Questionable Credit
Just got a letter today telling me that my beloved Borders Visa is going to be discontinued and that it will automatically roll over to a Chase Freedom card.
This is upsetting news! I absolutely LOVED my Borders card! It was like getting free books for paying my bills.
Now I'm at a crossroads and am having trouble weighing the pros and cons of the Amazon Visa and the Chase Freedom card. I've posted a query about it on the Ask Mr. Credit Card forum after spending an astonishing amount of hours trying to research every detail about the cards. I know I can just call and ask, but I'd rather wait until I feel like I know what I'm talking about.
AMAZON VISA:
1% on all purchases
2% at gas stations, restaurants, drug stores
3% on Amazon.com purchases
Reward points can go toward a variety of things, including Amazon purchases and cash. They expire after 4 years.
CHASE FREEDOM:
1% on all purchases
3% on promotional, rotating categories
up to 10 points on the dollar when shopping through Ultimate Rewards Mall (MAYBE even 20%)
Reward points can go toward a variety of things, including Amazon giftcards and cash back. Points do not expire.
Thus far, they seem a bit evenly matched, depending on where spending takes place. RIGHT NOW, the Amazon card is coming in at 13.24% APR and the Chase Freedom at 12.24 - 15.24% APR.
The rotating categories of the Freedom card kind of concern me. I wonder if the stability of the 2% rewards will be better with Amazon. Also, for anyone with the Freedom card, is the Ultimate Rewards Mall actually through Amazon? How have people found the additional points work? Or does the online store only hold special items and not things a person may actually want to buy on their own (without rewards - such as only specific promotional items)?
I also heard (though this may be for an older version of the Freedom card) that online purchases in general were awarded extra reward points. Is this still the case?
The majority of my online purchases are either through Amazon or with my cell phone company. So I would like to know if triple points with the Amazon card for Amazon purchases would ultimately outweigh randomized points for online purchases with the Freedom card.
This is upsetting news! I absolutely LOVED my Borders card! It was like getting free books for paying my bills.
Now I'm at a crossroads and am having trouble weighing the pros and cons of the Amazon Visa and the Chase Freedom card. I've posted a query about it on the Ask Mr. Credit Card forum after spending an astonishing amount of hours trying to research every detail about the cards. I know I can just call and ask, but I'd rather wait until I feel like I know what I'm talking about.
AMAZON VISA:
1% on all purchases
2% at gas stations, restaurants, drug stores
3% on Amazon.com purchases
Reward points can go toward a variety of things, including Amazon purchases and cash. They expire after 4 years.
CHASE FREEDOM:
1% on all purchases
3% on promotional, rotating categories
up to 10 points on the dollar when shopping through Ultimate Rewards Mall (MAYBE even 20%)
Reward points can go toward a variety of things, including Amazon giftcards and cash back. Points do not expire.
Thus far, they seem a bit evenly matched, depending on where spending takes place. RIGHT NOW, the Amazon card is coming in at 13.24% APR and the Chase Freedom at 12.24 - 15.24% APR.
The rotating categories of the Freedom card kind of concern me. I wonder if the stability of the 2% rewards will be better with Amazon. Also, for anyone with the Freedom card, is the Ultimate Rewards Mall actually through Amazon? How have people found the additional points work? Or does the online store only hold special items and not things a person may actually want to buy on their own (without rewards - such as only specific promotional items)?
I also heard (though this may be for an older version of the Freedom card) that online purchases in general were awarded extra reward points. Is this still the case?
The majority of my online purchases are either through Amazon or with my cell phone company. So I would like to know if triple points with the Amazon card for Amazon purchases would ultimately outweigh randomized points for online purchases with the Freedom card.