Chase Freedom 5% Bonus Categories going away?

[CraigHwk]

Has anyone heard about this?    Apparently a Chase Private Client was told that the 5% bonus categories for the Freedom will be going away by the end of the year and that the card will turn into a 1.5% everything Freedom Unlimited card.   Will be real disappointing if this turns out to be true.  Hopefully the banker has no clue what he's talking about.

[longtimelurker]

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@CraigHwk wrote:

Has anyone heard about this?    Apparently a Chase Private Client was told that the 5% bonus categories for the Freedom will be going away by the end of the year and that the card will turn into a 1.5% everything Freedom Unlimited card.   Will be real disappointing if this turns out to be true.  Hopefully the banker has no clue what he's talking about.

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While it is certainly possible (and would explain the introduction of the Freedom Unlimited) with the low quarterly cap I wouldn't think the Freedom would be huge loss for Chase.   However, if people (like most of us I expect!) use it just for the 5% categories and not 1% spending, then maybe.

[yfan]

If this is true, I don't think it's the 5% that's the problem. It's combining with URs. Those points are valued highly, and Chase does not want to give them out like candy. But then, if that's what's bugging them, they might be wiser to drop the ability to convert Freedom's cashbacks to UR points.

[kdm31091]

Most regular consumers don't like having to opt in, to remember which things are 5%, etc. Ask everyday people what they'd want in a CC reward program and most people have seemed to prefer flat rate cards with no hassle. Some people don't want to care about which card to use where.

Beyond that, the 5%, plus the ability to transfer to travel with CSP, is a loss for Chase, especially if people are only using it for 5% spend. So it would not be a huge surprise to see it go away.

[longtimelurker]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

Most regular consumers don't like having to opt in, to remember which things are 5%, etc. Ask everyday people what they'd want in a CC reward program and most people have seemed to prefer flat rate cards with no hassle. Some people don't want to care about which card to use where.

Beyond that, the 5%, plus the ability to transfer to travel with CSP, is a loss for Chase, especially if people are only using it for 5% spend. So it would not be a huge surprise to see it go away.

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Do we know that URs are more expensive than cash back?  Certainly for things like AA miles, Citi was able to buy huge quantities in bulk, relatively cheaply.   So it wouldn't amaze me if for at least some partners, URs are cheaper to Chase than cash back.

ETA: but as people can exchange for cash or use at 1.25 c per point, from a liability viewpoint they are at least as costly...

[Anonymous]

I hope not!!!

[minski]

I hope not. I got the Chase Freedom just this week for the 5% rotating categories.

And if I apply for the Freedom Unlimited, I want the bonus. lol. 

[RonM21]

News to me. Was not aware. I don't typically focus on the categories except for the gas when it comes up.

[EdMan63]

I hope not. I pc'ed my Freedom to the Unlimited back in Mar but just changed it back today. While I'm not a huge category guy, I also didn't like the redundancy with my Quicksilver. Either way I hope it stays around. 

[Anonymous]

Interesting.  I asked my banker about the Freedom a few weeks ago, as it had disappeared from his desk display.  He said it was going away.