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Chase Free Cash Rewards® Platinum Visa® Card

• Intro 0% Fixed APR for up to 12 months on all purchases and balance transfers
• No Annual Fee
• 1,000 Bonus pts after first purchase
• Earn 1 point for every dollar in purchases
• $25 check or a $25 gift card/certificate from participating merchants for every 2,500 points earned

Issuer : Chase Manhattan Bank

APR : 0% Introductory APR on all purchases and cash purchases

Introductory Period : 12 months

APR After Introductory Period : 14.24% variable

Cash Advance Rate : 24.24% variable rate on cash advances

Annual Fee : $0

Credit Line Possible : The maximum credit available when you apply for a Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card depends on your credit rating and an evaluation of your personal wealth.

Insurance included :  Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card includes extended car rental and warranty coverage on services and purchases for up to a year.

Financing Configuration – The finance charges applied use the "Two Cycles Average Daily Balance" method, which is a more costly method in applying finance charges for those who occasionally carry a balance as compared to the "Average Daily Balance" method used by most card issuers.

Grace Period – You have twenty days after making a purchase during which you do not have to pay interest on your Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card account

The Best Thing About It – There is a points program. Through the reward program, cardholders earn one point for every dollar spent on general purchases. Points may be redeemed for airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, and more.

The Worst Thing About It – The way the interest on your card is calculated is more costly than with other cards and the cash advance rate is obscenely high at 24.24%. The points also are subject to many restrictions.

Credit Rating Needed For Acceptance: Good.

Who Is It For?

The Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card is for people who have good credit and who want a card with no annual fee, a reasonable interest rate and a generous cash back rewards program. However it is not a good card for those who want to maintain a big balance or want to take out cash advances

 

The Benefits

 

You get a gift with your first purchase. You are rewarded with one point for each dollar spent on your first purchase with your Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card.

You can choose the way you want to be paid your points. You can redeem points in the form of a check or request gift certificates.

Additional Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card cards are free.  There is no fee for issuing duplicate cards and they can earn points for you as well.

Keep track of all of your business expenses online. You are also able to monitor what goes on in your account with full access to an online account report.

You have theft or card loss protection. Emergency card and cash replacement is part of your credit card agreement with Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card.

You have extended warranty protection. If a product fails you have warranty protection up to $300 as long as you apply for this within a year of purchase.

Zero Liability.  If you claim someone has stolen your card then you do not have to be liable for the usual $50 that is typically deducted as fraud liability.

 

The Drawbacks

 

The points earned with your Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card come with quite a few restrictions.  The points are subject to program restrictions including space and fare availability, 21 days advance ticketing and Saturday night stay. Flexible Rewards are redeemable for flights on American, Delta, United, Continental, Northwest, U.S. Airways and other major airlines. Flexible Rewards cannot be transferred other frequent travel programs.

The points expire after five years. Any points earned in a calendar year will expire on December 31st of the second calendar year following the year during which the points were earned

The points have a monthly and annual cap. There is a limit of 5,000 points that can be earned per month and 60,000 that can be earned each year. Each time you earn 2,500 points you earn a cash rebate for $25 by check that is sent in the mail.

A short grace period. Many credit cards don’t begin to garner interest on purchases until thirty days after purchase. This Visa card only gives you twenty days.

The introductory rate for the Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card is not guaranteed. If you make a late payment on any bill, not just your credit card bill, your introductory 0% rate can be replaced with the costly prime rate. The bank also reserves the right to shorten the term of you introductory period if you do not make a timely or full payment.

No APR is guaranteed with this card. APRs may change to higher APRs, fixed APRs may change to variable APRs, or variable APRs may change to fixed APRs with a month’s notice.

All payments you make to your Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card account will be applied to lower rate balances first. This makes it easy to get into debt.

The introductory rate can be cancelled at the discretion of the Chase Manhattan Bank. You will lose your introductory rate if you exceed your credit limit or are late with a payment or if there is a negative comment on your credit report.

It is way too costly to carry a balance on this card. Thanks to the way the interest is calculated it could be a very expensive card if you did not pay it off in total each month.

Fees To Watch Out For

 

Late payment fee :  $15 on balances up to $100; $29 on balances over $100 up to $250; $39 on balances over $250

Over The Limit fee : $35

Cash advance Fee : 3%, $10 minimum

Balance Transfers:  3%. $5 minimum, $75 maximum

To Summarize –

The Chase Free Cash Rewards Platinum Visa Card has no annual fee, and the interest rate for purchases and balance transfers is reasonable for a reward card (for those who qualify).  The 0% introductory rate offered on purchases and balance transfers for the first twelve months of card membership is also a fair deal. It is also important to not that you may not qualify for the introductory rate at the time of application and that the APR rate is subject to change without warning.

Intro APR	Intro APR Period	Regular APR	Annual Fee	Balance Transfers	Credit Needed
0%	12 Months	14.24%	$0	Yes	Good Credit