With everyone staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been interesting to see how brands respond. From airlines we’ve seen added flexibility to otherwise inflexible fares. We’ve also seen certain restaurant chains giving out free meals to those in need and front-line workers. Banks have even offered to defer certain term loan payments to help during these uncertain times.
Now, I realize not all of the above examples are perfect. For example, some banks require you to pay all of your deferred payments and regular payments on the same date. Some airlines are changing their definition of cancelled to make it harder to get a refund. Overall though, it feels like tons of companies are trying their best to do the right thing.
Surprisingly, until recently, credit card issuers have been fairly quiet on their plans. This is frustrating, especially as many of us are paying for benefits we can’t use. If card companies don’t offer alternative benefits, it could become much harder to justify paying an annual fee. After all, do I really want to pay $550 for airport lounge access if I can’t go to the airport?
Essentially, I think card issuers will begin to offer expanded benefits to help offset those benefits lost during this pandemic. However, I don’t think we’ll have to wait that much longer as Chase seems to have made the first, fairly significant, change.
Chase Freedom Introduces 5% Cash Back On Delivery
One of the first card issuers I’ve seen expand benefits in response to COVID-19 is Chase. Specifically, Chase is temporarily adding 5% Cash Back for food delivery purchases made with the Chase Freedom card. This 5% Cash Back benefit is in addition to the existing 5% Quarterly Cash Back benefit which currently includes Grocery Stores.
Earlier this week Chase sent out an email to Chase Freedom card holders of the expanded benefits.
The email explained that for a limited time, Chase Freedom card holders can earn 5% Cash Back on all DoorDash and Tock orders until May 31, 2020. What I love about this promotion is that it also helps local businesses that are otherwise unable to serve dine-in customers. However, if that is your motivation, I’d consider ordering directly from the restaurant when available. Most delivery services collect a fee that often eats into the margins of local restaurants. Also, you might end up paying more for your order as restaurants raise their prices on these platforms to offset the fees collected.
In addition to the 5% Cash Back offered on DoorDash and Tock, Chase is also offering 3-months of DoorDash DashPass for free.
Just keep in mind, like other complimentary DashPass trials, by activating this benefit you are enrolling beyond the trial period. So, if you activate the DashPass benefit, remember to cancel if you don’t wish to keep the subscription beyond the trial period.
To take advantage of the 5% Cash Back benefit, all you have to do is use your Chase Freedom card to pay for DoorDash or Tock orders. You’ll earn up to 5% Cash Back on the first $500 in combined purchases. In total, if you maximize this benefit by May 31, 2020, you’ll earn up to $25 in total cash back.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m happy to see Chase offer this benefit, especially on a no annual fee card. A benefit like this not only helps card holders, but also local restaurants. Personally, I’ve tried to order from local restaurants at least once a week. Prior to the pandemic I would have gone out to eat at a local restaurant at least once a week. Since we’re unable to dine-in, I’ve tried to order takeout from a few of my favorite local restaurants that continue to struggle during the stay-at-home order periods.
However, as with most benefits like this one, this is really only a benefit if you were ordering food anyway. this means, I won’t go out of my way to take advantage of this. Instead, if I’m ordering food anyway, I might as well check DoorDash or Tock and pay with my Chase Freedom Card to get 5% Cash Back.
