I used to not like credit cards because of the stories I hear from family and friends. People are getting into crazy amounts of debt because they got this cool plastic card that seemed to be a fountain of unlimited money.
But as I adulted in this crazy time we are in, I came to realize that having a credit card isn’t that bad at all. You just have to be responsible with it.
If you’ve read my previous Net Worth Update, I mentioned picking up the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. So, I’m going to talk about how that came to be and why I chose this card. https://youtu.be/sbACc34Kcng
Story Time
Ever since I got my first credit card and learned about credit card churning, my fear for credit cards faded away. It felt like you’re taking revenge on the banks for creating this thing that takes advantage of people’s poor financial habits.
One of the main reasons why I took out my first credit card was for my personal growth.
I needed to enroll in an online business course so I can learn how to grow my budding social media agency. And I just didn’t have enough money as a broke college student back then.
I had a 0% intro APR for my Discover card back then, and I had just purchased a new laptop worth more than $1,200. It was the best purchase I’ve ever done because this laptop has been my best friend in business and creating content.
As the intro APR was about to expire, I hurriedly looked for another card where I can transfer my balance for 0% APR.
Enter Wells Fargo Platinum.
The only thing I remember as the reason to getting this card was that they were the first one to send me an offer for a 0% APR balance transfer for 18 months.
I was like, “That’s good enough for me! Let me apply for it now.”
This was on February of 2020. I applied and got approved in a couple of days.
Fast forward to today, and my Wells Fargo APR is set to expire this August 19.
If I could stretch my balance for a long time without paying interest on it, I’ve basically borrowed money for free. That has been my thinking ever since I took out my Wells Fargo Platinum.
I wanted to apply for credit cards as early as I can. And as I did my research, looking for the best credit cards, talking to experts and doing an opportunity cost analysis, that’s how I met Chase Freedom Unlimited (CFU).
To be honest, I actually didn’t do that much research.
I went straight to the Chase website and looked for their credit card offers. I’ve seen people talk a lot about the “Chase Trifecta,” and CFU is part of that.
I skimmed through all the perks and benefits, and applied for the card on the 2nd week of July.
It only took them a couple of days to approve my application, but I didn’t know I got approved until a week later when I saw an email saying that my credit card was on its way and I can use it right now.
I was like, “Wait? I got approved? Since when?”
Upon learning that, I worked to transfer my balance from Wells Fargo to my new Chase Freedom Unlimited card. And that is the end of the story.
Benefits & Cash Back Rewards
I am not an expert on credit cards or claim to have so much experience on them. But I will lay out some of the cool perks and benefits of getting the Chase Freedom Unlimited card from my perspective.
Sign Up Bonus
You can earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 within the first 3 months of opening the account. This bonus though is not available for those who currently own the card, or who has received this new cardmember benefit within the last 24 months.
Cash Back Rewards
What’s a good credit card without cash back?
With the Chase Freedom Unlimited, you can:
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Earn 5% on grocery store purchases in the first year up to $12,000
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1.5% on all other purchases
Redeeming cash back rewards do not have a minimum and do not expire as long as your account is open.
Annual Fee
There are no annual fees associated with owning the card.
Service & Protection
- Zero Liability Protection – you’re not responsible for unauthorized charges
- Purchase Protection – covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim
- Extended Warranty protection – they extend warranties of 3 years or less by an additional year
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance – get reimbursed for your flight if the trip is canceled or cut short
- 24/7 Fraud Protection & Alerts
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Travel & Emergency Assistance Services
Partner Benefits
They offer limited time bonuses as of today.
- DoorDash – get a complimentary 3 month subscription to DashPass, which provides unlimited deliveries on eligible orders.
- Lyft – earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides through March 2022.
I’m not an expert on credit cards. So it would be hard for me to explain credit card points. Maybe in the future, I can touch on that when I’ve learned it. But for now, we’ll move on to how I’m planning to use this card.
How I Plan to Use This Card
A lot of people pair this card with any cards in the Chase Trifecta, more specifically the Chase Sapphire Preferred because you get multipliers and all that. Basically getting more value out of it.
But since this is my very first Chase credit card, I don’t have the luxury of multipliers.
So I’m just going to use this card the traditional way. This may replace my Discover It card because if I’m not thinking about bonus categories, the Freedom Unlimited has a 1.5% cash back on all other purchases compared to Discover’s 1% on all other purchases.
Discover’s bonus categories rotate every 3 months, so if in the event that a purchase is within that category, I would use Discover instead of the Freedom Unlimited.
For example, Discover’s bonus category for July to September is on Restaurants and Paypal purchases. I can earn a 5% cash back with Discover than Chase’s 3% on restaurant purchases within these 3 months.
So in the end, I will be using my Chase Freedom Unlimited in combination with my Discover It card depending on the time and type of purchase I’m making.