"Holy Pre-Approvals Batman!"
Chase Freedom® Review
Written by: colonative on 2011-02-16
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colonative's review: 
Just the facts:
Visa Signature approved 11/2010
Experian: 786
Intro APR: 0% on purchases and balance transfers thru 2/12
Ongoing APR: 11.49% variable
Credit Line $7,000
Bonus Offer: 10,000 points redeemable for $100 check after first purchase (no minimum purchase amount).
I was instantly approved online for a Chase Freedom Visa Signature in November 2010 with 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers through February 2012; 11.49% thereafter. I used the code contained on a pre-approval mailing to do this. They pulled Experian (the credit Bible) and at the time my FICO was a 786. I was granted a $7,000 credit line (I only found out a few days later because the new account appeared on my online account management page). If you are not already a Chase customer than you will have to wait until the card arrives to learn your limit. The credit line seems a bit low but I also have an existing Chase Slate MasterCard with a $10,000 limit. I am sure with CARD Act rules they used a calculation and determined that the combined credit lines for my income couldn't be more than $17,000-this is just a guess though.
The card offers 1% cash back on every purchase as well as a quarterly 5% extra cash back offer on catagories that change just like Citibank and Discover. They even sent a wallet sized card to remind me of each quarter's bonus-but you have to sign up for these each quarter. It is fairly easy.
Additionally, with my offer, after my first purchase I was given a bonus 10,000 points that can be redeemed for a $100 check.
Word of advice: I seriously received no less than 30 pre-approvals for this card between February 2010 and November 2010 (even through December after I had already been approved). And as time went on, the offers got better. So, if you receive a pre-approval, don't feel like you have to jump on it right away because the terms may just get better as they did for me. Also, Chase never tells you if it is a Visa or MasterCard offer. There is a two letter code on the pre-approval in the bottom left-hand corner above the Good Until date that will tell you what it is: VW is Visa and MW is MasterCard. My offers seemed to change between the two.
Just the facts:Visa Signature approved 11/2010
Experian: 786
Intro APR: 0% on purchases and balance transfers thru 2/12
Ongoing APR: 11.49% variable
Credit Line $7,000
Bonus Offer: 10,000 points redeemable for $100 check after first purchase (no minimum purchase amount).
I was instantly approved online for a Chase Freedom Visa Signature in November 2010 with 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers through February 2012; 11.49% thereafter. I used the code contained on a pre-approval mailing to do this. They pulled Experian (the credit Bible) and at the time my FICO was a 786. I was granted a $7,000 credit line (I only found out a few days later because the new account appeared on my online account management page). If you are not already a Chase customer than you will have to wait until the card arrives to learn your limit. The credit line seems a bit low but I also have an existing Chase Slate MasterCard with a $10,000 limit. I am sure with CARD Act rules they used a calculation and determined that the combined credit lines for my income couldn't be more than $17,000-this is just a guess though.
The card offers 1% cash back on every purchase as well as a quarterly 5% extra cash back offer on catagories that change just like Citibank and Discover. They even sent a wallet sized card to remind me of each quarter's bonus-but you have to sign up for these each quarter. It is fairly easy.
Additionally, with my offer, after my first purchase I was given a bonus 10,000 points that can be redeemed for a $100 check.
Word of advice: I seriously received no less than 30 pre-approvals for this card between February 2010 and November 2010 (even through December after I had already been approved). And as time went on, the offers got better. So, if you receive a pre-approval, don't feel like you have to jump on it right away because the terms may just get better as they did for me. Also, Chase never tells you if it is a Visa or MasterCard offer. There is a two letter code on the pre-approval in the bottom left-hand corner above the Good Until date that will tell you what it is: VW is Visa and MW is MasterCard. My offers seemed to change between the two.
5 Comments
Comment 1 by wanderer
Re: Holy Pre-Approvals Batman! 
on 2011-02-16
Congrats! WOW!!! You did well on the Chase Freedom Card. Your Apr is the best reflecting your credit status and your credit savy approach to credit management! Nice work!!!
on 2011-02-16 Congrats! WOW!!! You did well on the Chase Freedom Card. Your Apr is the best reflecting your credit status and your credit savy approach to credit management! Nice work!!!
Comment 2 by colonative
Re: Holy Pre-Approvals Batman! on 2011-02-17
Thanks, Wanderer I have to agree it is a great program. I actually got an offer for 9.99% but the 0% intro was shorter, so I went with the 11.49% offer with a longer intro.
This is why I recommend anybody interested in this card to allow Chase to sweeten the deal. If they really want you to sign up, they will let you know (with several offers!).
on 2011-02-17 Thanks, Wanderer I have to agree it is a great program. I actually got an offer for 9.99% but the 0% intro was shorter, so I went with the 11.49% offer with a longer intro. This is why I recommend anybody interested in this card to allow Chase to sweeten the deal. If they really want you to sign up, they will let you know (with several offers!).
Comment 3 by eugene66
Re: Holy Pre-Approvals Batman! on 2011-02-17
Congrats ! ColoNative and an excellent review.
on 2011-02-17 Congrats ! ColoNative and an excellent review.
Comment 5 by hjm331
Re: Holy Pre-Approvals Batman! on 2011-02-27
Congrats Colo! This is a good card to have as long as you can take advantage of the rewards while having a low interest rate in case you were to carry a balance.
on 2011-02-27 Congrats Colo! This is a good card to have as long as you can take advantage of the rewards while having a low interest rate in case you were to carry a balance.
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Disclaimer: This content is not provided by Chase. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Chase. Review content is powered by Finance Globe.
