Chase Freedom Flex℠ review: Plenty of value packed into one card

The Chase Freedom Flex card is great for people new to cash back because it offers boosted rewards rates in several categories and has a relatively attainable welcome offer. Its generous intro APR may also appeal to cardholders paying interest on another card balance.

Rewards: Offers a wide variety of boosted and rotating categories

Even cardholders who prefer the ease of using flat-rate cash back cards can appreciate the mix of consistency and variety offered by the Freedom Flex. While most cash back cards earn rewards at either a flat rate on all purchases, in specific bonus spending categories or in rotating bonus categories, the Freedom Flex blends multiple cash back styles by offering a boosted rewards rate year-round in select categories and quarterly in others.

The card’s backbone is its rotating 5 percent cash back on up to $1,500 in each quarter’s activated bonus category spending (then 1 percent back). Chase’s bonus categories are announced quarterly and usually feature everyday or seasonal expenses.

Starting in October and through the rest of 2023, you can earn boosted cash back for wholesale club and PayPal purchases and donations to select charities. A 5 percent cash back rate for wholesale club purchases is rare for a cash back card, and the flexibility provided by PayPal can make racking up cash back while holiday shopping a breeze.

While the card’s 5 percent cash back categories rotate quarterly and often include gas, grocery and retail purchases, you can earn in other popular categories year-round. For instance, cardholders can earn an unlimited 5 percent cash back on Chase Ultimate Rewards travel purchases and 3 percent back on drugstore and restaurant purchases, including takeout and eligible delivery services.

Other rotating category cards, like the Discover it® Cash Back, offer similar bonus categories, but the Freedom Flex sets itself apart with the additional rewards categories it shares with the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

Welcome offer: Best return for your spending available

The Chase Freedom Flex’s current welcome offer clocks in at $200 after you spend $500 in your first three months of card ownership. This bonus offers one of the best returns on spend, considering the card charges no annual fee. For instance, a handful of competitors require you to spend anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 to earn a comparable bonus.

A $200 cash back return for spending $500 in your first three months is ideal for low spenders. You'll earn 40 percent back if you meet the spending requirement — that's on top of any cash back rewards you could earn on your way to earning the bonus.

Intro APR: Standard intro offer with potentially low ongoing APR

Although this card’s introductory APR isn’t the most outstanding offer available to new cardholders, it gives the Freedom Flex a competitive edge compared to other generous cash back cards. 

You may also qualify for a relatively low regular APR when you open your card, helping you keep interest charges in check even after the intro period. Interest rates have climbed high due to rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, and there are more rate increases to come. It may be a good idea to secure a card with an intro offer and low ongoing APR sooner rather than later. 

Cardholders can find a lot to love with the Chase Freedom Flex, but they may also find the card’s rotating categories high maintenance, especially with the quarterly spending cap. You also might face a lot of fees if you happen to miss a payment here and there. 

Categories: Rotating categories may be hard to maximize

Quarterly rotating category cards can be limiting for cardholders who want to earn rewards on everyday purchases like groceries and gas year round. If you have only one or two high spend categories, you may struggle to find outstanding value with the Chase Freedom Flex. Although 5 percent back is a great rewards rate, you’ll only earn this rate if you lean into the rotating categories every quarter or consistently make Chase Ultimate Rewards travel purchases. If the card’s rotating categories don’t align with your spending, you may be leaving a lot of rewards on the table and only earning a meager rewards rate in other categories.

For a more reliable way to maximize your earnings, consider a rewards card with consistent boosted rates in your top spending categories. If you’re unsure what your top categories are, track your expenses for a month or two to see where you spend most of your money. Once you have a better understanding of your spending, you can determine if a tiered rewards card or a flat-rate card is a better fit for you.

Rates and Fees: No breaks for first-time mishaps

Although the Chase Freedom Flex does not charge an annual fee, it charges for just about everything else without any breaks, unlike other issuers. Discover it® Cash Back, for instance, charges for late and returned payments, but it won’t charge you for your first late payment. First time cardholders, or people still relatively new to credit, may need more time to develop positive credit card habits and may miss payments occasionally. If this is the case, a more forgiving card could be better for you.

Spending caps: Limits your earnings at the card’s best rewards rate

Rotating categories can already be limiting for cardholders who keep their spending to a routine and regularly rack up charges in predictable categories. However, if you plan to maximize Chase’s rotating categories, you might be disappointed with its $1,500 spending cap for earning 5 percent back. You’ll earn 1 percent for all spending after this cap, but this hampers the earning potential on the card when you compare it to a cash back or a rewards card that earns generously with more flexible spending caps in categories you choose or can rely on to stay the same all year.

The card’s ongoing rewards in reliable categories are slightly redeeming, but if you are a rewards strategist, you can pair multiple cards to outpace the earning potential of the Freedom Flex. Not only will this let you choose cards that offer high rates in your choice categories, but it will expand the amount you can spend before being limited by spending caps.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is just a cash-back card. Nick Ewen, a credit card expert at The Points Guy, explains that there’s a lot more to it.

I’ve had the Chase Freedom Flex for a number of years thanks to the rotating 5 percent cash back categories. However, its real power is unlocked when it’s paired with a premium Ultimate Rewards card — like the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This allows me to combine all of my earnings into a single account, effectively converting the simple, cash back rewards from the Freedom into much more flexible Ultimate Rewards points.

— Nick Ewan, Director of Content, The Points Guy

With an eye-catching combination of year-round and rotating bonus categories, the Freedom Flex remains a leader in the no-annual-fee cash back card pack. Nevertheless, depending on where you spend most and how you like to earn rewards, there might be cards that are a better fit.

The Freedom Flex is a great card to stack with other credit cards thanks to its diverse earning categories. Pairing the card with another that earns a better flat rate on general purchases or offers more diverse redemption options can help you maximize your rewards.

The Chase Freedom Flex card is at the top of the cash back game. Its familiar rotating categories appeal to rewards maximizers who are okay with shopping around to get the most value, while year-round earning categories ensure you can always find ways to earn significant cash back.

However, this card — and other rotating category cards — are limited by a lack of flexibility that can make maximizing cash back difficult. If you want to choose your categories, or at least reliably predict them for the whole year, you might be more comfortable with a different cash back card.

The information about the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom Unlimited® has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.