Chase Freedom 20,000 Bonus Points-Last Chance?

Update: Expired. Best current offer is 10,000: Chase Freedom – 10,000 points. See Best Travel Credit Cards.

This is still a great card to help you earn Ultimate Rewards on, when combined with the Chase Exclusives bonuses that you receive automatically if you have a Chase checking account.

The Chase Freedom 20,000 Bonus Points offer is apparently going away in a few hours, at 10am this Monday April 16. In fact, Chase's best offer for the Chase Freedom card on its own Web site is for only 10,000 bonus points:

While 20,000 points may not seem like much, compared to the potential 100,000 Avios points for the British Airways Visa, if you value Ultimate Rewards or any of the miles or points it transfers to (United, Hyatt, British Airways, Korean Air, Marriott, Priority Club, Southwest, Amtrak) then you really should have the Chase Freedom to maximize your Ultimate Rewards points, in conjunction with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Bold Business Card.

A few things to note about the Chase Freedom:

No annual fee
5X bonus changes quarterly and is limited to the first $1500 in spend on the bonus categories; see bonus calendar in Chase Exclusives Bonuses: Maximize Chase Freedom Ultimate Rewards Points
Ultimate Rewards points are a better redemption value than cash back, especially if you transfer to United or Hyatt
To transfer points out to Ultimate Rewards partners such as United MileagePlus, you do need to have the Sapphire Preferred or the Ink Bold

Here's a simple chart that illustrates why the Chase Freedom is the go-to card for some common purchases:

Purchase	Freedom + Exclusives	Sapphire Preferred	Ink Bold
$1 general spend	11.1 points	1.07 points	1 point
$10 general spend	21 points	10.7 points	10 points
$100 general spend	120 points	107 points	100 points
$2 dining	12.2 points	4.3 points	2 points
$2 dining (July-Sept. 2012)	20.2 points	4.3 points	2 points
$9 dining	19.9 points	19.3 points	9 points
$9 dining (July-Sept. 2012)	55.9 points	19.3 points	9 points
$10 dining	21 points	21.4 points	10 points
$10 dining (July-Sept. 2012)	61 points	21.4 points	10 points
$200 dining	230 points	428 points	200 points
$200 dining (July-Sept. 2012)	1030 points	428 points	200 points
$20 taxi/transportation	32 points	42.8	20 points
$300 hotel stay	340 points	642 points	600 points
$300 hotel stay (Oct.-Dec. 2012)	1540 points	642 points	600 points
$300 hotel stay booked via TravelSort or travel agency	340 points	321 points	600 points
$1000 airfare	1110 points	2140 points	1000 points
$1000 airfare (Oct.-Dec. 2012)	5110 points
$100 groceries (April-June 2012)	520 points	107 points	100 points
$50 phone bill	65 points	53.5 points	250 points
$200 spend from office supply store (incl. Visa gift cards)	230 points	214 points	1000 points
$50 gas	65 points	53.5 points	100 points
$50 gas (July-Sept. 2012)	265 points	53.5 points	100 points

Key Takeaways:

If you have the Chase Freedom and a Chase checking account so you get the Chase Exclusives bonuses, the Chase Freedom should be your default card for ALL spend under $3 even if you have gift cards that get you 5X thanks to the Ink Bold.

The 5X quarterly bonuses for the Chase Freedom, particularly July-September 2012 when there's a 5X bonus on dining, are spectacular. For a $2 cup of coffee you'd get over 20 points with the Freedom, and only 4.3 with the Sapphire Preferred. 10X points? Yes, please!

The Ink Bold and Ink Plus the attractive 5X bonus categories of the Freedeom and the 7% end of year points dividend of the Sapphire Preferred, but they still each have a 50,000 point bonus and can be used to get up to 4.5X off ALL spend if you buy Visa gift cards only using the Ultimate Rewards Mall 2X bonus for Staples purchases, or you manage to find $500 Visa gift cards at Office Depot. See Maximizing the Chase Ink Bold 50,000 Bonus-How to Meet Minimum Spend