I don’t want to say, ‘I told you so,’ but I did warn you. When I heard about the amazing sign-up bonus for the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, which offered double points for the first year, I knew there was a catch right away. This is because the Freedom Unlimited card already has lucrative bonus categories despite having no annual fee. For instance, it offers 5X/5% on travel purchases made using the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, 3X/3% at drugstores and restaurants (including take-out and delivery), and 1.5X/1.5% on all other expenses.
Chase’s affiliate program saw a widespread promotion of its offer by its partner websites, including travel blogs, finance websites, and news outlets. The activity was significant, with all partners seizing the opportunity to promote the offer as the deal of the century.
- Amazing: Chase Freedom Unlimited Double Rewards Bonus
- Chase offers an unlimited cash-back match for new Chase Freedom Unlimited cardholders — here’s what you need to know
- New Chase Freedom Unlimited Cardholders Can Earn 3-10X Points on Every Purchase
- Chase Freedom Unlimited: New Welcome Offer Doubles Your Points (up to 10x) for Your First 12 Months
When the double point offer was initially introduced, I pointed out a significant limitation that most of the websites advertising it conveniently placed at the end of their posts promoting the offer. The limitation was that the double points would be paid out as a one-time bonus one year after obtaining the card instead of being awarded double points monthly. This information is mentioned in the fine print of the sign-up bonus offer.
With this offer you will receive a one-time bonus equal to all Cash Back rewards earned during your first 12 monthly billing cycles from account opening with your Chase Freedom Unlimited card. Only Cash Back rewards earned by making purchases, including through other bonus offers, are eligible for this bonus.
Not surprisingly, many people signed up for this bonus expecting to see double points arrive on each statement. I was somewhat surprised that none other than The Points Guy website made readers aware that bonus points would only be added to your account after 1 year.
Let’s look at a real-world scenario. I applied for and was approved for this card on Dec. 5, so I will earn double cash back on all my purchases until early December 2024. During the next 12 months, I will receive the regular cash-back rate at the end of each monthly billing cycle.
However, I will need to wait until sometime between the first half of December 2024 and potentially as late as February 2025 to receive the one-time lump sum of double cash back.
Unfortunately, this post came after they had already heavily promoted the double points offer to their readers.
I also have to give credit to Frequent Miler, which was the only website (besides us) that I saw mention that for some people, it could be better to sign up for the 20,000 point offer for spending $500 and 5% back at gas and grocery stores for the first year, capped at 60,000 points.
That offer is also still available, and if you’re interested, we’d appreciate it if you’d use our referral link.
To the corporate websites that promoted this offer and buried the news that it would take a year to receive the double point bonus, you have some explaining to do.
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4 comments
You is it so bad to receive the double up points in one batch after one year? There is time value of cause but quite limited effect
I meant “why is it so bad”
I don’t think it’s a bad offer. It’s that many people are planning to use their points in less than 1 year. If you have a large expense, like a tax bill or home improvement, that’s a chunk of points that you may need sooner than later. For people accustomed of getting a quick points boost from a sign up bonus, it’s a different scenario to wait a year to receive points.
Thank you (and Frequent Miler and a few other honest bloggers) for reading the fine print and figuring out what it all means. You know — much better than us “normal” travelers — what lurks beneath the nasty rocks. Valuable service!