Our Verdict
The Chase Freedom Rise℠’s combination of no annual fee, no required deposit, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase make it a competitive offer amongst credit-building cards. It offers additional benefits like trip interruption/protection coverage and extended warranty protection, and if you have a limited credit history you can boost your odds of approval by having a Chase checking account with at least $250 before applying. Once approved you’ll have access to Chase Pay Over Time℠, an interesting perk that amounts to low-fee financing on purchases over $100.
Pros
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- $0 annual fee
- Trip cancellation/interruption coverage
- 5% back on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025
- Low-cost financing on purchases over $100 with Chase Pay Over Time℠
Cons
- No bonus categories (except for Lyft)
- High APR
- Foreign transaction fee of 3% of the amount of each transaction in U.S. dollars.
- May not be eligible for balance transfers
- Increased odds of approval for depositing money in a Chase checking account, which requires an extra step that may or may not help you get the card
Highlights
- Increase your approval chances – Having a Chase checking or savings account with a balance of at least $250 will increase your chances of getting approved for Chase Freedom Rise℠
- Earn Cash Back – With Chase Freedom Rise℠, you can start building credit while earning 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open and there is no minimum to redeem for cash back.
- Earn a $25 statement credit after signing up for automatic payments within the first three months of opening your account. With automatic payments, just pick a date and dollar amount to make sure your Credit Card gets paid on time.
- Credit Limit Increase – As a Chase cardmember, you’ll be evaluated for a credit line increase in as soon as 6 months. Your credit line is the maximum amount of money you can spend on your Freedom Rise℠ Card
- Free Credit Score – Track your credit score and learn how to build it with Chase Credit Journey.
- No Annual Fee – You won’t have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Rise℠ card.
- Member FDIC
Introduction
The Chase Freedom Rise℠ offers almost everything an entry-level credit card user could want. With unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, no annual fee, the added perk of trip cancellation/interruption coverage, and, perhaps most surprising for those with little or no credit, there is no need for a security deposit. If you want to improve your odds of approval, you do have the option of opening a Chase checking account with a balance of at least $250.
While this card represents an attractive choice to those who are just entering (or re-entering) the world of credit cards, it doesn’t offer much beyond the features listed above. If you have good credit or better you can start dabbling in a much deeper pool of potential rewards, such as more expansive travel benefits and bonus categories for your cash-back earnings, plus significantly lower APRs than the Chase Freedom Rise℠’s 26.99% variable APR.
The Chase Freedom Rise℠ does not offer a welcome bonus as such, but it does offer a few modest perks including a $25 statement credit after signing up for automatic payments within the first three months of account opening, and three complimentary months of membership in Instacart+ (enroll by July 31, 2024) and DoorDash DashPass (activate by Dec. 31, 2024). However, if you do not cancel those memberships they will automatically roll over into paid memberships. Frequent travelers may not appreciate this card’s 3% of the amount of each transaction in U.S. dollars. foreign transaction fee.
Featured Partner Offers
Quick Facts
- $0 annual fee
- 1.5% cash back on every purchase
- 5% back on Lyft through March 2025
- 3 months of complimentary DashPass and Instacart+ memberships
- 26.99% Variable APR
- Chase Pay Over Time℠ and My Chase Loan℠ financing options
- Trip cancellation/interruption coverage
Chase Freedom Rise Rewards
Earning Rewards
The Chase Freedom Rise℠ offers a straightforward 1.5% cash back on every purchase, accumulated as points that will be listed on every statement. This card has only a single, specific bonus category: You get an extra 3.5% back on purchases through Lyft, for a total of 5% back (through March 2025).
The Chase Freedom Rise℠ offers a $25 statement credit after signing up for automatic payments within the first three months of account opening.
Redeeming Rewards
You can redeem your accumulated points in a variety of ways, including cash back, travel purchases through Chase Travel, and gift cards. Or, you combine points with your other eligible Chase cards that have Chase Ultimate Rewards® for an array of other products and services.
For cash, gift cards and purchases through Chase Travel, your points redeem at a standard value of 1 cent per point or 100 points per dollar. However, keep an eye on the points cost of anything else you want to redeem: Sometimes those items come at a lower redemption value.
Rewards Potential
To arrive at this number, Forbes uses data from various government agencies to determine baseline income and spending averages across various categories. A typical household that is newer to credit brings in $95,450 annually and has $30,974 in annual expenses that can reasonably be charged to credit cards.
Assuming all $30,974 is charged to this card, you would earn a total of of $464.61 in cash back over the course of a typical year.
The Chase Freedom Rise℠ offers just one long-standing bonus rewards category—5% back on Lyft rides. If you were to spend a typical public transit budget—$451 a year—on Lyft rides instead, you’d earn an additional $15.79 back in that spending category and bring your total year of rewards to $480.40
Other Chase Freedom Rise Benefits
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance. Reimbursement up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for prepaid, non-refundable fares.
- Extended warranty protection. Get an additional year of warranty coverage, on qualifying warranties of three years or less.
- Zero liability. You aren’t responsible for unauthorized charges made to your card.
- Fraud alerts. Be notified of unusual activity by phone, text or email.
- Purchase protection. New purchases are covered against damage and theft for up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Chase Pay Over Time℠. Split eligible purchases over $100 into equal, interest-free monthly payments with a low, fixed monthly fee (up to 1.72% of the total purchase); you still earn rewards.
- My Chase Loan. Essentially a fee-free cash advance.
- 3 months of complimentary DashPass and Instacart+ memberships. After three months, these automatically convert to paid memberships unless you cancel.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 26.99% Variable
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual fee: $0
- Balance transfer fee: $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
- Foreign purchase transaction fee: 3% of the amount of each transaction in U.S. dollars.
How the Chase Freedom Rise Stacks Up
Chase Freedom Rise℠ vs. Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is the closest thing to a twin for the Chase Freedom Rise℠, with no deposit required, unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase and 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply), and good approval odds for people with fair credit. But the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card also imposes a $39 annual fee (rates & fees) and a 29.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers, meaning the Chase Freedom Rise℠ has a slight edge in these categories.
However, if you frequently travel abroad, the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card does have a big advantage: No foreign transaction fee. This can save you a lot of money and is something the Chase Freedom Rise℠, with its 3% of the amount of each transaction in U.S. dollars. foreign transaction fee, cannot compete with. Note: You’d have to spend $1,300 abroad for the QuicksilverOne’s lack of a foreign transaction fee to break even with its $39 annual fee.
Chase Freedom Rise℠ vs. Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card*
If your primary interest is stacking the odds of credit card approval in your favor, a secured credit card may be your best bet.
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card* is a secured credit card, and it compares very well to the Chase Freedom Rise℠. The card has no annual fee, but does require an initial deposit of at least $200 to open your credit line. It earns 3% cash back in a category of choice: gas and EV charging, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores or home improvement/furnishings; 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs; unlimited cash back on all other purchases. Earn 3% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter, then earn 1%.
However, there is one key difference in rewards potential between these two credit cards: Chase Freedom Rise℠ has no cap on its rewards earnings, whereas the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card* caps its bonus categories at $2,500 of spending per quarter. Once you spend more than that amount, you stop earning 2% or 3% back (depending on the category) and drop down to a blanket 1% back on all purchases.
Chase Freedom Rise℠ vs. OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
If you’re more concerned only with getting a credit card and don’t care what sort of rewards it offers, you might consider the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card. It’s a secured credit card, which means you need to come up with at least $200 as a deposit, and it doesn’t offer cash-back rewards at all. But, this card does not require a credit check, so this may be an appealing option for those with no credit or damaged credit and few options.
The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card requires an annual fee of $35, in addition to your initial security deposit. If you’d like to skip the annual fee you can bump your security deposit up to $300 and apply for the OpenSky Plus, which has no annual fee and still does not require a credit check.
Interestingly, the interest rates for the two OpenSky cards bracket the Chase Freedom Rise’s rate. The OpenSky Secured Visa has a 25.64% variable APR on purchases, which is fairly low in this credit category, while the OpenSky Plus is generally a few points higher.
Like the other cards mentioned here, OpenSky reports to all three major credit bureaus, which means responsible use of this credit card can help you build a stronger credit rating.
Is the Chase Freedom Rise for You?
If you’re just entering or re-entering the world of credit cards, there are three things that make the Chase Freedom Rise really stand out: It doesn’t have an annual fee, it earns unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, and it offers improved approval odds for opening a Chase checking account and depositing at least $250, although this is not required. If you are new to credit and looking for a simple, straightforward card to get you started, the Freedom Rise is a strong option.
Methodology
Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:
- Annual fees
- Welcome bonus offers
- Ongoing earning rates
- Value of individual points or miles
- Included travel or merchant credits
- Additional cardholder benefits
Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card..
Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor: Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
