The Chase Freedom Flex℠ is a no-annual-fee card with great cash back rewards and solid benefits.
You can earn cash back on Chase Ultimate Rewards travel, dining and food delivery, and drugstore purchases.
The Freedom Flex card also has bonus categories that rotate every quarter. These categories often include everyday expenses that you’re probably spending money on already, making it convenient for you to earn points.
- Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- 5% Cash Back in Quarterly Bonus Categories (up to $1,500 in combined spending after activation)
- 5% Cash Back on Travel Purchased Via Chase
- 3% Cash Back at Restaurants, Eligible Food Delivery, and Drug Stores
- Cell Phone Insurance and Purchase Protection
- No Annual Fee
Chase Freedom Flex Welcome Bonus
The Freedom Flex currently offers the following welcome bonus:
Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Earning Points
The Freedom Flex earn cash back at the following rates:
- 5% back on rotating quarterly categories, on up to $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter;
- 5% back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards;
- 3% back on drugstore purchases;
- 3% back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services; and
- 1% back on all other purchases.
Freedom Flex Quarterly Categories
The current quarterly categories for 5% back (or 5 points per dollar) between October 2023, and December 2023, are:
- PayPal
- Wholesale Clubs
- Select Charities
It’s important to note that the 5% cashback is only applicable on up to $1,500 in combined purchases each quarter. Any purchases beyond that will earn 1% cashback.
You must also activate your card to unlock the extra points in these categories.
No Annual Fee
The Chase Freedom Flex doesn’t have an annual fee, making it a great beginner card for those who want to build their credit or try out the Chase Ultimate Rewards program.
Chase Freedom Flex Benefits
The Chase Freedom Flex offers a lot of great benefits for a no-annual fee credit card including cell phone insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, and rental car insurance. Here are more details:
Cell Phone Insurance
Breaking or losing your cell phone is never a pleasant experience, especially when cell phones cost over $800+ to replace.
You can avoid paying these steep costs when you pay your cell phone bill with this credit card.
There is no cost for cell phone insurance saving you about $10 per month per phone, but you will have to pay a small deductible if you make a claim.
Extended Warranty
Credit card extended warranty protection adds up to an additional year of coverage for eligible purchases on manufacturer’s warranties up to 3 years.
Coverage matches the protection provided by the original warranty so that damage or defect would have to be covered by the original warranty for extended warranty coverage.
Purchase Protection
Purchase protection can save you a lot of money if you bought an eligible item that is damaged or stolen within 120-days.
For example, if accidentally dropped your new phone or laptop and broke the screen, you could file a claim to get it replaced if it was purchased within the last 120 days.
Secondary Rental Car Insurance
Secondary rental car insurance covers any damage to or theft of a rental car not covered by your primary insurance when you pay for the rental using this card.
Other credit cards offer primary rental car insurance, which pays before your insurance and saves you the hassle of filing multiple insurance claims.
You still need to maintain liability car insurance to cover damage to another person or property.
Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance reimburses you for non-refundable expenses if your trip is interrupted or canceled for a covered reason such as illness, severe weather, or an accidental injury when you pay for your travel expenses with this card.
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
You can call the Benefit Administrator for medical, legal, and travel assistance referrals whenever you encounter emergencies away from home. Take note, you have to pay the cost of any services and goods you’ve received.
How To Redeem Chase Points
You can redeem your cashback points through your online account. Just log in, go to rewards balance, and you’ll see multiple options for redeeming your points.
Here are some examples:
Redeem for Travel
Your cashback points can be redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal at one cent apiece. For example, if you redeem 50,000 points, it would be worth $500 towards flights, hotels, activities, car rentals, and other awards booked on the portal.
The portal works like a travel search engine, similar to Expedia or Orbitz, so it’s very easy to navigate through it.
Redeem for Cash
Cashback points for straight up cash, either as a statement credit or a direct deposit to your bank account. For example, if you redeem 100,000 points, you will get $1,000 worth of cash (100,000 x $0.01).
Redeem for Gift Cards
You can redeem your cashback points at one cent apiece for various gift cards and certificates on the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. Chase would sometimes run promotions and bonuses that could lower the cost per point of your redemptions.
Redeem for Amazon Purchases
You can use your cashback points to purchase items on Amazon. Just link your Chase Freedom Unlimited card to your Amazon account and choose points as your form of payment upon checking out.
Points are valued at one cent apiece when redeemed through Amazon, and you can use your points to pay the full or partial cost of your purchase.
How to Increase the Value of Your Cashback Points
As mentioned above, Freedom Flex points are typically valued at one cent apiece when redeemed through Chase.
However, having another premium Chase card where you can transfer your points will potentially increase your points’ value.
For example, you can transfer your cashback points from your Freedom Flex to either the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred, and your points can now be redeemed at 1.25 cents apiece.
Pairing the Freedom Flex card with the Sapphire Reserve will even give you a much higher redemption value at 1.5 cents apiece.
But it even gets better than that because once you’ve transferred your cashback points to any of these three cards mentioned above, you’ll now have Ultimate Rewards points which are transferrable to several Chase transfer partners.
Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
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Aer Lingus
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Air Canada Aeroplan
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British Airways
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Emirates
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Air France/KLM
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Hyatt Hotels
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Iberia
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IHG Hotels
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JetBlue
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Marriott
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Singapore
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Southwest
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United
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Virgin Atlantic
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If you don’t have one of those cards, you are stuck redeeming points at 1.0 cents per point.
How to Use the "Chase Trifecta" Strategy
The “Chase Trifecta” strategy can help you maximize your spending rewards. The whole point is to apply for any three Chase cards that complement each other.
For example, let’s use this combination: the Chase Freedom Flex, Chase Sapphire Preferred®, and Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
Here’s how:
- Use the Freedom Flex to earn 5% on rotating categories.
- Use the Chase Sapphire Preferred to earn 2x points on travel not booked through the Chase Portal.
- Use the Chase Freedom Unlimited to earn 1.5% on non-category purchases.
Transfer all your points to your Chase Sapphire Preferred Card so you now have Ultimate Rewards points which can be transferred to other loyalty programs.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- No annual fee
- The rotating categories include everyday expenses which makes it convenient to earn points.
Cons
- Travel bookings must be made done through Chase Ultimate Rewards® to earn 5% cash back.
- Has a 3% foreign transaction fee
Card Alternatives
There are other no-annual-fee credit cards which also earn solid rewards rates. Here are some of our top recommendations:
Citi® Double Cash Card
The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer boasts a strong 2% rewards rate on purchases, where you get 1% back when you buy and 1% when you pay.
This zero-annual-fee card offers a solid earning potential as long as you pay your balance on time, and it provides a simple way to rack up points with no bonus categories to track.
You can also boost your rewards by also holding the Citi Premier® Card (review), which allows you to transfer points to airline and hotel programs. This combination effectively allows you to earn 2 airline miles per dollar on all spending with the Citi Double Cash.
Bilt Mastercard®
- Pay Rent Without Fees and Earn 1 Point Per Dollar on Rent (up to 100,000 Points Per Calendar Year)
- No Annual Fee
- 3x Points on Dining
- 2x Points on Travel
- Transfer Rewards to Airlines and Hotels
- Cell Phone, Primary Rental Car, and Trip Delay Insurance
Bilt Mastercard® is a no-annual-fee credit card that allows you to pay rent without a transaction fee and earn 1 point per dollar on rent (up to 50,000 points per calendar year).
You also earn 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, and 1x points everywhere else.
The Bilt Rewards card also has great benefits for a no-annual fee card, including cell phone insurance, primary rental car insurance, 90-day purchase protection, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and no foreign transaction fees.
Plus, you can transfer your points to airline and hotel partners such as United Airlines, American Airlines, and World of Hyatt. Or redeem the points for travel or at Amazon.
The Verdict: Is the Chase Freedom Flex Worth It?
The Freedom Flex is a starter card for those who want to earn rewards without having to pay annual fees. It has basic travel and purchase protections which makes it a decent card to bring with you for domestic trips.
The Freedom Flex is also a great secondary card for those who already have a premium Chase travel credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred. This allows you to maximize your earning potential to stack up on Chase points faster.
- Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- 5% Cash Back in Quarterly Bonus Categories (up to $1,500 in combined spending after activation)
- 5% Cash Back on Travel Purchased Via Chase
- 3% Cash Back at Restaurants, Eligible Food Delivery, and Drug Stores
- Cell Phone Insurance and Purchase Protection
- No Annual Fee
