Credit Cards
Written By Ethan Andrews
If you’re looking to make the most of your credit card rewards and benefits, you’ve probably seen and heard about many different credit cards from Chase Bank, and for good reason: Chase has an extensive lineup of cards designed to cater to different spending habits and financial goals! Whether you're a frequent traveler, a cashback enthusiast, or you have a favorite travel brand, Chase likely has a card for you.
But the issue with having so many possible cards to choose from and apply for is that it can often be overwhelming to actually determine which ones are right for you! That's why we’ve come up with a complete Chase credit card “tier list” to help you rank the cards and figure out which ones you should consider adding to your wallet. We have thoroughly evaluated each card based on a wide variety of factors including reward rates, annual fees, introductory offers, additional perks, and much more to help you make an informed decision.
For those who are unfamiliar with tier lists, they are a helpful way of visually ranking a large variety of items on a single screen. To place them in their tier, each card will get one of the following rankings:
S (Super) –One of the best cards out there
A (Very good) - A great card to have with minimal downsides
B (Okay) - A good card, but there may be better out there for some people
C (Not Great) - An okay card, but it may have value for unique purposes/certain people
F (Bad) - Avoid this card unless you have a specific reason for getting it
For this tier list, we’re going to focus exclusively on personal cards (as opposed to business cards), as comparing business and personal cards isn’t particularly helpful or informative for most people.
With that background out of the way, let’s jump into the tier list! We show the full card tier list at the end of the article.
The Ultimate Chase Credit Card Tier List
1. Chase Freedom Unlimited
The Chase Freedom Unlimited (CFU) is not only one of the most widely used Chase cards out there, but also one of the most popular credit cards overall, and for two good reasons: simplicity and usefulness. This credit card offers a flat 1.5% cash-back on all your purchases, regardless of spending category. While this is an incredibly useful benefit for anyone with a cash-back set-up, the cash-back earnings can also be converted directly to points for anyone with one of the Sapphire cards (the points can be combined to maximize your rewards).
This card also has no annual fee, making it a no-brainer for anyone operating within the Chase ecosystem. This card also offers a decent sign-on bonus of $200 after you spend $500 in the first 3 months of having the card. The only real downside to this card is that it has foreign transaction fees (FTFs), meaning that it shouldn’t be used for any purchases outside the USA.
Summary: A card that can help almost anyone in the USA
CFU Tier: S
2. Chase Freedom Flex
The Chase Freedom Flex has an interesting benefit in that it offers 5% back on specific categories that change every quarter (~3 months). This means that depending on the quarter, this card can be anywhere from an F to an S-tier credit card. For instance, from July to September of 2023, this card gives 5% back at gas stations and EV charging—two incredibly useful areas of spending. However, those benefits only last for a few months before the categories change, so you need to make the most of it while you can.
In theory, the benefits of the rotating 5% can be helpful, especially if it lines up with what you already spend money on. But in reality, the added difficulty of tracking categories does add a bit of a hassle compared to the Freedom Unlimited. Luckily, this card also has no annual fee and gives a sign-on bonus of $200 after you spend $500 in the first 3 months of having the card, which means it’s still a good card to hold, especially if you also have a Sapphire card and the CFU. However, this card does have foreign transaction fees.
Summary: A useful but slightly tricky card to manage
CFF Tier: A
3. Chase Freedom Rise
The Chase Freedom Rise is one of the newest Chase cards out there, but is much less exciting than the rest of the Freedom card line-up; unlike the CFU and CFF, the Rise is pretty much exclusively for helping to build credit. The simplest way to describe this card is that it is the baby brother of Freedom Unlimited; similar to the CFU, this card does give 1.5% cash-back on all purchases and has no annual fee. However, that is where the benefits end. While it’s great that Chase has a new card to help welcome new people into the Chase ecosystem (and is a pretty good entry-level card at that), this card is going to do nothing for most people out there. It’s good for what it is, but that isn’t saying much.
Summary: An entry-level Chase card with too limited benefits to help any non-beginners
CFR Tier: C
4. Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) is the flagship card of the Chase card line-up, and for good reason. The CSP is largely regarded as the perfect beginner travel card, hitting the balance pretty much dead-on between the benefits it offers and the difficulty/cost of having the card. With an annual fee of only $95, this card gives you 3x points on your spending for all dining, 2x points for all travel, 1x points for everything else, and a few bonuses in specific spending categories. As well, this card has a massive sign-on bonus of 60,000 points after you spend $4000 in the first 3 months of having the card (with the bonus sometimes going as high as 80,000 points), helping to jump-start any novice credit card junkie’s point collection. Chase’s travel partners are some of the best in the game (including point transfers to popular brands like Hyatt), allowing you to get the most value out of your point spending. To top it off, the CSP gives you a $50 hotel credit to use annually.
The CSP comes with no foreign transaction fees, every type of travel protection you could ask for, and a dedicated customer service line. There’s a reason that you either already have this card or know someone who does: pure, sweet, travel effectiveness. This card rivals many of the popular cards from other brands (such as the Bilt Rewards card), and no matter what your card setup is like, there is probably a place in your wallet for the CSP.
Summary: An easy-to-use yet incredibly effective travel card
CSP Tier: S
5. Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) is the big brother to the Sapphire Preferred; however, unlike the CSP which is designed as more of a jack-of-all-trades card, the CSR is a full-commit complete travel card with lounge access through Priority Pass, huge spending bonuses (3x points on travel, 3x points on dining, then 10x/5x points on travel booked through the Chase portal), as well as lots of other travel benefits (including a $300 annual travel credit and a $100 credit for TSA-Pre/Clear).
So what’s the downside? You pay a premium to hold this card (the annual fee for this card is a whopping $550) and are forced to book all your travel through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards travel portal in order to actually get the value this card offers. If you already book most of your travel through the portal or don’t mind dealing with a third-party service if things go wrong and the slightly limited travel options, this card can actually be an S-tier credit card, giving you significant savings and massive returns on your points (1.5x point value for all travel redemptions through the portal). However, if you are at all hesitant to book travel through the portal (which I will admit, I am) or don’t spend a ton on travel and food, this card is tricky to justify. While I recognize that many people like this card and it’s excellent for certain groups, I think too many people get it and are not able to get enough value out of it to make the fee worth it. It may be a hot take, but this card really only makes sense for particular people.
Summary: An all-out travel card that is incredible for specific groups of people
CSR Tier: B
6. Prime Visa/Amazon VISA
The Amazon VISA and the Prime VISA are two cards co-branded between Chase and Amazon. Both offer a largely similar set-up, with the Prime card offering better benefits and more rewards across almost every aspect of the card. Both cards offer 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting. However, the Prime card offers 2% more cash-back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods (5% with the Prime card vs. 3% with the Amazon card) and $150 more for the sign-up bonus ($200 vs. $50). Both cards have no annual fee, a similar interest rate, and otherwise function exactly the same. Unless you have a bad credit score, there is no reason to get the Amazon VISA over the Prime VISA.
If you do most of your shopping within the Amazon network (e.g., Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods), then these cards can actually be pretty beneficial if you prioritize cash-back. However, if you do more than 20% of your shopping literally anywhere else, there may be better cards out there for you. But, given the simplicity of these cards, the lack of annual fees, and the bonuses for common spending items (gas stations, restaurants, local transit), no one could fault you for getting the Prime card, especially as a beginner.
Summary: Good cards for Amazon purchases and very basic cash-back set-ups
Amazon VISA Tier: C
Prime VISA Tier: B
7. Southwest Rapid Rewards VISAs
Southwest has 3 co-branded credit cards with Chase: the Rapid Rewards Plus, Rapid Rewards Premier, and the Rapid Rewards Priority. These three cards are all centered around earning you Southwest points, with each version giving you slightly better benefits at the expense of a higher annual fee. The cheapest of the cards, the RR Plus, gives you 2x points on specific travel categories (e.g., local transit), as well as internet and cable, all for a $69 annual fee. The RR Premier then gives 3x points on Southwest purchases, as well as slightly improved benefits and annual cardmember anniversary bonus, for a $99 annual fee. Finally, the RR Priority is almost identical to the Premier, but also gives a $75 annual Southwest flight credit, for an annual fee of $149. Interestingly, all 3 of these cards have the exact same sign-on bonus of 50,000 Southwest points after you spend $1000 within 3 months of getting the card.
If you actually fly Southwest, there is no reason to get the Premier whatsoever, since the flight credit from the Priority makes it a much better deal. However, getting a lot of value with your Southwest points can be tricky, so unless you’re a Southwest frequent flier or live near a Southwest hub, there are other cards on this list that will get you more value.
Summary: 3 cards that are largely only good for those who already fly Southwest frequently
Rapid Rewards Plus Tier: B
Rapid Rewards Premier Tier: F
Rapid Rewards Priority Tier: B
8. United MileagePlus VISAs
United has four co-branded Chase cards: the Gateway, the Explorer, the Quest, and the Infinite, with each progressively increasing in benefits and annual fees. Unsurprisingly, these cards are all extremely useful in helping you earn United miles. The cheapest of the cards, the Gateway, gives you 2x points on United purchases, gas stations, and local commuting, and a 30,000-mile sign-on bonus when you spend $1,000 on the card in the first 3 months, all for no annual fee. The next card in the line is the Explorer, which gives you 2x points on United purchases, dining, and hotels, along with a slight increase in the sign-on bonus to 60,000 miles after you spend $3,000. As well, the Explorer gives you and a companion a free checked bag and priority boarding on every flight you take, all for just $99 (and is actually free for the first year)!
The next card up is the Quest, which has an annual fee of $250 but gives you a range of United benefits, including a $125 annual travel credit, a 5,000-mile anniversary credit, and 2 free checked bags on all flights. As well, you get 3x miles on United purchases, then 2x miles on all travel, dining, and streaming services. The sign-on bonus for the Quest is also substantial, giving you 70,000 miles and 500 Premier qualifying points (for status) after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. If you use the travel credit, the effective annual fee for this card is only $125!
The final of the United cards is the Infinite, which will cost you a whopping $525, but gives you a range of United benefits including a United Club membership, two free checked bags, and premier access travel services. As well, this card gives you 4x miles on United purchases and 2x miles on travel and dining. This card also gives the biggest sign-on bonus of all the cards, giving you 80,000 miles and 1,000 premier qualifying points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of having the card.
Overall, the range of United cards can give you a ton of value regardless of your current United status. For most people, the Explorer or Quest will make the most sense, but the flexibility of having the cheaper Gateway and the more expensive Infinite is a great bit of variety to help. The Infinite is probably going to be too expensive for most people, but for United frequent fliers, it’s the ultimate card to have. Similarly, the Gateway doesn’t offer quite enough to make it one of the top cards, but is still a great card for anyone on a budget.
Summary: An excellent range of cards that has enough variety to have something for everyone
Gateway Tier: B
Explorer Tier: A
Quest Tier: A
Infinite Tier: A
9. Air Canada Aeroplan Mastercard
Next up is the only co-branded card between Air Canada and Chase Bank, the Air Canada Aeroplan Mastercard. This card gives you 3x miles on grocery stores, dining, and flights on Air Canada plus an additional 500 points for every $2,000 you spend a month. Cardholders also get Aeroplan 25K status for two years, free checked bags, and a sign-on bonus of 50,000 Aeroplan miles after they spend $3,000 in the first 3 months of having the card, all for an annual fee of just $95.
If you fly Air Canada more than once a year, this card is a no-brainer, giving you great spending categories, a good sign-on bonus, and a surprisingly nice range of benefits for a card this cheap. If you don’t fly Air Canada, it may seem like this card doesn’t make sense for you; however, Air Canada miles can be used to book all airlines in the Star Alliance, including United. Therefore, this card can be an exceptional option for anyone who uses Star Alliance.
Summary: A surprisingly good card with a good variety of applications
Aeroplan Tier: A
10. Marriot Bonvoy VISAs
Marriott Bonvoy has 3 co-branded credit cards with Chase Bank, the Bold, the Boundless, and the Bountiful (Marriott loves their “B” names). These three cards offer extremely high spending multipliers, particularly on stays at Marriott properties. However, as we discuss these cards, it’s important to remember that Marriott points are generally inflated, and are worth less than almost any airplane miles or a Chase point.
The entry card of the Marriott set is the Bonvoy Bold. The Bold gives cardholders a whopping 14x points on Marriott spending, plus 2x points on all travel. This card also offers automatic Marriott Silver Elite status (via 15 elite night credits) and a sign-on bonus of 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in your first 6 months, plus an additional 50,000 points after you stay for 6 nights at Marriott properties. While the rewards on this card are decent (but not amazing), there is one more benefit: the card has no annual fee. Therefore, if you stay at Marriott properties even once a year, this card can be worth holding onto.
The mid-level card is the Bonvoy Boundless. This card offers cardholders a crazy 17x points on Marriott spending, plus 3x points on the first $6,000 spent each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining, and then 2x points on everything else. You also get a free night every year you hold the card, but only at certain qualifying hotels. Similar to the Bold, the Boundless card offers free Silver Elite status and a sign-on bonus of 75,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 6 months, plus an additional 50,000 points after you stay for 6 nights at Marriott properties. For only $95 a year, this card can easily pay for itself with the free stay alone, so is a great option for any casual to moderate Marriott fans!
The elite card of the set is the Bonvoy Bountiful. This card offers 18.5x points on Marriott spending, 4X points for the first $15,000 on purchases each year at grocery stores and on dining, and 2x points on everything else. Cardholders also get automatic Gold Elite status at Marriott properties, 1,000 extra points per stay, and a free night every year after $15,000 in spending, valid at hotels worth up to 50,000 points. Given that the annual fee for this card is $250, unless you stay at Marriot properties exclusively and multiple times throughout the year or put all your spending on this card (or both), one of the other Marriott cards will likely make more sense for you.
Summary: A decent range of hotel cards that cater more to those who stay exclusively at Marriott properties.
Bonvoy Bold Tier: B
Bonvoy Boundless Tier: B
Bonvoy Bountiful Tier: C
11. IHG One Rewards Premier/Traveler Mastercard
Moving onto another set of hotel credit cards, IHG has 2 co-branded credit cards with Chase: the One Rewards Traveler and the One Rewards Premier. Starting with the cheaper of the two cards, the Traveler, this card gives you 17x points on stays at IHG properties (such as Holiday Inn), 3x points on dining, utilities, select streaming, and at gas stations, 2x points on everything else. As well, cardholders get automatic Silver Elite status, which can be upgraded to Gold Elite status after spending $20,000 on the card, all for no annual fee! Finally, whenever you redeem points for a four-night stay at an IHG property, you can receive a fourth Reward Night free, and you get 10,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 on purchases in a year. For a sign-on bonus, you can get 80,000 Bonus Points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months of having the card.
On the other hand, the One Rewards Premier gives cardholders 26x points on IHG properties, 5x points on travel, dining, and gas stations, and 3x points on everything else. As well, this card gives a free night every year, automatic Platinum Status, a free fourth night when you book three consecutive nights with points, and a $100 statement credit and 10,000 points after you spend $20,000 per year. In terms of sign-on bonus, the Premier card gives 140,000 Points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months of having the card, while the annual fee is $99.
While I can’t deny that these cards are very good options for people who stay frequently at IHG properties, the inflation of the IHG point system is boarding on ridiculous at this point; for a card to be able to offer 26x point spend, the points have got to be worth very little. For that reason, I don’t think these cards are great options for anyone who doesn’t already stay frequently at IHG properties.
Summary: Decent cards that are trapped by an inflated points system
Traveler Tier: C
Premier Tier: C
12. Disney Visa/Disney Premier Visa
Disney has two co-branded credit cards with Chase Bank, the Disney VISA and the Disney Premier VISA. These cards have fairly similar set-ups: they both have statement credits as a sign-on bonus ($150 after spending $500 for the base card and $300 after spending $1000 for the Premier), 0% APR for 6 months on select Disney vacation packages, 10% off on select Disney purchases, and 1% back in Disney Reward dollars. However, the Premier card also gives $13.99 per month on select streaming services for up to 3 consecutive months, 5% back in certain online spending, and 2% back at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and most Disney U.S. locations. Additionally, the Premier lets you redeem your rewards dollars for a statement credit towards airline travel. The base Disney card has no annual fee, while the Premier has a $45 annual fee.
The bottom line of this one is simple: unless you both spend on Disney products and go to Disney properties multiple times a year, these cards aren’t going to be helpful for you.
Summary: Only Disney superfans will benefit from these cards.
Disney VISA Tier: F
Disney Premier VISA Tier: C
13. World of Hyatt VISA
Despite Hyatt being one of the most popular hotel chains at which to redeem points, the World of Hyatt credit card is Hyatt’s only personal credit card currently available. This credit card gives 9x points on all Hyatt spending and 2x points on restaurants, flights, local travel, and gym memberships. Also, this card gives you automatic Discoverist status with Hyatt, a free night at a category 1-4 Hyatt property every year, and a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Hyatt points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months (plus an additional 2x points per dollar up to another 30,000 points), all for just $95 a year. One of Hyatt’s biggest selling points is its partnership with Chase, allowing you to transfer your Chase points directly to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio.
Overall, this card is a no-brainer for anyone who wants to stay at a Hyatt property even once per year. If you use the free night, you’re almost guaranteed to make up the value of the annual fee! Make sure to check out our full review of the World of Hyatt card to learn more!
Summary: Arguably the best hotel credit card available
World of Hyatt VISA Tier: A
14. British Airways/Aer Lingus/Iberia VISAs
While there are technically three different cards here, they are almost exactly the same beyond the card branding. Each of these cards offers 3x Avios for spending on flights, 2x Avios for spending on hotels, a free companion pass/flight credit when you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year, a $95 annual fee, and a sign-up bonus of 75,000 Avios when you spend $5000 on the card in the first 3 months of having the card. The only differences are as follows:
BA card: Offers a 10% discount on flights from the USA to London and up to a $200 statement credit when you book a flight to London with points and pay the fees/taxes.
Aer Lingus card: Offers priority boarding for all flights on Aer Lingus.
Iberia Plus card: Offers a 10% discount on all flights.
Of these cards, the British Airways card is probably the most valuable, while the Aer Lingus is the least (unless you really value priority boarding). However, Avios are inherently difficult to use—and the Avios booking website is one of the most janky websites I’ve ever used for bookings—which deflates the value of these cards. Realistically, these cards are pretty mid-tier unless you are planning to fly specific routes on these airlines multiple times per year. Summary: Three average airline credit cards that only make sense for frequent fliers or big spenders.
British Airways VISA Tier: B
Aer Lingus VISA Tier: B
Iberia Plus VISA Tier: B
15. DoorDash Rewards Mastercard
Next up, we have one of the newer Chase co-branded cards: the DoorDash Rewards Mastercard. With this card, you get free Dashpass membership for a year (which they say is worth $96 a year), 4% back on DoorDash orders, 3% back on restaurants, and 2% back on grocery stores. While this card has no annual fee, in order to keep the Dashpass membership, you have to spend a whopping $10,000 on the card in a year. Frankly, I’m not sure why this card exists, especially when the Chase Sapphire Preferred we mentioned earlier gives you a Dashpass membership for no added fee. Unless you are a daily Doordash user and can benefit from the consistent cash-back, this card is not going to make much sense for most people, and definitely not anyone who has the Sapphire Preferred.
Summary: A card that can only bring value to those who order Doordash multiple times per week
DoorDash Rewards Mastercard Tier: F
16. Instacard Mastercard
Another of the co-branded food service cards, the Instacart Mastercard is the next Chase credit card on our list. This card gives you a free year of Instacart+ (to clarify, just one year), a $100 Instacart credit, 5% cash-back on Instacart, 5% cash-back on Chase travel, and 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and on select streaming services. While it’s nice that this card has no annual fee, we run into the same problem as the Doordash card. With the biggest benefit being the cash-back when using the services, unless you use Instacart already for your grocery shopping, this card isn’t going to do much for you. Many people often complain that the fees and price raises for ordering groceries on Instacart are substantial, so even with the cash-back, you may not be coming out ahead. However, the $100 credit is a nice touch and just tips this card from being at the bottom of the group.
Summary: For only those who already use Instacart as their primary means of getting groceries.
Instacart Mastercard Tier: C
Summary
There we have it! The complete Chase Bank credit card tier list, with every single Chase personal credit card (except the Slate Edge, which is exclusively for helping to build credit—not relevant to the list).
Where do you agree and disagree? Let us know in the comments below! And if you want to rank your own Chase card tier list, make sure to email us a picture at contact@etapoints.com.
Ethan Andrews
