Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Other Than The Rewards, Where Does This Card Stand

Category: Finance, Credit.

Using a credit card for the rewards it offers is well worth the effort and a convenient way to get a little extra from everyday purchases and expenditures.



Starting With the Interest Rates. The Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa� Card is one of many credit cards that offer cash reward perks along with many other conveniences only offered by a first tier credit card. One of the nice features of the Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa� Card is that all purchases with the card are interest free for the first six months of owning the credit card. It does make a sensible alternative for making payments on big purchases. This makes for a convenient way to make slightly extended payments on that new flat screen TV or washer and dryer set while skipping over the in store financing and getting extra rewards from the card's rewards program on top. But do take note- after the initial 6 months of cardholdership passes, the standard purchase interest rate APR does kick into effect and it's not exactly a flattering rate. Looking to move those high balances from a high interest card to an interest free or low interest credit card in order to pay down the principle faster?


Those with very good to excellent credit scores will be able to find a better purchase interest rate if they don' t always plan on paying their balance in full every month. Well, the Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa� Card offers up to a six month introductory interest free balance transfer time frame. What Are The Rewards? This is a good start, but for those exclusively seeking the balance transfer benefits as the main feature of a new card, six months interest free just isn' t quite good enough. As its namesake aptly promises, the Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa� Card does offer rewards redeemable for cash, but also gift certificates and other choice selections. As a bonus, 1, 000 points are automatically credited to the cardholder's account upon the first purchase with the card.


At the rate of 1 point for each dollar purchased with the credit card, the benefits add up over a period of regular usage. The option of picking and choosing the rewards received is a great concept and works well with cash rewards credit cards, but this Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa� Card might be a little stingy when it comes to the points actually given. This is worth consideration as the options are weighed. Many other cash rewards credit cards offer a higher percentage of rewards on certain categories of purchases, such as gasoline or groceries. Other Than The Rewards, Where Does This Card Stand? The credit card does not charge an annual fee as many others do- again, another upside. Backed by Visa, the Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa� Card is indeed accepted nearly everywhere, so that's a plus.


However, for a credit card intended for those with good and excellent credit, the grace period of 20 days isn' t quite up to par. Don' t be mistaken, the Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa� Card is not a bad choice by any means, but there are other cards available that out deliver it in just about all aspects. The Final Word.

No comments: