The Chase Slate card is the only credit card Chase offers that doesn’t offer any sort of rewards program. It’s targeted towards people rebuilding their credit and those with existing credit card debt by offering introductory 0% APR rates and no balance transfer fees for the first 60 days.
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Application Information
The Chase Slate is Chase’s most basic products, so if you don’t have much credit history then this is most likely to be your best option. That being said if you can’t take advantage of the introductory APR period then you might be better off seeing if you’re pre-approved for either the Chase Freedom or Chase Freedom Unlimited as both of these cards are also starter credit cards and come with a rewards program and sign up bonus.
What Credit Score Is Required
- Lowest approved score: 622
- Average approved score: 702
Common Reasons For Denial:
- Chase 5/24 rule does apply to this card. You will not be approved for this card if you have opened 5 or more bank cards in the past 24 months
- Bankruptcy on file.
What Credit Bureau Does Chase Pull For The Chase Slate?
This varies depending on what part of the country/what state you live in. I’d recommend reading this linked post for more information as well as datapoints for your specific state.
What Credit Limit Will I Receive?
Keep in mind that requesting a credit limit increase results in a hard pull with Chase. You can reallocate your credit limits if you hold other Chase cards though. The credit limit on this card is particularly important due to the 0% introductory APR and $0 balance transfer fee offers.
| Minimum Credit Limit | Highest Reported Credit Limit | Average Credit Limit |
|---|---|---|
| $500.00 | $25,000.00 | $6,057.00 |
Rewards Program
As mentioned this card does not have a rewards program. It is possible to product change this to other Chase branded personal credit cards that do have a rewards program. Any of the below are all options:
Card Benefits
0% APR & No Balance Transfer Fee
The two major draw cards for the Chase Slate are:
- No balance transfer fee for the first 60 days
- 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers from account opening
Credit cards in general have insanely high interest rates (I mean after the initial 0% period the Chase Slate rate varies from 13.99% – 24.99%) so for somebody trying to get out of credit card debt this can be a valuable card. There are some restrictions on the balance transfer:
- You cannot transfer more than $15,000 or your credit limit (whichever is lower)
- Cannot transfer from other account or loans that Chase Bank issued
You can view other cards with 0% APRs and $0 balance transfer fees here.
Free FICO Score
Chase Slate is the only card that Chase offers that comes with a free FICO score, even though this is a common credit card benefit now. The score they provide cardholders with is Experian classic 2008 model (EX-08) and is updated monthly. It should be noted that this is significantly more useful than Chase’s credit journey as that doesn’t provide a FICO score (it provides VantageScore 3.0). The difference is significant because most lenders do not use VantageScore so it’s only useful as an educational tool.
I don’t think a free FICO score provides much value to cardholders anymore given that Discover offers everybody (even if you’re not a cardholder) a free FICO score via their credit scorecard product.
Chase Offers
Chase has recently rolled out Chase Offers on this card and the Marriott cards. It’s similar to how American Express sync offers work where you’ll receive a statement credit for certain purchases. For example, spend $50 at Lowe’s and get $10 back.
Our Verdict
You really need to compare this card to other cards with no balance transfer fees and 0% APR offers. We have such a list here. As far as I know the Chase Slate is the best such offer. It’s really important to keep in mind that the credit limit you receive will play a major part in how useful this card is as well, for example if you receive a $500 credit limit but you have $5,000 in credit card debt you won’t be able to transfer the full balance over.
If you have credit card debt, you need to be very very very very very very careful about opening a new credit card as it’s very easy to accumulate even more debt and suddenly you’re in an even worse position than before. Cards like the Chase Slate can help provide some relief but I am hesitant to recommend them due to the potential downsides. If you think you’re in a position where you’re responsible about credit use and would be able to use such an offer to pay down your debt then this might be a good card for you.
After you’ve finished with the promo period that card isn’t of much use due to the no rewards program. Because of that it would make sense to product change this to either the Chase Freedom or Chase Freedom Unlimited.
For rewards chasers, chances are this isn’t the card for you. If you’re still eligible for Chase cards that fall under 5/24 then there will be options with a sign up bonus that is much more attractive than a 15 month interest free period. You can view a list of the best sign up bonuses here.
