Chase Card Services took a chunk out of the opposition in mid-September with the launch of its next generation
Freedom card, the only credit card offering triple awards that are automatically adjusted based on an individual's spending patterns. It's an intelligent card intelligently marketed by an intelligent and modern-thinking issuer.
Here's the basic thrust. If most of the spending on your card takes place in restaurants, drugstores and dry cleaners — suggesting you have a relatively exciting life — then you'll receive triple cash back or triple points automatically whenever you spend in these three 'bonus categories'.
However, if a few months later you start spending more money in pet stores than restaurants (maybe the excitement caught up with you and you subsequently had a nervous breakdown), the 3% cash back or 3 points for every $1 will then be applied each time you purchase some worming tablets rather than a chateaubriand.
Basically, the card rolls with your spending habits
across 15 key categories, while also allowing you to easily switch from cash back to points. OK, there's a ceiling, namely, once you reach $600 in spending in your three bonus categories, you'll revert to the 1% base rebate or 1 base point for each additional
$1 of net
purchases in these categories — the same that you will have been
receiving in all other areas of your spend. But it's still an innovative and exciting new product.
The home page, above, comprises a funky jackpot, which spins the 15 different spending categories when you mouse over and really brings the site to life. And if you want to make applying for a card slightly more entertaining than it usually is, you can also choose to play several rolling remixes of The Rolling Stones' 'I'm Free' by Fatboy Slim and Moby, etc.
But even this isn't as good/fun as the
Learning Centre, which allows you to easily calculate how many rewards or cash back you can earn via a cool interactive drag bar 'thing' (maths was never my forte). OK, it's a little bit gimmicky, but it works well — and makes you feel like you're dealing with a company that has put some thought into its plastic and points.
There's a lot more to the site, too, not least the 'Fun' section, which contains the latest TV spot, a music section allowing you to download your favourite remix of 'I'm Free' to your mobile phone or buy it via iTunes, and a 'Freedom Stories' tab containing humorous video shorts. OK, these are a little superfluous but I think superfluous works in this context: the message is, hey, there's more to us than just cards — we're people with a sense of humour and here's some kind of random content to prove it. Contingency, if you like, is king.
All in all, this is a fun, friendly and warm website promoting a strong and market-superior product. It's almost guaranteed to go down well.
If you need a bit of light entertainment before applying for your Freedom card, watch one of a handful of delightfully superfluous video shorts.
