The Chase Freedom is part of the class of credit cards, including Discover More and Citi Dividend, that offers 5% cash back at select categories, which change every three months. Just the thought of 5% cash back is alluring -- think of it as a 5% discount on purchases. You also get 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Many of the bonus cash-back program encompasses very common spending categories, such as gas, groceries, dining and movie theaters. And, since it doesn’t come with an annual fee, it’s not hard to see why the Chase Freedom card is popular.

Chase Freedom becomes an even better deal if you have a Chase checking account because this “relationship banking” entitles you to certain bonuses.

Annual fee

The Chase Freedom joins the majority of credit cards in touting no annual fee, which is almost expected for a non-travel card that doesn’t offer outlandish perks and features. Also, other similar card options have no annual fee so the Chase Freedom is staying on par.

Other fees/charges

The Chase Freedom card has its fair share of fees, the same kinds that are often found with other credit cards.

Unlike the Citi Dividend Platinum Select and Discover More cards, the Chase Freedom has an over-the-limit fee of up to $35. Citi and Discover will allow cardmembers to spend more than the specified credit line and will approve transactions on a case-by-case basis. Chase simply charges customers whenever they overspend.

Interest rates

With an APR range of 12.99% to 22.99%, the Chase Freedom can be costly for cardmembers that end up at the higher end of that spectrum.

The best way to use a cash-back credit card is not to carry a balance. Since the interest is likely to exceed the cash-back earned, it’s best to handle a Chase Freedom card without a balance.

From time to time, there may be exceptionally enticing sign-up offers for the Chase Freedom card. These offers tend to come with higher-than-normal APRs.

Rewards/Perks

Chase Freedom earns cash back but it is actually recorded in points, which convert to cash in a 1 point to 1 cent ratio. That isn’t such a big deal.

The card has offers a tempting 5% cash back structure, which applies only to certain categories of purchases in the year. These categories change every quarter, but Chase discloses a calendar of the bonus cash back categories. Cardmembers can plan their big-ticket purchases ahead of time to ensure that they get plenty of cash back.

The bonus categories tend to include common purchases such as gas, dining, groceries and movie theaters. In addition to these categories, Chase also hands out 5% cash back at major retailers including Best Buy, Amazon.com, and Kohls -- popular destinations for cardmembers that look to spend a lot of money.

However, Chase has a quarterly spending limit of $1,500 on bonus categories, which equates to a maximum of $75 cash back in these categories per quarter. The regular 1% cash back on all non-bonus purchases is not affected by this limit.

With a Chase checking account, Chase Freedom cardmembers earn an additional 10 points (10 cents) per purchase and a bonus of 0.1% cash back (this perk only applies to non-bonus purchases). So, that’s 1.1% cash back and 10 extra points on every non-bonus purchase.

Like its competitors, Chase requires customers to sign up for 5% cash back. Two weeks before the start of a new quarter, Chase closes enrollment for the current quarter. If you sign up by that deadline, you will receive bonus cash back for eligible purchases in the entire quarter -- the other cards don’t do this.

Misc.

Chase offers mobile apps allow you to view card balances and activity, make payments and check rewards balances.

Also, Chase has a free debt-management program, called Blueprint, which can be used to set up repayment plans. It tracks borrowing, creates budgets and records repayment progress to help keep spending and debt in check.