The Chase Freedom Flex® and Discover it® Cash Back card are close rivals. Let's take a closer look at how they compare on key perks.
Chase Freedom Flex vs. Discover it® Cash Back annual fee
Both cards have no annual fee. However, if you like to travel abroad, Discover it® Cash Back takes it a step further and also has no foreign transaction fee. The Chase Freedom Flex®, for its part, charges a foreign transaction fee of 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars.
Winner: Discover it® Cash Back
Chase Freedom Flex vs. Discover it® Cash Back welcome offer
Chase Freedom Flex® gives you the kind of welcome offer you'd expect on a cash back credit card. New cardholders can earn a $200 bonus when they spend $500 on purchases within the cards' first 3 months.
The Discover it® Cash Back card offers an unique welcome offer -- an unlimited cash back match for all new cardholders. This means Discover will match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Better yet, there's no cap on how much you can earn. If you earned $150, Discover would match it for a total of $300. This unlimited earning potential gives the Discover it® Cash Back quite an edge over the Chase Freedom Flex®, as cardholders could easily double, triple, or quadruple that card's $200 bonus.
Winner: Discover it® Cash Back
Chase Freedom Flex vs. Discover it® Cash Back intro APR
There's not much fierce competition here. Both cards offer a 0% intro APR period of 15 months for new purchases and balance transfers. Once this period ends, both cards revert to a regular, much higher APR. With the Discover it® Cash Back you'll pay a 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR at the end of the intro period. With the Chase Freedom Flex® you'll pay the standard 20.49%-29.24% Variable APR at the end of the intro period.
Winner: Tie
Chase Freedom Flex vs. Discover it® Cash Back rewards
So far, the Discover it® Cash Back card has been packing quite the punch. But when it comes to earning cash back, the Chase Freedom Flex® pulls ahead.
For its part, the Discover it® Cash Back earns a bonus 5% back on rotating, quarterly categories (up to $1,500 spent) that you must activate. In the past, these categories have included restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, and Amazon.com, among others. It also earns an unlimited 1% cash back on other purchases.
In a similar manner, the Chase Freedom Flex® also earns 5% back on rotating, quarterly categories (up to $1,500 spent) that you activate. Its bonus categories are similar to Discover's, though the cards rarely run the same bonus category at the same time. Plus, the Chase Freedom Flex® also earns an unlimited 3% back on drugstores and dining, including takeout and eligible delivery service, 5% back on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, and 5% on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025.
It's also worth noting that Chase Freedom Flex® comes with a full suite of valuable insurance, including cellphone protection, purchase protection, extended warranty protection, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and auto rental collision damage waiver. Meanwhile, Discover credit cards haven't had travel insurance since 2018.
Winner: Chase Freedom Flex®