. I tired the same link on 5/10 and it was only coming up $100. Not sure how long the $200 offer was dead for before that time. Its a great card at the $200 signup bonus but I didn’t bother with $100 even though I was already getting a different Chase card 50k SW Plus, pre 5/24, hell yeah that same day and could have combined the hard pull.