Best Chase Credit Cards of December 2019

If you’re looking for the best Chase credit cards, you’re not alone. Chase is a very popular credit card issuer, especially among rewards seekers. We’ve done the research and crunched the numbers. If you’re interested in opening a Chase card, these are the ones worth your time.

Best Chase Credit Cards

Chase Freedom Unlimited
Best Overall, Best for Cash-Back Rewards, Best With No Annual Fee, Best for Financing Large Purchases
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Best for Cost-Conscious Travelers, Best Sign-Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Best for Luxury Travelers
Chase Slate
Best for Balance Transfers
Ink Business Preferred
Best for Businesses

For more details on how we evaluate credit cards for this list, see our methodology.

Our Rating Among Chase Cards

4.5

Full Review

Next Steps

Recommended Credit Score

350 579

580 669

670 739

740 799

800 850

Good - Excellent

Regular APR (%)	16.49% - 25.24% variable
Annual Fee	$0
Rewards Earning Rate	Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase.
INTRO PURCHASE APR	0% for 15 Months
Foreign transaction fee (%)	3%

Why We Chose This Card

Rewards are simple and fruitful with this card, which offers the flexibility of more expensive counterparts with no annual fee. You’ll get a straightforward 1.5% cash back on every dollar you spend, or you can tap into Chase Ultimate Rewards for travel, shopping, or gift cards. Plus, an introductory APR of 0% on purchases and balance transfers gives you a 15-month break on finance charges.

Our Rating Among Chase Cards

4.4

Full Review

Next Steps

Recommended Credit Score

350 579

580 669

670 739

740 799

800 850

Good - Excellent

Regular APR (%)	17.49% - 24.49% variable
Annual Fee	$95
Rewards Earning Rate	2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide
Foreign transaction fee (%)	0%

Why We Chose This Card

For a $95 annual fee, you’ll get impressive travel insurance benefits and a flexible rewards plan that lets you transfer points to partner loyalty programs. You’ll avoid foreign transaction fees, and if you spend $4,000 within the first three months, you'll receive a hefty 60,000-point sign-up bonus worth $750 when used to book travel with Chase Ultimate Rewards (or possibly more when transferred to a partner).

Our Rating Among Chase Cards

4.2

Full Review

Next Steps

Recommended Credit Score

350 579

580 669

670 739

740 799

800 850

Excellent

Regular APR (%)	18.49% - 25.49% variable
Annual Fee	$450
Rewards Earning Rate	Earn 3x points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit, 3X points on dining at restaurants, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Foreign transaction fee (%)	0%

Why We Chose This Card

The sign-up bonus, earned if you spend $4,000 in the first three months, is worth $750 when you redeem points through the Chase travel portal—possibly more if you transfer points to one of the program's travel partners. Pair that with the annual travel-expense reimbursement, and new cardholders can earn more than $1,000 toward travel in the first year, which is an exceptional value for a premium card. You'll have a hefty annual fee, but when you add valuable airport lounge access to the equation, you've got a great option built for luxury travelers.

Our Rating Among Chase Cards

4.1

Full Review

Next Steps

Recommended Credit Score

350 579

580 669

670 739

740 799

800 850

Fair - Excellent

Regular APR (%)	16.49% - 25.24% variable
Annual Fee	$0
Balance Transfer Fee	Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
INTRO BALANCE TRANSFER APR	0% for 15 Months
Intro Balance Transfer Fee	There is an introductory fee of $0 during the first 60 days your account is open.

Why We Chose This Card

Cost savings define this card. If you make a balance transfer within 60 days of opening your account, you’ll get a sweet combination of deals: no balance transfer fee and a 0% APR for 15 months. As an added bonus, this card doesn’t charge an annual fee, so even after the balance transfer promotions expire, you can keep it open year after year to potentially boost your credit portfolio at no cost.

Our Rating Among Chase Cards

4.0

Full Review

Next Steps

Recommended Credit Score

350 579

580 669

670 739

740 799

800 850

Good - Excellent

Regular APR (%)	17.49% - 22.49% variable
Annual Fee	$95
Rewards Earning Rate	Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
Cash Advance APR (%)	26.49%
Cash Advance Fee	Either $15 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

On top of a competitive sign-up bonus, we love how many business expenses this card rewards, which makes it a lucrative option for all sorts of small business owners. Thanks to the uber-flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards program, points are easy to redeem and those interested in booking award travel will relish the point-value boost when redeemed through Chase. You also get expense management tools, cellphone protection, and travel insurance, so this card is well worth its annual fee.

Credit Card Issuers

What Is Chase?

Chase is the largest commercial bank in the U.S. It issues credit cards under its own brand, and with merchants like Amazon, Southwest, United, Marriott, and Disney.

Chase grabs headlines for its travel rewards cards, but the bank also offers good cards for small businesses, earning cash back, and making balance transfers.

Nearly all Chase credit cards are Visa cards, with one Mastercard exception: the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card. Since Mastercard and Visa are both globally accepted card networks, you can use Chase cards easily when traveling internationally.

Note

You’ll need at least a good credit score (670 or higher, by FICO standards) to qualify for most of this bank’s cards. Chase doesn’t offer any secured or student credit cards.

How Chase Ultimate Rewards Work

Ultimate Rewards is Chase’s primary rewards program. It’s available with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Preferred, Ink Business Unlimited, and Ink Business Cash.

Depending on the card, you’ll earn points for each dollar spent, extra points on select purchase categories, flat-rate cash back, or up to 5% back on rotating categories. Chase Ultimate Rewards program points are usually worth 1 cent each, but when the points are redeemed for travel in the Ultimate Rewards portal, they may be worth 1.25 or 1.50 cents each, depending on the card. Chase Ultimate Rewards never expire as long as your card account is open and in good standing.

Ultimate Rewards points are flexible rewards that can be redeemed in many ways, including but not limited to:

Travel
Gift cards
Cash back
Apple merchandise
Amazon.com shopping
Event tickets

Ultimate Rewards aren’t the only rewards associated with Chase cards. Co-branded Chase cards will have rewards programs with select retail brands, like Southwest Rapid Rewards or Starbucks Rewards.

With some cards, points can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio with Chase’s travel partners, which include major airlines and hotel brands like United, Marriott, and Hyatt.

Chase 5/24 Rule

Chase follows an unofficial card application approval process that’s been dubbed the 5/24 rule. If you’ve opened five new credit cards with any issuer in the past 24 months, it’s unlikely you’ll qualify for most Chase cards—even if you have a stellar credit score.

Tip

If you want a Chase card but think you’ll fall afoul of the 5/24 rule, wait for that two-year mark to pass to increase your approval odds and avoid the ding to your credit score of a hard inquiry.

Chase Customer Service

Chase receives fairly good ratings for its customer service and was ranked No. 4 out of 11 major card issuers in the 2019 J.D. Power U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. The bank’s online credit card services and app are ranked just below average in two other 2019 J.D. Power studies.

The Chase customer service phone line is open 24/7, 365 days a year. Chase also offers secure messaging via email and even a designated support account on Twitter.

If you open a Chase credit card, you’ll also have a number of self-service resources at your disposal. View your FICO Score online and via the Chase mobile app for free. You can also track your credit health via Credit Journey, a credit dashboard that summarizes your credit report and credit score, and offers tips on managing credit.

Methodology

We collect data on hundreds of cards and score more than 55 features that affect your finances. We do this because it's our mission to give you unbiased, comprehensive credit card reviews.

Our reviews are always impartial. No one can influence which cards we review, the way we present them to you, or the ratings they receive.

About This List

The Balance editorial team compiled this best card list using the same factors used to evaluate our best overall card rankings, but focused just on cards issued by Chase. We excluded co-branded airline and hotel cards, because knowing the best airline card issued by Chase is only helpful if you fly that airline.

What We Score

Rewards, annual fee, and regular APR are the most important things people consider when choosing a credit card, so we weigh those features most heavily. Beyond limiting this list to cards issued by Chase, we applied the same methodology we use to determine our best overall credit cards. For full details on how we evaluate credit card attributes, check out our full methodology.

Best Chase Credit Cards of December 2019

This popular bank is known for big rewards and better benefits.