For several months now I’ve been absolutely thrilled with my Chase Blue Freedom Rewards Card. The card works by tracking your purchases every month and then categorizing them. For all purchases made in the top 3 categories for that month (out of 15 categories total) you receive 3% cash back and for all remaining purchases you receive 1% cash back.
But wait, there’s more. There’s no annual fee, and you get a bonus of $50 just for signing up for the card. That’s right, $50 with no strings attached. The APR is decent but if you’re smart you won’t ever go over your credit limit anyway. If you are paying your bill off every month you’re saving 1-3% a purchase completely for free. Finally, if you save your rewards until they hit $200 then they’ll give you an extra bonus of $50.
Overall, it’s definitely worth a look. It’s accepted anywhere they take Visa and it is easy to set up automatic payment of the bill, or to do it electronically every month from your bank account. I’ve never actually been in a Chase Bank and set the entire thing up online. I use Bank of America and simply transfer in the amount that I owe about twice a month as opposed to paying it off merely once a month.
If you’re still using your parents’ credit card, it’s about time to start getting your own credit rating and a credit card is a great way to begin that process. Furthermore, for those of you spending money on gas it’s nice to get to take an extra 1-3% off the price (at $4/gallon and at 3% cash back that’s $.12 less per gallon). Be responsible with it, and you’ll soon be saving money on every purchase.
On the application it states that there needs to be a minimum of $14,400 annual income, so how could a poor college kid apply for this card?