- Instead of earning 3% cash back on our top 3 spending categories each month (no matter what those categories were), we now only earn 3% cash back on eligible gas, groceries, and fast food purchases. Good thing groceries was almost always one of my top 3 spending categories.
- We continue to earn 1% cash back on all other purchases, but now with no caps and no expiration (considering I never had a problem with either, that is a marginal improvement at best).
- No yearly rewards membership fee for the first year, then pay "only" $30 a year for "all the benefits of Chase Freedom." Ugh. That may be the dealbreaker right there. We have made it a policy in our family to never use a card with an annual fee. When I pointed this out to the service rep that I spoke to on the phone after I got this letter, she said "the fee is not for the card ma'am, it's for the rewards program." Uh...and how are the two different?
- The option of receiving a $250 check for $200 in rewards will no longer be available. That is what prompted me to pick up the phone. The customer service rep wisely said that I could still cash in my current rewards ($400) and get the extra money, which I immediately did. We are planning to use those rewards dollars to pay the installment that is due in July for our boys to go to the National Boy Scout Jamboree next summer.
So, we're disappointed. In a year, we may be shopping for a new rewards card. Or, we may decide that the cash back option is still worth it, even with the annual fee. Just one example of the recent credit card changes that penalize the good credit card customer.
