Disclosure: Basic Travel Couple, LLC has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Basic Travel Couple, LLC and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
What does it mean when I now get giddy when I find out that a new credit card is coming out? Imagine a kid on Christmas opening up a long-awaited gift. Chase announced that within a few weeks there will be a brand-spanking-new take on the Chase Freedom. Learn more about the Chase Freedom Flex Card in our Basic Review.
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What’s Old
There are currently two versions of the Chase Freedom Credit Card. The Chase Freedom Unlimited and the standard Chase Freedom. Each card comes with different perks like everyday earning and bonus categories.
What’s New
The new Chase Freedom Flex has three distinct changes in the Freedom Family. First, the Chase Freedom Flex will be a World Elite Mastercard. Most of Chase’s credit card portfolio falls under the Visa family. As a World Elite Mastercard, the Chase Freedom Flex will provide the following benefits:
- Cell Phone Insurance ($800 per claim and $1,000 per year)
- Postmates ($5 off of every $25 purchase)
- Lyft (Earn a $10 Credit after riding five times in a Calendar Month)
- Boxed (Earn a 5% Cash Rewards on Boxed Purchases)
- ShopRunner (Two Day Free Shipping and Free Return Shipping)
- Mastercard ID Theft Protection (Free Credit monitoring services)
Second, the Chase Freedom Flex will be offering some new options for earning cashback (or Ultimate Rewards Points). The new options include:
- Earn 5% cashback on rotating quarterly categories (up to $1,500 per quarter)
- Similar to the Current Chase Freedom (more on that below!)
- Earn 5% on Travel purchased through the Ultimate Rewards Portal
- Earn 3% on Dining/Restaurants
- Earn 3% on Drugstore Purchases
- Earn 1% on all other Purchases
Third – No Annual Fee and Opening Signup Bonus
Similar to the Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited, the new Chase Freedom Flex will also not include an annual fee. The welcome offer will be the same as the other Chase Freedom cards right now which is a $200 bonus after spending $500 in the first three months. Additionally, the new Chase Freedom Flex will include the grocery promotion – earn 5% cashback on Groceries for the first 12 months of opening (up to $12,000).
Fourth – Goodbye Old Friend
The Chase Freedom Flex will actually be taking the place of the existing Chase Freedom Card. New customers will no longer be able to apply and open a Chase Freedom Credit Card. Current Chase Freedom holders will have the option to keep the old card or call to convert their old card into the Freedom Flex. Additionally, I’d speculate that current holders will be able to open the new Chase Freedom Flex even if they have the old Freedom card. This could be a great opportunity to earn double the points/cashback on those 5%/5X rotating categories.
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PSA – Better Value by Pairing
It’s always important to remember that while the Chase Freedom cards, including the new Chase Freedom Flex earns cashback by itself at a 1 cent per point value. BUT when paired with other cards in the Chase Portfolio, those same points can be redeemed for more or transferred to travel partners directly (Southwest, JetBlue, Hyatt, & More).
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Cardholders can redeem Ultimate Rewards Points for 25% more in the travel portal or via the Pay yourself back promotion. Access to Travel Transfer Partners.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve Cardholders can redeem Ultimate Rewards Points for 50% more in the travel portal or via the Pay yourself back promotion. Access to Travel Transfer Partners.
- Chase Ink Business Preferred Cardholders can redeem Ultimate Rewards Points for 25% more in the travel portal but are currently not eligible to use the Pay yourself back promotion. Access to Travel Transfer Partners.
When will the Chase Freedom Flex be available?
The new Chase Freedom Flex will be open to applicants starting on September 14th 2020!
Can I have multiple Chase Freedom Cards?
This is a question I wonder as I currently hold the Chase Freedom, and Lisa has both the Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited. According to Chase’s website, you can have both the Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Chase Freedom Flex Card. You can also have the Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Flex card.
Chase Freedom Flex Offer Details
Secondly, according to the new Chase Freedom Flex card offer details, you can earn the bonus if you are:
- not currently a cardmember of this credit card
- not a previous cardmember of this credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the last 24 months
Essentially, my take is this is a brand new credit card and therefore nobody has had this card in the last 24 months. Therefore we should all be eligible for the new Chase Freedom Flex cardmember bonus. Lisa is definitely going to apply for this card when it opens up to test the waters and see if she qualifies being both a Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited cardmember.
Basic Breakdown
I love what I am hearing about the new Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card. Although it hasn’t been confirmed yet, I’d assume that this card will also require applicants to be Under 5/24 (Opened less than 5 Credit Cards in the previous 24 months). I’ve been taking advantage of various offers over the last six months and am currently not under but am willing to hold off on applications to take advantage of this new product.
Let us know
What do you think of the new Chase Freedom Flex offer? Let me know down in the comments or over in our 4,000+ member Basic Travel Facebook Group!
More Basic Reading
- Our Top Strategies for Cutting Travel Costs (Free eBook)
- Review of Chase Freedom Unlimited (Limited time offer)
- Top Travel Credit Card Offers of the Month
- Best ways to Save Money on a US National Park Trip
- Top Reason so Plan a Summer Roadtrip
- Seven Travel Hacks to Save Money
Disclosure: Basic Travel Couple, LLC has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Basic Travel Couple, LLC and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
3 comments
How do the travel protections compare for the Freedom cards vs. Sapphire Reserve/Preferred? 5x sounds great, but need to get a handle on what coverage/protections I’m giving up. Thanks!
Hey Jordan – Great question! In comparison, you certainly receive more travel protections from Sapphire cards versus the Freedom. The key to maximizing value is to carry both and use whichever one makes the most sense for the given purchase. When it comes to redeeming, be sure to send your points to the sapphire from the freedom to increase their value. Also, in order for the travel insurance to kick in, remember that only a portion needs to be paid for with the sapphire, not the whole thing. So you can mix points and cash.
I would say CSP or CSR are best for travel protections. I always like to combine the freedom points with my sapphire products typically for booking to get better travel protection. Any travel perks you are looking for specifically?