Chase Freedom...Where are you?

[ubermensch]

Thanks for the info, Boss.

I'm a little worried because Chase denied me for credit about 6 months ago. They had been incessantly sending me an offer for a Continental Credit Card. When I finally broke down and applied they rejected me. That is actually what motivated me to start cleaning up my credit report, and it is up over 100 points since then, but still feel the sting of rejection. Now that I know about this secret number, I feel a bit more confident. I'm going to wait for one more item I am disputing to be corrected and then make the plunge.

The Freedom "Plus" is just like the Freedom, except there is no cap on the 3% bonus, and you get six 3% bonus categories instead of three. Downside is that there is a $30 yearly fee, but it is waived the first year, and you get a $100 activation bonus (instead of $50), so overall it seems like the way to go. I don't know if it is harder to get though. There is more information about the card and how the categories work here: http://probargainhunter.com/2007/12/17/chase-freedom-plus-3-cash-back-in-6-categories/

Message Edited by ubermensch on 05-22-2008 10:16 PM

[Anonymous]

I recently converted a basic Chase Freedom World Mastercard (set to points) to the Plus side (no change in purchase APR of fixed 10%) with the miles option. Even though Chase's website says that traded accounts aren't eligible for the $100/10,000pt/mi bonus, I made the attempt anyway (you never know what you can get unless you negotiate). Unfortunately, they have no trade space on that particular point. Oh well. The bonus was somewhat made up from using the Shop Rewards network of theirs (Overstock has an 8% or 8pt/mi per $1 till the end of June, for example, and they had some items of current interest).

Overall, the bills alone make the $30 annual rewards fee worth it over the course of a year. With no earning or redemption caps nor expirations, that does help. Effectively, I've already earned 2-3 free round-trip flights on the card, and it's only been a year since the account was opened.