Anyone use their Freedom on a regular basis?

[Gmood1]

I haven't used this card in several months. I have use the other two chase cards I have to meet spend bonuses. Now all 3 of them are basically sitting until I use them for hotel rooms.

I agree the card is useless to me right now.

[Anonymous]

Usually fast food once a month, pif then sd til next month.  $200 bonus a few months back was nice.  I'll use it for 5% when relevant but with 2x Discover running and Sallie.. that won't be often.  0% for a nice long while still that's nice if I have a need for it.

I would have to have IHG at some point.  I think as a basically non traveller it's still a great card.. otherwise I have no interest in CSP or other Chase cards.

[icyhot]

I would give my left eyeball to get approved for another Chase card (Marriott). I literally applied to every single card except maybe Disney and AARP. Fell to the floor when the CSP was approved.

[taxi818]

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@thelethargicage wrote:

I've found that this card is basically useless outside of the 5% categories. I mean, they nerfed the 10% yearly bonus. Before that, they nerfed the 10 bonus points per transaction. There really is no reason to use this card other than to put a tiny charge on it to show activity.

On a related note, anyone else feel Chase's cards are way overrated? Other than the AARP Visa, I don't find them appealing at all.

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I agree outside of 5% but I don't find chase cards overrated. . I like my Marriott. If just for a free night per year. No ftf. 

[woodyman100]

My wife and I each have a Freedom and a CSP.
Since we can transfer points to each other I think she'll keep the Freedom and myself the CSP

[Anonymous]

I'm with KDM. I just don't find Chase's cards to be all that useful. I use AARP for restaurants, but I don't eat out all that often, so if I lost it, it wouldn't be the end of the world. On its own, Freedom has just gotten pwned by Discover this year. If you aren't pairing it with CSP, it just isn't a valuable card. Assuming you actually get 2.5 cpp from the conversion, you only need 4k points to break even on owning the CSP, so that isn't hard to do, but it does require travelling, which is not something I've done a ton lately.

Anyway, it probably boils down to this:

1) If you don't have CSP, Freedom is largely worthless. The categories have sucked all year and have either been overshadowed by Discover or have been in areas where 5% is relatively common (gas, groceries, Amazon).

2) If you have Apple Pay, Freedom is completely useless until the new year, as the 20% back trumps the 12.5% back you get from full conversion (assuming 5% categories and 2.5 cpp).

3) If you don't have Apple Pay, and do have CSP, then Freedom becomes worthwhile for categories and non-category spend.

[delaney1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

visa checkout just released a spend 25 get 15 back with your freedom card. So im sure as heck going to use mine in the next 36 hours. I tend to use it more even when im in 1% areas when i notice im going to hit a cash back 20? 25? whatever it is figure.  I will admit im using it less but its one of my better cards currently.

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Awesome! Thanks for the heads up, but it actually even better, spend $15 get $15 statement credit!

[Sharingan]

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@thelethargicage wrote:

I've found that this card is basically useless outside of the 5% categories. I mean, they nerfed the 10% yearly bonus. Before that, they nerfed the 10 bonus points per transaction. There really is no reason to use this card other than to put a tiny charge on it to show activity.

On a related note, anyone else feel Chase's cards are way overrated? Other than the AARP Visa, I don't find them appealing at all.

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Admittedly, I do not use my Freedom on a regular basis, but not for reasons exclusive to the Freedom itself. Would you use a Sallie Mae card outside of its 5% categories? Would you use an AARP card at Lowe's? How about a BCE at a movie theater? Wouldn't the aforementioned cards also be "basically useless" outside of their respective categories? I think it's a bit unfair to single the Freedom out for this alone when so many cards out there are generally only useful "some" of the time.

As for the rest of Chase's portfolio of credit card products, well, I believe they have the best offering of any bank. It should be evident that the majority their cards cater to travelers. I don't really see what makes them overrated. Is it because they don't suit your needs? I actually find all of their cards appealing, except the AARP card. Then again, I do have restaurants well covered by other options.

In my opinion, Barclays is the one whose card portfolio is starting to look like dried leaves falling from a dying tree.