Chase has put an "OFFER ENDING SOON" label on the Chase Freedom Flex page. The new cardmember bonus shows as $250, with $200 struck through beside it, and you earn it after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. If you've been waiting to apply, check the eligibility rule below first, because it decides who can get the bonus at all.
Deal Details
- Bonus: $250 after $500 in purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Chase's terms say to allow 6 to 8 weeks for it to post.
- Who qualifies: Chase's page says the card is available to you if you don't have it and haven't received a new cardmember bonus for it in the past 24 months.
- Annual fee: $0.
- Intro APR: 0% for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee applies.
- Foreign transactions: no foreign transaction fees.
How to Take Advantage
- Check your history. If you hold the Freedom Flex now, or you received a Freedom Flex new cardmember bonus in the past 24 months, this offer isn't for you.
- Open the Chase Freedom Flex application page and confirm the $250 bonus still shows before you submit.
- Plan the $500 in purchases for the first 3 months from account opening. Purchases you'd make anyway are the easiest way to get there.
- Activate the quarterly 5% categories each quarter. Chase's page says the 5% applies in the quarters you activate.
Why the Freedom Flex Is Worth a Look
The bonus is the headline, but the earning grid is why this card stays in a wallet after it's paid out. Chase's page lists 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in rotating categories each quarter you activate, 5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% on dining (including takeout and eligible delivery) and at drugstores, and 1% on everything else.
Read the cap before you plan around it. After $1,500 in combined purchases in those categories in a quarter, you go back to earning 1% on them. Our Chase Freedom Flex review walks through the full earning grid and how the card pairs with a Sapphire card. Our earlier report on the card's foreign transaction fee change has the details.
Who Should Apply, and Who Should Skip
This card suits you if you'll remember to activate each quarter and your spending lands in dining, drugstores or the rotating categories. It also suits you if you want a $0 annual fee card you can use abroad without a foreign transaction fee.
Skip it if you already hold the Freedom Flex or took its bonus within the past 24 months, since Chase's page excludes you. Skip it too if you won't activate the categories, because the rotating 5% rate depends on it.
If you're eligible, apply while the page still shows $250, and put your first 3 months of regular purchases on the card. If you're not, this isn't an offer to chase.
