topic Re: chase freedom offer in mail in Credit Cards

chase freedom offer in mail

debtfighter — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 14:31:08 GMT

is the chase freedom card a good card to get? I see it in a lot of peoples sig's. has invitation number with variable apr of 23.24%. my newest equifax fico 8 score is 733. It went up 63 points yesterday when my balance went down on one of my credit cards. I've seen that some credit card companies don't like a lot of inquiries and that chase pulls transunion, which I have 18 inquiries on because of new car purchase last april 2015. My last fico 8 score for transunion was 705 in January 2016. No baddies on any credit bureaus as of Feb 2016.

Don't want another inquiry if this isn't a good card to try for. Help please!!

Re: chase freedom offer in mail

takeshi74 — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 14:49:19 GMT

Good is always highly subjective, regardless of topic. You cannot poll to determine this or rely on popularity of a product. It is never just a matter of the thing on any topic (not just credit cards but anything) but how well the given item may suit the individal.

Don't just respond to prequals and offers. These are marketing. Don't let a creditor's marketing department determine what you apply for.

You need to sort out your needs/wants and use that to select cards that suit you. If you want feedback and recommendations then you need to provide that information in order for us to assess whether or not a given card is a good fit for you. If you're looking for a rewards card I'd suggest that you analyze your spend first and determine where the majority of your spend is going. Then find cards that maximize rewards on that spend. 5% is great on paper but 5% of 0 is zero and 5% of a small number is a small number. Don't just look at earn rates on rewards. Run the numbers for your spend and compare options.

Take a look at the Freedom. It's a cash back rewards card. The rewards calendar can change from year to year but see if this year's categories look useful to you.

@debtfighter wrote:
my newest equifax fico 8 score is 733.

It is never just about score but you can check the Credit Pulls Database (Google to find) if desired. Plug in your location but notice that even for your location the CRA used may vary. You cannot rely on a single score based on one model and CRA for all creditors/products. I don't recall off the top of my head which model and which CRA Chase tends to use but what they use is all that matters. If that's the EQ FICO 8 then that score is relevant. If they use another CRA and/or model then that score is not relevant.

@debtfighter wrote:
I've seen that some credit card companies don't like a lot of inquiries and that chase pulls transunion, which I have 18 inquiries on because of new car purchase last april 2015.

It isn't just about the inquiries themselves or the creditor but your credit profile. Generally speaking, thicker profiles in good standing can handle more inquirieis than thinner profiles and/or profiles with issues. HP's are typically a small factor, falling under New Credit

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

...but they can have a bigger impact for the types of profile I mention.

A 733 FICO 8 should be a good credit profile but that's only considering your EQ report data. 18 inquiries is a lot but, again, the CRA that the creditor pulls is what matters. The 705 TU FICO 8 isn't bad but not exceptional either. How are you inquiries with each CRA? How old is each inquiry?

Re: chase freedom offer in mail

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 14:38:23 GMT

The Freedom card is a cashback card. So the question then becomes, do you need a cashback card? It all comes down to your spending habits. What is good for you might not be good for someone else.

For example, I don't have the Freedom card because Discover and Amex BCP serves my needs well when it comes to cashback. So it up to you whether this will be a [GOOD] card.

Re: chase freedom offer in mail

EdMan63 — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 14:49:14 GMT

Completely agree with Takeshi74. Determine your needs first. The Freedom is a nice card but not if you're not going to make use of the UR points system. From a pure cash back perspective fhere are better options but if your use the UR points to tranfer to Chase partners it can be a very lucrative card especially if you can use it effectively in the rotational categories to earn the 5%. So you really have to decide if you can make it work for you. Cetainly its a cool and popular card and since it has no annual fee it won't hurt you to have it. But only you can determine if its worth the HP and new account effect on your CS.

Re: chase freedom offer in mail

Mattopotamus — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 14:55:31 GMT

You said 18 inquiries. Do you have more than 5 credit card ones in the last 24 months? If so, don't even bother applying. Generally speaking, that is a automatic denial with chase for the freedom, slate, or CSP card.

Re: chase freedom offer in mail

debtfighter — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:03:20 GMT

Not really looking to add any credit cards right now but was just looking for any insight into the card for future. I just got the last baddie off my credit reports this month. 6 inquiries on equifax and 6 on experian. Almost all inquiries will be off CR by April 2017. I have had a long credit journey over the last 3 years. Lots of help from myfico. thank you for your responses!

Re: chase freedom offer in mail

debtfighter — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:06:40 GMT

bought a car last april and the dealerships went nuts. almost all inquires are from car purchase.

Re: chase freedom offer in mail

NRB525 — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 15:13:17 GMT

@debtfighter wrote:
Not really looking to add any credit cards right now but was just looking for any insight into the card for future. I just got the last baddie off my credit reports this month. 6 inquiries on equifax and 6 on experian. Almost all inquiries will be off CR by April 2017. I have had a long credit journey over the last 3 years. Lots of help from myfico. thank you for your responses!

The Chase Freedom is a good card to get. While the marketing is "5% back", in reality what you earn with the card is 5 Ultimate Rewards Points, in the category spend. 1 UR point elsewhere. Even the recent Freedom sign up bonuses, if I understand correctly, are in the form of UR points.

Since the card is no AF, it can work well if you want to build up points for future transfer. The CSP or a business card from Chase are necessary to transfer the points, but through that points transfer, you can move the points (along with potential CSP Bonus UR points) to United airlines, some other airlines, Hyatt hotels (which have some nice redemption rates) and some other hotels with not so much value per point.

I'm keeping the points growing with my Freedom card. I'll have to wait a while to get the CSP to transfer them, but unless there is some major devaluation in Hyatt points (which is possible, one never can guarantee redemptions will be the same a year from now) then I may have a nice ski vacation to take.