Never Close Ultimate Rewards Personal Credit Cards
As award travelers, we are big fans of transferable currencies, including Chase Ultimate Rewards. Typically, the easiest way to earn Ultimate Rewards is through credit card welcome offers, like any other points currency. But welcome offers are not an option if you're over 5/24, or otherwise not eligible to open a new Chase card. Enter the handy and powerful Chase Freedom Flex and Chase “original” cards. These two cards are reason to never, ever close a personal credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred.
Why Close a Card in the First Place?
Savvy award travelers should assess the annual fees across our many credit cards every year. If we are not getting enough value out of that card in exchange for the annual fee, closing it could make sense. (But we first recommend trying for a retention offer.)
One alternative to closing a card is downgrading (or product changing) to a card with no annual fee. Depending on the card you're thinking of closing, downgrading is in fact your best option. Downgrading or product changing a card does not affect your 5/24.
Earning with the Freedom and Freedom Flex Cards
The “original” Freedom and the Freedom Flex cards both earn 5x per dollar on up to $1,500 spent per quarter on rotating bonus categories. These categories rotate every calendar quarter. And neither card has an annual fee.
So how many Ultimate Rewards can one of these cards earn you per year?
Time for some light math. Earning 5x on up to $1,500 in one quarter nets you 7,500 Ultimate Rewards per quarter. This means 30,000 Ultimate Rewards per year. What if you have more than one of these in your household? You can do the math from here.
Outside the rotating quarterly categories, the original Freedom earns 1x per dollar on all other purchases. The Freedom Flex earns 3x on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services) and drugstore purchases, and 1x on all other purchases.
Which Cards Are Eligible to Become Freedom Cards?
Any personal Ultimate Rewards-earning card can become an original Freedom or Freedom Flex. These cards are:
This means you can downgrade any Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred to an original Freedom (or Freedom Flex) after having the card opened for one year. You can also product change a Chase Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex into an original Freedom. You also want to make sure you have one premium Ultimate Rewards earning card in your portfolio to ensure your points are still transferrable. That could be a Chase Ink Preferred card if you decide to downgrade your Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card.
Although you can also product change into a Freedom Flex, I would not do so if you haven't earned a welcome offer for the Freedom Flex yet. You are not eligible to open and earn a welcome offer for the Freedom Flex if you already hold one. That is why we recommend product changing to an original Freedom in most cases. That card is no longer open for new applications and therefore doesn't affect your ability to earn a welcome offer for the Freedom Flex.
To product change any of your credit cards into an original Freedom or Freedom Flex, just call the number on the back of your card.
Never Close Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards: ToP Thoughts
Who doesn't enjoy 30,000 Ultimate Rewards per year with minimal effort and $0 annual fee? This is why product changing your an Ultimate Rewards-earning card instead of closing it is a no-brainer.
Do you have an original Freedom card or Freedom Flex in your wallet? Come join the discussion in our Facebook group!
