I am considering making a purchase of ~$1600 and was wondering what card to throw it on when I came across 'My Chase Plan.' This is actually offering me pretty low rates when compared to just paying it over time via standard interest...even when compared with my 8% APR card. However, I noticed a discrepancy. I'm hoping someone here can enlighten me as to why the rates are different between my Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited when mapped out for 3, 6, and 12 lump sum payments. See below.
Chase Freedom Unlimited: Payment plan options for a $1,600.00 purchase
See your monthly payment and total cost options based on your current My Chase Plan℠ offers.
$537.09 /month
3 payments
This amount includes a monthly fee of $3.75 with no interest, for a total of $11.25 in fees.
$1,611.25 total cost
$271.31 /month
6 payments
This amount includes a monthly fee of $4.64 with no interest, for a total of $27.84 in fees.
$1,627.84 total cost
$139.20 /month
12 payments
This amount includes a monthly fee of $5.86 with no interest, for a total of $70.32 in fees.
$1,670.32 total cost
Chase Freedom: Payment plan options for a $1,600.00 purchase
See your monthly payment and total cost options based on your current My Chase Plan℠ offers.
$536.25 /month
3 payments
This amount includes a monthly fee of $2.91 with no interest, for a total of $8.73 in fees.
$1,608.73 total cost
$270.55 /month
6 payments
This amount includes a monthly fee of $3.88 with no interest, for a total of $23.28 in fees.
$1,623.28 total cost
$138.47 /month
12 payments
This amount includes a monthly fee of $5.13 with no interest, for a total of $61.56 in fees.
$1,661.56 total cost
I wrote this post and then realized that it's probably due to my 1% lower APR on my Chase Freedom. Still doesn't math out exactly right (but I'm bad at math). This is my current guess anyway. Does anyone know if the extra interest costs would be made up for in 0.5% CB rewards?
Must garden until 2/1/2022 to hit my goal AAOA. 
Yes, they will differ based on your APR and sometimes between card types as well.
CFU 3 month works out to 4.23% APR, 6 month works out to 5.95%, and 12 month works out to 8.03%.
Freedom 3 month works out to 3.28%, 6 months works out to 4.98%, and 12 month works out to 7.04%.
The additional 1/2 UR would not be worth it unless you are getting at least 2 cpp. Keep in mind that because it's a fixed fee, your actual APR on the payment plan will change if you pay before the end of the term. The comparable APR on things like My Chase Plan and Amex Plan-It can be challenging to arrive at because they are flat fees that represent a higher percentage of your balance as your balance comes down, so you have to amortize them. The plus side is no loss of grace periods as well as earned rewards when compared to a no-frills low APR card.
@K-in-Boston wrote:Yes, they will differ based on your APR and sometimes between card types as well.
CFU 3 month works out to 4.23% APR, 6 month works out to 5.95%, and 12 month works out to 8.03%.
Freedom 3 month works out to 3.28%, 6 months works out to 4.98%, and 12 month works out to 7.04%.
The additional 1/2 UR would not be worth it unless you are getting at least 2 cpp. Keep in mind that because it's a fixed fee, your actual APR on the payment plan will change if you pay before the end of the term. The comparable APR on things like My Chase Plan and Amex Plan-It can be challenging to arrive at because they are flat fees that represent a higher percentage of your balance as your balance comes down, so you have to amortize them. The plus side is no loss of grace periods as well as earned rewards when compared to a no-frills low APR card.
Thanks "K" ... my Chase Cards have been offering me their plan on several purchases now and frankly ... I was concerned about how the numbers actually worked! 
@Anonymous not an easy formula in Excel, unfortunately, since you need to amortize daily interest on a declining balance with a monthly payment and find the interest rate from fixed fees rather than the interest dollar amount. I cheated and used accounting software. 😂
Since it's a fixed fee, you can't just use the monthly fee divided by the Plan amount as that number would keep increasing each subsequent month. Even on a 12 month plan, dividing the total fee paid by the original amount would give you an APR that is too low since the balance has decreased each month.
Now that I think about it, any online amortization calculator that can be changed to daily interest should get you very close, though, if you enter the amount of the Plan, change it to daily, set the term of the loan to the number of months of the Plan, and then just keep adjusting the APR until the "total interest" amount for the loan is equal to the Plan fee.
@K-in-Boston wrote:@Anonymous not an easy formula in Excel, unfortunately, since you need to amortize daily interest on a declining balance with a monthly payment and find the interest rate from fixed fees rather than the interest dollar amount. I cheated and used accounting software. 😂
Since it's a fixed fee, you can't just use the monthly fee divided by the Plan amount as that number would keep increasing each subsequent month. Even on a 12 month plan, dividing the total fee paid by the original amount would give you an APR that is too low since the balance has decreased each month.
Now that I think about it, any online amortization calculator that can be changed to daily interest should get you very close, though, if you enter the amount of the Plan, change it to daily, set the term of the loan to the number of months of the Plan, and then just keep adjusting the APR until the "total interest" amount for the loan is equal to the Plan fee.
This may as well be sorcery to me. I didn't know that to calculate would involve so many little variables. I'm still not sure I fully understand but I appreciate you taking the time to explain to me the difference between using these plans and just paying it off over time normally. It still seems like I come out ahead with one of these fixed plans but not by as much as I thought it would be.
So my choice now comes down to, do I want to be locked into a fixed monthly payment I can't reduce at 3.28%, 4.98%, and 7.04% OR using my standard flat 8.00% APR CC like normal. The choice seems pretty obvious within the 6 month window. At the 12 month window, much less so.
Side question: Do you know if you can BT a balance currently on a fixed payment plan?
Don't forget that you earn rewards, though, if you charge it to one of your Chase cards - that will offset the APR by the value of the points earned. Any balance transfer is just treated as a payment, so there would be no issue with transferring any remaining balance elsewhere. Just be cognizant of how Chase applies payments if you are still making new charges, and if you pay it off too much earlier than the plan term you may have unnecessarily chosen a plan term with a longer payback period and higher monthly plan fee.
Got it. Thanks KiB! Useful info as always! 