Chase Freedom Experimenting With Quarterly Rewards Auto-Enrollment

While flipping through the mail, I recently ran across a missive detailing a test of a new cash back feature for the Chase Freedom Visa card.

As you’re likely aware, many credit cards (including this one) have adopted a rotating bonus category model, where you get 5% on purchase, up to a specified maximum spend limit, in certain categories for a limited time, and 1% on everything else.

In the past, you’ve had to re-enroll each and every quarter to get 5% cashback on the select categories. Annoying. But that’s (hopefully) changing…

Because I’m a “valued Chase Freedom cardmember,” I’ve been invited to participate in a test of a new auto-activation system. In short, I just have to sign up and agree to receive text reminders.

The text reminders (no more than one per month) sound fairly non-invasive; they simply remind you of the reward categories. In return, you’ll be auto-enrolled in the bonus categories each quarter for the remainder of 2012.

If you discontinue the text reminders (which you can do at anytime) you’ll also lose the auto-activation, so you can’t easily game the system.

If you’re interested, you can sign up — but hurry, you have to do so by February 10th to qualify.

Note: According to a reader (thanks Jonathan!), this is a targeted offer, so you may not be eligible. But if you’re interested, it can’t hurt to try signing up.

Don’t forget the $100 bonus…

And don’t forget… If you don’t already have the Chase Freedom Visa card, you can get a $100 cash bonus by applying for one, getting approved, and spending $500 within the first three months from account opening. There’s no annual fee. Technically, you’ll get 10,000 points, but you can easily redeem these for a $100 check.

For what it’s worth, we’ve had this card for years and have never had any problems getting Chase to hold up their end of the bargain. You just log in, request the check, and it shows up in your mailbox within a week or so.