My Experience with the Chase Freedom Flex

Disclaimer: I am a JPMC employee at the time of writing this article. This article contains only my opinions/views as a consumer and do not reflect those of JPMC.

When and why did I apply?

It was on a whim back in April of 2021. I saw the promotion and I couldn’t resist. This is actually my first real Chase card under my own name (not counting the Amazon card).

What was the promotion?

Spend $500 in 3 months and get 20k Ultimate Reward points (about $200 in value).

Annual fee?

$0.

Where and how do I use it?

Benefits that stand out

• Chase Offers: Every so often, you will get some coupons to use at select sites. The sites could vary from Doordash to Dell, and the coupons could vary from 10–15% (or more) off or it could be a dollar amount.
• Chase app: Have you seen the Chase app? It has all the possible credit card services: travel notifications, replace a card, lock/unlock a card, refer a friend, transfer a balance, request a new due date, digital wallets, add an authorized user, verify receipt of your card, cardmember agreement, track disputes, and so much more. Not every credit card comes with a nice mobile app, but Chase cards do.
• Ultimate Reward (UR) Points: You could use it to redeem flights, merchandise, gift cards, and so much more. There are promotions from time to time that decrease the number of points needed to redeem certain items. I recently saw a promotion that allowed me to redeem Apple gift cards that require 10% fewer points. Say you want a $100 gift card. Normally that would be 10k points, but because of the promotion, it would be 9k points.
• Shop through Chase: It’s a shopping catalog with promotional codes. If you use UR-eligible cards, you can earn additional UR points. Normally you would earn 1% on most shopping sites but if you shop through “Shop through Chase”, you might earn up to 25% more. There might be spontaneous offers that could potentially offer more, so keep an eye out!

Point categories that stand out

• 5% rotating category: Every quarter, you will earn 5% points on the first $1500 you spend on the selected categories. One quarter could be groceries and then the next could be gas stations! You get to know the categories a few weeks in advance so you won’t be fussing.
• 5% on Ultimate Rewards Travel: Not a lot of $0 annual fee cards offer 5% on travel, so this is definitely a plus.
• 5% on Lyft rides: I don’t really use Lyft but the option is there. (There is an expiration date on this: March 31, 2022.)
• 3% on restaurants: Even though I have my Amex Rose Gold, there are some restaurants that don’t accept Amex yet, so I will use this card in those cases.
• 3% on drugstores: That’s Walgreens, Rite Aid, and etc. When I’m craving some snacks and there is a local Walgreens, I’ll swipe this card. Also, if I’m at Walgreens and I see an FSA-eligible item that I want, I’ll use this card to buy it and then submit a claim to my insurance.