Hi forums. *waves* This is my first post here so be gentle, please 
I hope this is in the right place but if not please let me know.
I'm trying to work out a situation I've got by talking it out loud and maybe some of you have things for me to think about I haven't thought of. As of a month ago (12/6, so a literal month) I applied for and was accepted for my second ever credit card, the CFF. Yay! (If it matters to the discussion at all I've banked with Chase for years.) I love the 3X on restaurants/takeout and especially the 5X on groceries for the year. For fifteen years my only card was the regular Chase Freedom that is a standard-base 1X on all purchases. Never utilized the rotating categories (honestly I never even noticed them) and only in reading through this community and others in the last month or two did I realize what all I'd been missing out on all of this time. That's on me.
I hope this is in the right place but if not please let me know.I'm trying to work out a situation I've got by talking it out loud and maybe some of you have things for me to think about I haven't thought of. As of a month ago (12/6, so a literal month) I applied for and was accepted for my second ever credit card, the CFF. Yay! (If it matters to the discussion at all I've banked with Chase for years.) I love the 3X on restaurants/takeout and especially the 5X on groceries for the year. For fifteen years my only card was the regular Chase Freedom that is a standard-base 1X on all purchases. Never utilized the rotating categories (honestly I never even noticed them) and only in reading through this community and others in the last month or two did I realize what all I'd been missing out on all of this time. That's on me.
Which brings me to - surely, after fifteen years, I can do better as a base standard. My scores are in the above-750 range according to Experian (no late payments ever, all good stuff, but only the one credit card, no loans or anything. Apparently that is a negative mark that I only had one card until now?) and I was immediately approved for the CFF when I applied for it. I've learned from research that product changes are a thing and now I'm thinking about changing my Freedom to a Freedom Unlimited (1X - 1.5X). I'm indecisive and can't make decisions in regular life, so I wrote out a few pros and cons, and I thought I'd come here to hear what you all nice people have to say. Any and all advice is welcome!
At this point in my life I don't put much on my card that isn't covered by the CFF grocery (5X) or dining (3X) bonuses, aside from maybe holiday shopping and assorted other purchases that don't happen regularly. I know, math-wise, there isn't much difference between 1X and 1.5X. Maybe it's just knowing that I'm getting some sort of bonus, lol; probably I noticed it now because I did some semi-expensive holiday shopping and I'd like to be able to look and see that I got something out of it more than the basic standard
From what I've read a product change keeps the same credit line, account history and whatnot. That's important to me: the Freedom is my first and ovbiously oldest card at fifteen-plus years, as I said. I need to keep my account history.CFF/CF both have rotating categories while the CFU doesn't; at this time I don't spend 3K in a quarter on any category to justify needing two cards that have the same 'bonus' function. (I haven't used the categories until now but I can't see myself ever spending 3K on a single category in three months. Maybe I will in the future when/if I move out to live on my own, but not right now.) Product-changing to the CFU takes me out of the running for the sign-up bonus, yes? That stings a little.
Another option I've heard about is to keep my Freedom open and open a new card, the CFU, to bring my total to three cards, but that would require an inquiry that would show up on my report. (I'm thinking about opening a Discover card next year, that's another topic for another post.) I'd be able to move credit limits around to make that happen, but as I'm only one month into the CFF 5X-on-groceries I don't want to waste the CFU bonus on the same thing if I wouldn't be able to maximize it to its potential. Y'know? And I doubt putting the CFU grocery bonus on layaway for a year is a thing Chase or any bank would do. LOL!
Or... I can wait for the Freedom to be automatically product changed to a new card, something I've heard will happen because Freedoms aren't allowed anymore to new customers, and bypass this little problem entirely.
If you've gotten this far making sense of all of this, thank goodness! As you can no doubt tell by the gap in time from my first card when I was eighteen to this CFF, I'm very new to the credit card game and am trying to do the best I can. I'm trying to work this out in my head what's the best road to take. What say you, FICO forums?
Welcome Fancy_Like!
I have both the Freedom Unlimited and the non-flex Freedom with the 5% rotating categories. Each of those accounts started life as a different type of card and have gone through a number of product changes. Product changes with Chase do retain the card's previous history. Both CF and CFU can be useful in the right situation, though in my case I keep them open mainly due to their positive contributions to my FICO score. One is my oldest card and both have fairly large credit limits.
You've done a good job in identifying your various options. If I were in your situation, I would definitely want to maintain that 15 year old account in some fashion. The easiest thing to do would be to product change to CFU since you already have CFF. There is really no need to have standard Freedom and a Freedom Flex at the same time unless you anticipate spending significantly more than $1500 in a quarter in the rotating categories. Yes, you are correct that a product change to CFU would make you ineligible for the signup bonus.
If you want to add a third card, I would pursue a different lender so that you don't have all your eggs in one basket. Figure out your main spending categories and research cards which give the greatest rewards for those transactions. If you tell us your top spending categories, the forum members would be happy to point you towards some alternatives.
@Anonymous wrote:Hi forums. *waves* This is my first post here so be gentle, please
I'm trying to work out a situation I've got by talking it out loud and maybe some of you have things for me to think about I haven't thought of. As of a month ago (12/6, so a literal month) I applied for and was accepted for my second ever credit card, the CFF. Yay! (If it matters to the discussion at all I've banked with Chase for years.) I love the 3X on restaurants/takeout and especially the 5X on groceries for the year. For fifteen years my only card was the regular Chase Freedom that is a standard-base 1X on all purchases. Never utilized the rotating categories (honestly I never even noticed them) and only in reading through this community and others in the last month or two did I realize what all I'd been missing out on all of this time. That's on me.Which brings me to - surely, after fifteen years, I can do better as a base standard. My scores are in the above-750 range according to Experian (no late payments ever, all good stuff, but only the one credit card, no loans or anything. Apparently that is a negative mark that I only had one card until now?) and I was immediately approved for the CFF when I applied for it. I've learned from research that product changes are a thing and now I'm thinking about changing my Freedom to a Freedom Unlimited (1X - 1.5X). I'm indecisive and can't make decisions in regular life, so I wrote out a few pros and cons, and I thought I'd come here to hear what you all nice people have to say. Any and all advice is welcome!
At this point in my life I don't put much on my card that isn't covered by the CFF grocery (5X) or dining (3X) bonuses, aside from maybe holiday shopping and assorted other purchases that don't happen regularly. I know, math-wise, there isn't much difference between 1X and 1.5X. Maybe it's just knowing that I'm getting some sort of bonus, lol; probably I noticed it now because I did some semi-expensive holiday shopping and I'd like to be able to look and see that I got something out of it more than the basic standardCFF/CF both have rotating categories while the CFU doesn't; at this time I don't spend 3K in a quarter on any category to justify needing two cards that have the same 'bonus' function. (I haven't used the categories until now but I can't see myself ever spending 3K on a single category in three months. Maybe I will in the future when/if I move out to live on my own, but not right now.) Product-changing to the CFU takes me out of the running for the sign-up bonus, yes? That stings a little.Another option I've heard about is to keep my Freedom open and open a new card, the CFU, to bring my total to three cards, but that would require an inquiry that would show up on my report. (I'm thinking about opening a Discover card next year, that's another topic for another post.) I'd be able to move credit limits around to make that happen, but as I'm only one month into the CFF 5X-on-groceries I don't want to waste the CFU bonus on the same thing if I wouldn't be able to maximize it to its potential. Y'know? And I doubt putting the CFU grocery bonus on layaway for a year is a thing Chase or any bank would do. LOL!Or... I can wait for the Freedom to be automatically product changed to a new card, something I've heard will happen because Freedoms aren't allowed anymore to new customers, and bypass this little problem entirely.
If you've gotten this far making sense of all of this, thank goodness! As you can no doubt tell by the gap in time from my first card when I was eighteen to this CFF, I'm very new to the credit card game and am trying to do the best I can. I'm trying to work this out in my head what's the best road to take. What say you, FICO forums?
Welcome to the forum.
What are your yearly spends in each category?
Try running a spending report on the Chase website and then report back with your 2021 spends in each category. If you don't feel comfortable listing this info on this forum, you can do it yourself offline. In my opinion, it's simply a math problem. Run the numbers against the scenarios you're considering (product change now, add CFU as new card now, add CFU as new card once your year of bonus expires on CFF). Include the sign up bonus in your calculations. This will help put this into perspective and should help with your decision process. If I were in your shoes, I would probably product change the CF to the CFU now but it'll help to understand how much opportunity cost you'd be missing out on by doing it so. Managing three cards requires more effort than two cards. Is the extra money you'd receive from having three cards worth effort to you?
@EAJuggalo wrote:-Snip-
Also having at least three cards is optimal for FICO scoring.
Just want to highlight this, your scores will dip just a wee bit for apping for another 2 cards but will quickly recover and go even higher afterward.
8/22/24
3/09/25
If you PC to the CFU do you keep the bonux 5x on groceries? If not I'd stay put until the year is up on that so you don't lose it.
If it were me I'd apply for another card to complement the category earning on the CFF... something that earns a flat 2% on everything like the Citi DoubleCash or PayPal or something like that.
