This offer has expired
It applies to ALL categories. That’s a total of 10% on purchases at Chase Travel, 6% on drugstores, dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services, and then 3% on everything else.
Chase has changed up the offer on the Chase Freedom Unlimited® with what will be a boon for big spenders.
Rather than getting $200 for $500 in spend (yes, that is awarded as 20,000 points that become fully transferable if you also have a Sapphire Preferred, Reserve, or Ink Preferred), you will instead have your entire first year’s earned points – including bonus categories – doubled.
Since it normally earns 1.5%, this means you will earn 3% on all non-bonus category spend for a year. and up to 10% on bonus categories.
And since, as mentioned above, these points become fully transferable if you also have a Sapphire Preferred, Reserve, or Ink Preferred (otherwise, you are earning straight cash back).
So, how does that compare against 20,000 points for $500 in spend and then no end of year kicker?
Old Offer ($200 for $500 in spend within 3 months): If you spend $5,000 in that first year, you’d earn 20,000 points plus 7,500 points = you’d have 27,500 points.
New Offer (1.5x now, doubled at end of year for 3% total): If you spend $5,000 in that first year, you’d earn 15,000 points. Even if $2,000 was drugstores, it would be 21,000 points.
So we see off the bat there’s a threshold of spend to like this new offer.
How about at $15,000 in spend during year 1?
Old Offer ($200 for $500 in spend within 3 months):
If you spend $15,000 in that first year, you’d earn 20,000 points plus 7,500 points = you’d have 22,500 from spend and 20,000 from the bonus = 42,500 points (or $425 cash back)
New Offer (1.5x now, doubled at end of year for 3% total):If you spend $15,000 in that first year, you’d earn 45,000 points (or $450 cash back).
We can see that at just under $15,000 you get ahead with this new offer.
But that’s without counting the BONUS CATEGORIES.
BETTER
Old Offer ($200 for $500 in spend within 3 months):
If you spend $15,000 in that first year, you’d earn 20,000 points plus 7,500 points = you’d have 22,500 from spend and 20,000 from the bonus = 42,500 points (or $425 cash back)
New Offer (1.5x now, doubled at end of year for 3% total):If you spend $15,000 in that first year, with $5,000 of that on dining and drugstores, you’d earn 75,000 points!!!!!!!
We can see that at just under $15,000 you get ahead with this new offer, and even less if you have bonus category spending.
Now some offers have a kicker of 5% on groceries for a year, which this does not have, so that needs to be factored in.
But if you are a BIG SPENDER, this gets to be crazy good.
If you spend $10,000 a month on your card, $120,000 in a year, you will earn 360,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points – and that doesn’t count any additional points from bonus categories which can make this much richer!
If you pay a lot of estimated taxes, which come with a minimum 1.85% credit card fee, you are up 1.15% on every dollar you pay.
And it’s UNLIMITED. I did expect a cap when I first heard of this Special Offer.
[Unfortunately, this offer has expired.]
Thoughts?
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