Find other articles like this by clicking on the “credit card posts” tab on top of the DansDeals banner at the top of this site.
Chase Freedom (ranked #3 of all credit cards on the DansDeals credit card page) goes from being a great card to an awesome card if you have a Chase checking account. And of course having a Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold card makes the Freedom card even better as they allow you to transfer the Freedom points into much more valuable airline miles or hotel points instead of just using the points for 1% cash back.
The regular Freedom card gives 1 point per dollar spent and 5 points per dollar spent at rotating categories (currently Amazon.com and gas stations) for up to $1,500 in purchases (which earn 7,500 bonus points) per quarter.
If you also have a Chase checking account then you qualify for Chase Exclusives where you also get 10 points every time you use your card as well as 10% bonus points on all purchases. That means you should only use your Sapphire Preferred card on purchases made outside the USA or on purchases of at least $10 on dining (including restaurants and caterers) or travel (which includes airfare, hotels, car rentals, charges in airports, travel agencies, timeshares, trains, buses, taxis, limos, ferries, bridges, tolls, and parking) as Freedom with Exclusives will always earn more points than Sapphire on any other purchases. Of course when restaurants earn 5 points per dollar on Freedom during Q3 and when hotels and airlines earn 5 points per dollar on Freedom during Q4 you should use Freedom over Sapphire even in those cases.
It can take 2 or 3 billing statements after having both a Freedom card and a checking account for the Exclusives link to be automatically made. However multiple DDF members have reported that you can actually send a secure message to Chase asking for the Exclusives points lost during the linkage period and Chase will make you whole for all those extra points. Nice find guys!
I read this post a couple of times, and im not clear yet what specifically just changed. Meaning, pinpointing exactly what was until now and what changed. Thanks
@Deal Guy:
It’s in the last paragraph.
So how do I know if my cards from 2 years ago have the exclusive link?
@Deal Guy:
Do you receive 10% more points and 10 bonus points for every transaction you make on your Freedom card or not?
@Dan:
Yes. So basically for me nothing is changing, correct?
thanks dan! i have all three – i will call my banker and make sure there all linked 🙂
Can you please detail but the quarter categories and dates? Thank you very much!
Dan,
I just closed down my Sapphire account, how long do i have to wait in order to reapply for it and get the 50K bonus again?
in case anyone is interested i just ordered the chase freedom cc and they were having an amazing deal…spend $500 in 3 months get $300 cashback
Anyone know how to get the freedom linked to the account? Are there instructions on the chase site?
Thanks
How do I go about activating chase exclusives?
Can you transfer from a Freedom to a Sapphire Non-Preferred or only a Sapphire Preferred?
I’m confused. I have both a Chase checking account and the Freedom card. Do I get 10 points for EVERY dollar I spend anywhere? Can those points be turned into cash to in essence get 10 cents back for every dollar?
let me get this straight, if i have a saphire card and a chse checking account.IF i get the chase freedom card and use the freedom card for any purchase i will get 10 points a dollar????
does this mean every checking account is compatible?
@Deal Guy:
Not unless you want to go back to statement from over 2 years ago.
@TZvee:
It should happen automatically.
@Dumb:
They’re outlined in the DansDeals credit card page: http://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards
@Mike:
There is no set waiting period, but generally you should never close down a Chase account, you should get a few new ones and have them approved by offering to close older onces and have their lines moved over.
@tova:
That and lots of other great offers like 50K on United and Southwest can easily be had with offer matching: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/19066
@Yehuda:
It should be automatic. If it’s been 3 months and it hasn’t been linked automatically you can send them a secure message when logged into your chase.com account.
@Josh:
You can transfer to either.
@Joe:
No, you get 1 point per dollar (5 point per dollar in rotating categories) plus 10 points every time you use your card plus 10% bonus points on all purchases.
You can get cashback but miles are worth significantly more than that.
@yosef:
Yes.
Is there a thread on how to open a Chase Checking with no monthly fee?
Does Amazon Payments count as a “direct deposit”?
random question – any place w/ fee free gift cards ?
@tova:
Don’t know if you actually need to spend the $500 in 3 months…I called them and spoke to someone about just giving me the 30,000 points AKA $300 without spending the $500 and just got a letter in the mail the other day saying: “After researching your request, I found that you were to receive 1,000 reward points upon your first purchase. I am pleased to advise you that I have added and additional 29,000 points to your rewards balance to bring you to the first use premium of 30,000 points. You will see this adjustment reflecting on one of your next two billing statements.”
I just opened the Freedom CC 3 weeks ago along with a chase checking account. The checking account has promotion as well where they give you $150 for using direct deposit once.
dan here ya go :-))))) the real q is do i go for more?!?! lol
whoa!!! i owe u a lot for all u do!
Dear Tzvee Rotberg,
I am writing in response to your recent request regarding
the reward points.
I regret to inform you that, we are unable to add the
bonus points retrospectively as per the Chase Freedom
10&10 Exclusive card for the past missing months.
However, as a goodwill gesture, I have added 2,500 points
on your account. These points are effective immediately.
In order to view and redeem your rewards information
online, please follow these steps:
Thank you,
Neelu Sachdeva
E-mail Customer Service Advisor
1-800-436-7927
Hi Dan, I am a long time Chase customer with Checking account. Got the Chase Freedom, met the spending requirement, and received 30K points. However, the account is not linked yet, and after 2 secured messages with Chase, they did not give the bonus points since “up to 90 days” for setting up the link. should I wait after the link, and then ask Chase again for the missing points? Thanks.
@Chase Checking:
Amazon or Paypal deposits should count at direct deposit to waive monthly fees. Of course with minimum balances you can also waive monthly fees and if you have $10K in a chase account you can even get the branch to write special reconsideration forms to get credit cards approved that you haven’t been able to get approved by calling the various reconsideration departments.
@josh:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/15353
If the code there doesn’t work let me know and I’ll find a new one.
@I LOVE FREE STUFF!!:
AWESOME!
Want to know what else? I bet if you spend the $500 within 3 months that you might just get another 20,000 points automatically if you signed up through the link on this site for a total of 49,000 points…
@TZvee:
Nicely done!
@Nguyen:
Yup, just wait for the link and then request the missing points.
@Dan: What do you mean that it’s not good to close accounts?! Won’t they only give me the signup bonus if I;m a “new” customer?
It toke me 3 billing cycles to get linked
@Dan: Dan,I had them move the credit to my freedom card, my problem was that I couldn’t close down a sapphire card and open a new one in the same conversation 🙂
Chases response!
Thank you for your e-mail.
Upon review I noticed that you account was changed to
Chase 10 on 10, dated 06/05/2010, points will not be
earned retroactively on the charges made before
06/05/2010.
As a gesture of commitment to you I have added 2,500
points to your reward balance, and this adjustment will
reflect on your next billing statement.
I apologize I am unable to meet your expectations in this
matter, if you have any further questions, please reply
using the Secure Message Center.
wow, i was denied any bump for points lost during the linkage when i sent my first secure message this morning, then used the 2500 point bump confirmation e-mails i read about from people here to get one myself with another secure message. thanks!
Dan,
I have a freedom credit card and a chase checking account for almost a year now but I’m not sure how to go about signing up for the Chase Exclusives.
Any help would be appreciated!
I called chase about granting the UR points before the accounts were linked, and the CSR said they could not but he would give me 2500 points to make up for it. I pushed and he granted me 5,000 points- more than 3x what i probably wouldve earned!!! I guess it would be better to call than to send an SM. I’m wondering if anyone will get more than that?
Dan,
I now have the Freedom (20,000), Sapphire (50,000), and Amex (25K SPG) SPG Personal. Between legit bills and Amazon Payments, I am closing in on my spending requirements for all. I am trying to busily churn my way to Israel.
What should be my next move? Do I sign up for more cards to get more signup bonuses? Do I need to give my credit score a breathing break?
Seems to me the code is expired…. thanks for your help. Btw does the free accor plainum match to anywhere at top tier?
Dan,
Do you have any suggestions for getting free checking from Chase. My current checking account requires 5 debit card purchases per month. Obviously I would rather that these 5 purchases be made on my Freedom Card to get the points.
Thanks
Dan, I opened 2 Sapphire cards, one for me and one for my wife, I wan’t to have the same online login for both but to do that I need to add myself to my wife’s card as a “liable†co-owner, authorized users is not enough.
Will that have any impact on getting the 50k signup points on either card?
Dan- If I have the sapphire preferred and got the 50k bonus can I still apply and get the regular sapphire card and its 25k bonus. Also if I have the freedom card for many years but never got a bonus can I apply for a second copy of the card and get the bonus. Also, you insinuate that someone could get the sapphire preffered bonus a second time. I thought with chase cards you cant get the SAME bonus twice Thank you
@yankel:
Nope, you can usually get bonuses again.
@Mike:
Of course, you have to apply for different cards if you want to be able to close a card in order to get a new card approved.
@mb:
@md:
Congrats!
@SP:
Are you sure you don’t have it already? Look on your statement to see if you are getting the bonuses.
If not login to your chase.com account and send them a secure message or call them to have them properly linked for chase exclusives.
@Yitz-ee:
Nice!!!
@New DD’er:
Don’t forget to send a secure message to chase to ask for 30K for signing up for freedom (read the post on chase offer matching).
The check out other cards like United, Ink Bold, Ink Classic, Ink Cash, etc that give UR points and then cycle to those and cycle back to apphire and Freedom…
@Yossi:
Swipe your card at a gas station 5 times for a penny each?
Of course on Freedom that would earn over 50 miles!
@Shreck:
Shouldn’t have any impact.
@Mike F:
I have gotten the bonus on the Sapphire Preferred and Freedom cards multiple times, no problems there at all.
Other cards from Chase like United or Southwest just require that you open a new mileage number to get the bonus again.
to get the multiple bonuses do you close your existing card ? and how long to wait between applications ?
@Mike F:
What I do is alluded to here: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/19825 but basically I just cycle back and forth between different kinds of cards. There’s no set time to wait, you can do that every month back and forth.
Dan,
One last question:
I have searched for this on your site and the forums. No answers. Basically, I have a Spirit World Mastercard (from before my DD days). It is through Bank of America.
I want to close it shortly as the annual fee is going to hit, plus Spirit miles are terrible. Do you think MC or BofA would transfer my line of credit to a different MC or BofA card? If so, are there any cards by those companies which you would recommend?
@New DD’er:
I’m not really familiar with BOFA cards, you’d have to call and ask them their policies on transferring lines of credit.
Dan:
Dan
I lied. I have one last question before I continue happily churning on. I read the post you directed Mike to, but I just wanted to clarify something:
If I want to build miles, I take my brand new Sapphire and in a month call Chase and have them transfer the CL to a different card, like an INK Bold. That would allow me to keep the signup bonus on the Sapphire while qualifying for a new signup bonus on the IB?
And I can do this every month?!?!
Thanks for everything!!
@New DD’er:
That’s the idea, how often you can do it depends on your credit score, your ability to shmooze up recon reps, and sheer luck.
I’m trying to get out of the $95 fee
@yn:
for Sapphire Preferred? So apply for some new cards and have close the SP to get the new ones approved.
Im trying to get out of the $95 fee of the British airways card. And ideas? Chase just informed me that I cant “downgrade” to a free card. Except closeomg it, do I have any other choices?
Dan o you have any updated codes for Amex gift cards?
Thanks
@Ym: shift your credit line to a different chase card or apply for a new one and even if your rejected you can tell them to close out your ba card and open the new one.
Old guy,
Thanks. But I’m looking for a way to do I without another hard pull.
@dan regarding @new DD’er’s comment…If I do what you recommended (namely, transfer my sapphire line of credit to an INK bold or vice versa), does closing out the sapphire line affect my credit score? or does it simply move over to the new card?
@Dan: Sorry, but I’m not sure I totally understood you. Bottom line, if I have a sapphire card right now, can I reapply for it without closing it down, or at least in the same conv when i close it down to right away reapply?
@TZvee:
good work tzvee, you know who
Hi Dan!
can i open a freedem card for my wife and linke it to same checking account that is linket to my freedem card??
I just got this response from them.
Dear ######### ######
I am writing in response to your email about the Freedom
Exclusive rewards program.
I would like to inform you that, once a checking account
and a credit card is established with Chase, it takes upto
three billing cycles for the enhanced rewards program to
set up on the account.
I regret that, the points earned are not retroactive,
hence, we are unable to make any adjustments to the
points.
If you have any further questions, please reply using the
Secure Message Center.
Thank you,
David D’Souza
Customer Service Specialist