New Chase Freedom card offers great rewards

There is exciting news from Chase.

There’s a new Chase Freedom card on the way and additional perks coming to the Chase Freedom Unlimited. These new perks are going to make the Chase Freedom cards arguably the best no-annual fee cards on the market.

There is going to be a new card called the “Chase Freedom Flex” (pretty cool name) and that is going to replace the Chase Freedom also informally referred to as the “Chase Freedom Classic.” (The Chase Freedom Classic will no longer be available to new applicants.)

The Chase Freedom Flex is going to maintain the rotating 5% quarterly categories but it’s going to get additional perks which include:

• 5X on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3X on dining
• 3X on drugstores

The fact that you’ll be able to earn these bonus rates is pretty huge.

3X on dining is on par with the Chase Sapphire Reserve — a credit card with a $550 annual fee. Also getting 5X on travel through the Chase Travel Portal is pretty amazing since it allows you to earn 5X on big purchases like airfare similar to the Amex Platinum Card which has a $550 annual fee.

Remember the Chase Freedom Flex has no annual fee.

The Chase Freedom Flex is going to be a MasterCard and not a Visa so you will also get additional MasterCard benefits like ShopRunner, cell phone protection, etc.

Note that if you are already a Chase Freedom cardholder you will need to call in to convert your card to a Chase Freedom Flex. (You can use the product change feature on WalletFlo to keep track of this.)

You could also just apply for the Chase Freedom Flex if you are under 5/24 since it is going to come with a great welcome bonus of $200 after meeting the minimum spend $500 in the first three months.

The Chase Freedom Flex is going to be considered a separate product from the Chase Freedom but if you product change to the Flex first, you won’t get approved for the Flex when applying for it.

Also, if you have the Chase Freedom Unlimited, you can still apply for the Chase Freedom Flex as long as you are under 5/24.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is going to maintain the 1.5X on all purchases but will also get the additional:

• 5X on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3X on dining
• 3X on drugstores

In addition to those perks, keep in mind that with both Freedom cards you can also get 5% back on Lyft through March 2022 and a complimentary 3 months of DashPass.

Tip: If you feel like all of these new categories are a lot to remember, remember you can use the cheat sheet in WalletFlo to keep track of all of these things and it’s going to be much improved in the next version.

You can read more about the changes here.

The new Flex card and the new features for the Freedom Unlimited significantly upgrade the value of these no annual fee cards. I’m wondering if we will see a ripple effect with changes coming soon to the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve.

The new benefits and new card will come September 14 so be prepared for this option in a couple of weeks.