When used correctly, credit cards can be a great way to build up your credit history while earning cash through free rewards programs. We took some time to review many different credit cards and found two that stood above the rest: Chase Freedom and Chase Sapphire. Both of these cards feature no annual fee and generous rewards programs.
Chase Freedom:
Are you getting the short end of the stick with your rewards points? If so, the Chase Freedom Rewards card may be the answer to your problem. They offer a wealth of rewards and cash back offers that allow you to actually be able to save money and start doing the things that you want with you rewards points. With the Chase Freedom Rewards card, a little adds up to a lot. If you are a brand new member, you don’t have to wait to accrue points with your Chase Freedom Rewards card. You will start out with a $50 cash back rebate with your very first transaction. This can be your first purchase, a balance transfer, or any checks that you have used on your Chase Freedom account. But this is just the beginning of the rewards benefits.
Chase Freedom also gives you 1% cash-back rebates. You can earn 1% for every $1 you spend on purchases. They even allow you to earn an additional 1% rebate for each $1 you spend on airfare, and no service fee charge when you book your trip online through their program booking tool. On top of the 1% discount you get from transactions, Chase Freedom offers an additional 3% quarterly cash back bonus for rotating categories like food, gas, and travel.
So far, these bonuses sound almost standard with rewards cards these days. But Chase Freedom has made an effort to stand out with cash back bonuses as high as 10% to up to 20% when you shop online through Chase. They have a pretty wide selection to choose from too. So there is no doubt that there is a good chance that you can find you need on there, not to mention at some pretty competitive prices with your Chase discounts.
One of the least appealing things about bonus rewards points is that they can sometimes be a mystery. But Chase takes all of the guess work out of that with their new online account website. You can actually track your monthly cash back rewards. They also allow you to redeem your points, shop with them, switch how you earn your points, or simply track your point’s history.
There is no limit to the number of rebates that you can build up with your Chase Freedom Rewards Card, but there are a couple of small drawbacks. It is worth mentioning that Freedom points expire after 3 or 5 years, respectively. Also, there is a bonus limit of $600 per month. So even though there is no cut off amount overall on your rewards points, there is a slight limitation to how much you can accrue per month.
Chase Freedom compensates for these minor drawbacks with a generous interest rate provision. Everybody knows that interest charges can get out of control. But you don’t have to worry about that either with your Chase Rewards Card, at least not for the first year. The Chase Freedom card offers you 6 months to a whole year of 0% APR. The time frame depends on your credit score. So, the better your credit score, the longer you can qualify for 0% APR.
At the end of the day, the Chase Freedom is a great card. With no annual fee, cashback rewards, and ease of use, this is really one of the best cards on the market.
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Chase Sapphire:
The Chase Sapphire credit card is unlike almost any rewards card on the market. Most rewards credit cards offer benefits that are restricted to certain types of rewards, meaning that consumers are forced to use a specific card based on the type of rewards they want to earn. Not the Chase Sapphire card, because its Ultimate Rewards program is completely different than the restrictive rewards programs offered by other cards. In fact, Chase Sapphire is incredibly flexible in the rewards it offers. Sapphire cardholders are given the option to redeem their points for almost anything, including hotel rooms, airfare, shopping opportunities, gift cards and cold hard cash. Consumers who haven’t accumulated enough Sapphire Ultimate Reward points for the airfare they want can use a combination of cash and points to obtain what amounts to discounted airline tickets. There aren’t even any blackout periods for flights or hotel rooms obtained by redeeming Sapphire’s points.
It gets even better. The flexibility of Chase Sapphire’s rewards program is far from the only benefit provided by this groundbreaking credit card. Sapphire awards a more-than-generous 10,000 points the first time a cardholder uses it to make a purchase. That’s a sign-up incentive that may be unmatched by any other rewards card.
The Chase Sapphire credit card uses a points system similar to that used by many rewards cards, with each dollar spent yielding one Ultimate Rewards point. That’s where Sapphire’s Ultimate Rewards point system stops being typical, however. Cardholders earn double points on travel bookings made through the on-site travel booking tool, and an online shopping mall provides the opportunity to earn up to ten points per dollar spent with more than 300 participating retailers. Points earned by using a Chase Sapphire card never expire, and there is no limit on the number of points that can be accumulated by a cardholder. With so few restrictions, Chase Sapphire is simply the ultimate in rewards card flexibility and earning ability.
Other important benefits of the Chase Sapphire rewards card include reasonable fees and fair interest rates on cash advances as well as outright purchases. There’s no annual fee, and Chase Sapphire’s overall costs are competitive if not better than other rewards cards which offer fewer benefits.
In exchange for its reasonable costs, Sapphire offers the ultimate in rewards. But it also includes direct 24/7 access to customer service and a complimentary personal concierge who can provide advice on restaurants, hotels and entertainment options. The concierge can even help you choose the perfect gift. And live people are on the other end of your telephone call, not some taped recording or complicated voice mail menu system.
The Chase Sapphire card is intended to be somewhat exclusive, and it’s likely that only about 15% of American households will qualify to participate in the program. But with all its benefits, the Chase Sapphire credit card is well worth it.
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