The Offer
No direct link to offer, sent out via e-mail
- Chase has sent out a targeted offer for 4% back on up to $20,000 in purchases in the first year on the Chase Freedom Unlimited
Card Details
- No annual fee
- Regular rewards rate after first year is 1.5% back
- Card earns cash back, but if you have a premium Chase card like the Sapphire Reserve/Preferred, the cash works like Ultimate Rewards points
- 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers (5% balance transfer fee)
- Full review here
Our Verdict
Standard bonus on this card has traditionally been $150, with increased bonuses of $200 often with a spend requirement of $500. Recently the bonus has been 3% back on up to $20,000 in purchases. If you spend $20,000 you’d earn a total of $800. Under the normal increased bonus of $200 you’d earn a total of $500 ($200 from the bonus and another $300 from earning 1.5% back). This card actually earns Chase UR points that can be transferred to travel partners if you have a premium Chase card (e.g Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ink Plus Or Chase Ink Preferred). The 5/24 rule does apply to this card so most people won’t be eligible. This offer might be worth considering if you are eligible and can easily spend the $20,000 required to get the full bonus. For most people this won’t be the case and you’d be better off just sticking to other Chase cards with bigger sign up bonuses.
Hat tip to cr_l22
What type of cardholder is Chase targeting? People with other Chase cards? People who don’t have any Chase cards?
I wish Chase would include in their target people like me who have the Chase Freedom 1.5% card already but who do not use it because of having a 2% Citibank Double Cash card. If Chase gave me the 4%, I’d switch over to that card from the Citibank 2%.
I wonder if Chase is looking for people who do not pay their balance in full each month so that the finance charges will help offset the 4% cash back.
Couldn’t agree more. I have the original Freedom, basic Ink, and a Chase Amazon card. They’ve never targeted me, because I think I’m too reliable of a customer. I’m in the same situation, in that I use the Citibank 2% more than my other cards, except when the 5% is worthwhile on my Freedom, or Discover IT. I’ve been very happy with the Citi card but, honestly, I try to throw as many transactions to Discover as I can, since they have the best customer service out there. I really wish Discover had been doing the first year cash back doubled back when I got the IT card. If Chase targets me, they’ll get 90% of my transactions for the next year.
I just got approved last week before this came out to pay my rent with, what are the odds I can get a match on the new bonus?
Joe K, it would certainly be worth your while to call Chase and try to plead your case that you were only one week away from the new 4% offer. Good luck. (I might assume Chase won’t have any incentive to match the 4% offer for existing Chase cardholders like myself and Ro, who posted a comment below, since we already have Chase cards and it wouldn’t be necessary for them to dish out the extra money to get us. But, of course, you never know until it’s tried.)
And it’s a targeted offer, not public.
Once you spend $3,750 at 4% return, you’re getting the same amount as you would the $150 bonus.
Actually it would be $3937.5 to be exact since that old $500 spending requirement gets you $7.5 with 1.5% back anyway 😉
Besides the 4% spend, is there a sign up bonus or just the 4% offer?
Seems to be just the 4% offer.
I just got this card a month back, does Chase match when called?
Did you receive the targeted email?
Nope
pretty good offer for people like my older friend who get confused with all these cards. she prefers citi 2% back most of the time.