Chase Freedom Flex is a good credit card for people with above-average credit who want to earn bonus cash back rewards in a variety of spending categories. It’s worth considering this card because it has a $0 annual fee, offers new cardholders a $200 bonus, and gives up to 5% cash back on select purchases. It can also help you avoid interest charges. 

Below, you can find more information that should help you decide whether or not applying for the Chase Freedom Flex Mastercard is the right move for your situation.

What I Like About Chase Freedom Flex

$200 Initial Bonus

New cardholders can earn the Chase Freedom Flex card’s initial bonus of $200 for spending $500 in the first 3 months after opening an account. Dollar for dollar, that is one of the best initial bonuses available right now.
 

3% Cash Back on Dining and Drugstore Purchases

The Freedom Flex card’s 3% rewards rates apply to all manner of dining and drugstore purchases, including those delivered to your home. The merchant you purchase from must be categorized as a restaurant, eligible delivery service or drugstore, but that covers a wide range of businesses.
 

Several 5% Cash Back Categories

Chase Freedom Flex offers 5% cash back on travel bookings made through Chase Travel℠, with no spending limit. On top of that, cardholders can activate rotating bonus categories to earn 5% back, up to $1,500 spent in those categories each quarter.

That earning rate blows the average cash rewards card out of the water. But not everyone wants to book their travel through Chase’s portal or regularly activate new bonus categories, which may not match their spending habits to begin with. 
 

0% Introductory APR Promotion

Chase Freedom Flex offers introductory rates of 0% for 15 months on new purchases and 0% for 15 months on balance transfers. Such a long time without interest could save you a lot of money, considering how high rates are in general these days. Very few credit cards with competitive rewards offer this long of an interest-free period. 

$0 Annual Fee

The Chase Freedom Flex Mastercard’s annual fee is $0. That makes it roughly $28.25 per year cheaper than the average credit card offer.
 

Numerous Secondary Benefits

Chase Freedom Flex Mastercard benefits include rental car insurance, extended warranty protection, purchase protection, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and cell phone protection. Freedom Flex cell phone protection covers phones whose bills are paid with the card against damage and theft, up to $800 per claim and $1,000 per year.

A lot of other cards have cut benefits like these in recent years. These perks can be very useful, though. They could save you a lot of time and money, if you actually remember to use them when the time comes. 

What I Don’t Like About Chase Freedom Flex 

Base Rewards Rate of 1% Cash Back

Most cash back credit cards give 1% back as a base earning rate. It’s nothing special. Unfortunately, if you make Chase Freedom Flex your everyday credit card, you’re going to earn rewards at this rate on most purchases. 

The only way to get a higher base rate is to sacrifice in terms of your chosen card’s maximum earning rate. For example, you could get a card that offers 2% cash back on all purchases. Pairing such a card with one that has higher rates in your biggest spending categories is the optimal move in many cases. 
 

Quarterly Activation Required for Some 5% Rewards

The 5% cash back that you can earn with this card on up to $1,500 spent per quarter in rotating bonus categories is contingent on activating new bonus categories each quarter. If you don’t, you’ll earn just 1% back. This can turn into a big hassle or a major source of frustration for some cardholders. 

Not only do you have to activate new categories every few months according to Chase’s 5% calendar, but there’s no guarantee those categories will match up with the purchases you need to make. If you don’t max out the 5% bonus each quarter, the card isn’t nearly as attractive.  
 

High Regular APR

The Chase Freedom Flex card’s regular APR is 18.24% - 27.74% (V), depending on each applicant’s creditworthiness. For context, the average APR among new credit card offers is 22.11%, and it’s 23.26%, according to our research, when you limit things to credit cards for people with good credit.

Freedom Flex won’t be very good if you rack up a lot of interest charges, and it’s easy to do with a rate this high. But you can avoid interest by paying your full statement balance by the due date when the regular APR is in effect. 
 

Fees for Foreign Transactions & Balance Transfers 

Chase Freedom Flex is not a good credit card for international travel, considering its 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars foreign transaction fee. If you want a card to use abroad, check out our editors’ picks for the best credit cards without foreign fees. 

Freedom Flex’s balance transfer fee doesn’t make it ill-suited to transfers, however, as even the best balance transfer credit cards charge fees. You might be able to get a longer 0% period for the same fee, though. 
 

Good Credit Needed for Approval

The Chase Freedom Flex credit score requirement is 700 or higher for good approval odds, considering that applicants generally need good credit at a minimum. If you’re not sure whether your credit is good enough for Freedom Flex, you can check your latest credit score for free right here on WalletHub.