Best Chase Credit Cards

What Is the History of Chase?

Chase credit cards are issued by Chase Bank, N.A., which itself is part of the retail banking arm of financial services behemoth J.P. Morgan Chase, the largest banking organization in the U.S. and sixth largest in the world. J.P. Morgan Chase has grown over time through the acquisition and merger of multiple large banking organizations, such as Bank One, Chemical Bank, and Washington Mutual in the past 20 years. The biggest of these was the merger of J.P. Morgan and Chase Manhattan Bank in 2000, which resulted in the company's new name and future branding.

Chase issues many rewards cards to consumers, students, and small business owners, with rewards that include both cash back and points. Its cards also provide options for cardholders wishing to transfer balances and manage spending. Chase has partnerships with numerous major airlines, hotels, and retail organizations and offers specialized rewards programs through co-branded credit cards. Partnerships include Amazon, Disney, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.

What Kinds of Credit Cards Does Chase Issue?

Chase issues Visa and Mastercard network-branded cards but not American Express or Discover network-branded cards. It primarily offers rewards credit cards with cash back, generic travel points, and points tied to co-branded partner loyalty programs. It also offers several cards targeted to the small business community, along with a student credit card.

What Type of Credit Is Required for Chase?

Chase generally requires excellent credit for most of its card products but does offer a few cards aimed at those with merely good credit. Chase does not offer cards for fair or bad credit and doesn't have a secured credit card.

What Is the Chase 5/24 Rule?

Chase uses an in-house guideline to manage its card risk, called the 5/24 rule. It limits the number of new accounts an applicant can have opened in the past 24 months to less than five, so bear that limit in mind before you apply. This rule applies to any new credit card accounts, not just those with Chase.

How Does Chase’s Ultimate Rewards Program Work?

Chase issues numerous cards that earn Ultimate Rewards, which can be redeemed for travel, gift cards, Amazon.com gift certificates, and Apple merchandise or transferred to Chase travel partner loyalty programs (like Hyatt, Marriott, and United Airlines), usually on a 1:1 basis. Chase’s premium travel card, Sapphire Reserve, offers a 50% premium on Ultimate Rewards points when they're redeemed for travel through the UR travel portal, while the Sapphire Preferred and Ink Preferred provide a 25% premium.  

The following Chase cards offer Ultimate Rewards:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Chase Ink Preferred
• Chase Freedom 
• Chase Freedom Unlimited
• Chase Freedom Student
• Ink Business Preferred 
• Ink Business Unlimited
• Ink Business Cash

For more details on Ultimate Rewards, please see our Ultimate Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Aside from Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program, the bank offers other rewards cards that include cash back (both flat-rate and ones with bonus cash back on quarterly rotating categories) and partner-based programs like airline, hotel, and retailer loyalty points.

How Good Is Chase Customer Service?

Chase receives relatively good marks for its customer service and earned 807 out of 1,000 points in the 2019 J.D. Power U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. (The average score among major national issuers was 806.) Two other 2019 J.D. Power studies rank the bank’s online application and app above average. Chase offers online resources to help view and track credit reports and manage outstanding debt, along with access to FICO credit scores through its mobile app. 

Methodology

Information Gathering

In order to track and assess the U.S. domestic credit card market, we gather scores of data points on nearly 300 cards. This data is collected manually from both card-issuer websites and publicly available sources. 

To ensure that our information is as up-to-date as possible, we deploy automated tools that monitor changes in such key data as annual percentage rates, introductory rates, introductory periods, bonus offers, rewards earnings rates, fees, and card benefits. We then rapidly make any needed updates to our card listings, reviews, and recommendations to make sure that readers have the most reliable information and advice. 

Initial Scoring

Once we collect credit card data we organize it in our database according to features, which roll up into feature sets (such as rewards, interest, fees, benefits, and security/customer service). Each individual card feature is assigned a star rating score on a 1 to 5 scale using a prescribed formula. For instance, for a one-time bonus score we would use a formula like: If bonus is $500 or greater, then assign a score of 5; if $300-$499, then 4; and so forth. 

Weighting of scores

Once all of a card’s features have received a score we apply a weighting factor to each feature to arrive at a weighted average score for the card (according to the general category in which it resides, such as travel rewards). 

This weighting process allows us to assign significantly more emphasis to the attributes important to a particular category, and downplay those that are less relevant to it. That lets us objectively identify cards that stand out in their category and indicate why they do. For example, with travel rewards cards we apply significantly more weight to such travel-specific features as airport lounge access or primary rental car insurance than we do to attributes such as interest rates or fees that might be more strongly considered for other categories, such as balance-transfer cards.

Earnings rates

Another critical factor we consider when rating and ranking travel cards and other types of rewards cards are the cards’ effective earnings rates. We first calculate the average value of points or miles for all the rewards cards in our database, a painstaking process that entails collecting all airline fare data by carrier across scores of popular domestic and international city-pairs along with per-night hotel charges at all major hotel brands. 

The required points and miles for air travel or hotel stays from the various reward programs is then used to calculate an effective earnings rate for each card. That allows our readers to make the most informed choices. By putting a card’s large one-time bonus or earnings rates into context across many dimensions and card features, readers can more readily weigh the card’s benefits relative to its costs. Uncovering the true but often opaque redemption value of rewards points or miles is, we feel, the only reliable way to make cogent choices among competing value-based cards.  

Card Features We Score

As mentioned above, we place significant weight on certain travel-related features in determining our ratings for each rewards card. Specifically, we base over 50% of our overall assessment score on the combination of the following factors:  

• Maximum value of any one-time bonus, whether in points or miles.
• Initial card spending required to earn any bonus.
• Redemption value of the bonus miles or points.
• Global card acceptance, as detailed by the four card networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover).
• Options to redeem points or miles with travel partners, both airline and hotel.

Another consideration is the cards’ coverage, if any, in these travel-related areas: 

• Car-rental collision insurance, whether primary or secondary.
• Travel accident insurance.
• Lost or delayed luggage insurance.
• Insurance for trip cancellation, interruption, or delay.
• Cell phone loss or damage coverage.
• Roadside assistance and towing.
• Emergency travel medical/dental benefits.

General, non-travel related features that we consider and score include:

• Interest rates, including both introductory and regular APRs for purchases and balance transfers.
• Fees, including those for annual membership, late payments, cash advances, and foreign transactions.
• Security/customer service features.
• Other non-travel benefits, such as access to credit scores, ID theft protection, and contactless payment capability.

How We Reach Our Final Assessments

We rely mostly on the objective scores created by our rating algorithms to determine which card is chosen as the best in each category or subcategory

However, we may make some adjustments from time to time, to both features and weightings that could affect rankings, based on subjective input from our credit card experts. Any potential modifications will be consistent with Investopedia’s belief that consumers are best served by cards that:

• Provide superior value in earning awards.
• Charge reasonable interest rates in the event that the cardholder carries a balance from month to month.
• Charge fewer and/or more reasonable fees.
• Provide solid customer service, based on the number and quality of customer service features.
• Have helpful and protective security features.