The Only Credit Card You Need for Travel Indulgences in 2019 (Free Money)

Disclaimer: The Chase Credit Card links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you–I will earn a reward if you apply and are approved through my unique link.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited card is the only credit card you need for travel indulgences in 2019. Do you enjoy free money? I do; especially free money used to go on new adventures. We’ve been using a couple different Chase credit cards now for several years and I am convinced that these are the best credit cards for travel indulgences because of the endless options that cash gives you.

Our Chase Rewards Story

We use credit cards for most every day purchases and pay off our balance each month. Costco purchases, gasoline, grocery stores, Target, Amazon, Netflix subscription–you get the picture. We are the type of credit users who do not spend more than what we have in our checking account. And I’m happy to say that we’ve never had an interest charge (#winning).

We got our first credit card through Chase in 2011. They were offering an awesome sign-up bonus much like the one I’m going to tell you about. We used the bonus towards buying John a new snowboard that he still enjoys today. Like when he escaped to Salt Lake City with his friend Jordan and they spent all day on the slopes.

There are some really good credit card options out there–airline specific, mileage deals, hotel points, or just points in general. As someone whose travel varies a lot–by air or ground, we opt for cash back credit cards because of the ability to use it for anything. Air fare, rental cars, Uber, accessories, gasoline, restaurants, train tickets… you name it!

The Free Money Breakdown

Using our Chase card for the past few years has been a great way for us to add in some indulgences on our getaways, or secure an essential vacation component (like rental cars). To give you a picture of what we’ve earned… here’s a look at this month, and even the past few years.

A Normal Month: $53.40 Cash Back

Last month (December 2018) we earned $53.40 in rewards from Chase. This came from normal everyday purchases. You don’t need to do anything special to make this the only credit card you need for travel indulgences in 2019. When redeeming for cash back you can choose to have the money directly applied to your statement (instant), or opt for Chase to send you an actual check by mail (takes longer).

2018 Annual Report: $472.85 Cash Back

In 2018 we earned a total of $472.85 cash back with our Chase card. Seriously! No wonder it’s the only credit card you need for travel indulgences in 2019. What did we spend it on? Well, we used some of it to cover the cost of a rental car for a weekend getaway to Phoenix during the cold Minnesota month of January. Disclaimer: we did not rent this beautiful yellow Chevy Corvette… but I did snap a picture of it while waiting for the Enterprise guys to drive up our mini-van rental. Ha! 😛

The nice thing about using your Chase card to rent vehicles is that you get free Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver.  This means you can decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental
cost to your card. Coverage is provided for theft and collision damage for most cars in the U.S. and abroad (in the U.S., coverage is secondary to your personal insurance). This additional perk makes it the only credit card you need for travel indulgences in 2019. Tell that rental car sales agent “no thanks” with confidence to all that extra insurance they try to sell you.

Best Rental Car Service Tangent

We also used our cash back rewards towards another rental car when we visited friends in Hawaii last May. Side note… we only rent cars through Costco Rental Cars because every time they’ve given us the lowest rate. If you’re a Costco member, you have to check out their rates before finalizing your rental car. I don’t think you’ll find anything cheaper. They give you several options from many trusted brands like Alamo, Budget, and Enterprise.

$1200+ Cash Back in Just Three Years

Long-Term Savings: Another reason it’s the only credit card you need for travel indulgences in 2019

I reviewed our cash back earnings from the past three years from Chase. We averaged over $400 cash back annually. Which is just some really nice free money for buying things we normally buy anyway. To be exact, we earned $1,203.71 in cash back from Chase since January 2016. Not bad, right?

We averaged over $400 cash back annually. Which is just some really nice free money for buying things we normally buy anyway.

We’ve dedicated our cash back to our “Adventure Fund”–money that we set a part to take intentional breaks and vacations. Whether we stay near home or go far away, the free cash affords us an opportunity to indulge a bit where we otherwise would not.

Like when we took a day trip from Phoenix to Sedona for a beautiful mountain biking adventure. We used cash back to pick up a new bike helmet for our son, bike tools from REI, and to cover the gasoline for the drive. Endless options and why it really is the only credit card you need for travel indulgences in 2019.

Apply now to get $150 Free Bonus

Free Bonus: makes this the only credit card you need for travel indulgences in 2019

So here’s the scoop on the current promo. Chase is offering a $150 bonus with Chase Freedom Unlimited. We love this card because it has NO ANNUAL FEE, and you earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase. You can claim that $150 bonus if you spend just $500 on purchases in the first three months from opening the account. This is an easy task for folks like us who use it on everyday purchases like gas, groceries, and recurring bills.

Maybe you already have a preferred rewards credit card. Why not apply anyway? Redirect just $500 of your everyday purchases those first three months and then claim the $150 free bonus. Since there’s no annual fee, there’s no harm done to you in having the additional card!

And apparently for a limited time, you get 0% APR for 15 months on purchases or balance transfers. So if you really do want to use the “credit” aspect of this card… you have 15 months before any icky interest rates penalize you. Just remember to make minimum monthly payments!!

I can be rewarded too if you apply here and are approved for the card. This is a great way to earn cash back that you can use toward anything you need or want for your next adventure.

I sure hope I didn’t sound too much like a used car salesperson and you see how we have genuinely benefited from using Chase Freedom credit cards. The Chase Freedom Unlimited is the only credit card you need for travel indulgences in 2019. What adventure would you spend an extra $400 on?