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Chase Freedom Flex Is Swapping Cell Phone Protection for Zero Foreign Transaction Fees. Not Much of an Upgrade
July 1, 2025
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Chase quietly updated the Guide to Benefits for the Chase Freedom Flex®, and there's a real change coming for anyone who pays their phone bill with this card. Starting September 20th, 2026, Chase is dropping cell phone protection and replacing it with zero foreign transaction fees.
On paper, that sounds like a fair trade: one perk out, one perk in. But if you actually compare what's being lost against what's being gained, it's a lot less exciting than it looks.
What's Changing on the Freedom Flex
Right now, if you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Freedom Flex, Chase covers eligible damage or theft claims on that phone, no enrollment required, no extra fee. It's one of the more valuable "hidden" perks on a no-annual-fee card, since most free cards don't offer any device protection at all.
After September 20th, 2026, that coverage goes away. Any loss on or after that date won't be covered, though claims approved before the cutoff are still honored. In its place, the card picks up zero foreign transaction fees, meaning you can use it abroad without the usual 3% surcharge on purchases.
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Why This Isn't Actually a Big Win
Here's the catch: zero foreign transaction fees isn't a rare perk anymore. A long list of no-annual-fee cards already waive foreign transaction fees, including:
- Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
- Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Discover It Cash Back Credit Card
- Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card
- Citi Double Cash® Card
If you're someone who travels internationally and wants a no-fee card that also skips foreign transaction fees, you've already had plenty of options. Chase adding this to the Freedom Flex doesn't unlock anything new in the market; it just brings the card in line with cards that have offered this for years.
Cell phone protection, on the other hand, is genuinely uncommon on no-annual-fee cards. Losing it removes one of the few benefits that made the Freedom Flex stand out from other free cash back cards. For someone who doesn't travel abroad often but does drop their phone occasionally, this change is a net loss, not an upgrade.
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Who This Change Actually Helps
To be fair, this isn't bad news for everyone. If you regularly use your Freedom Flex while traveling internationally and don't rely on it for phone protection, the removal of foreign transaction fees is a genuine convenience. You'll no longer need to switch to a different card before a trip abroad.
But for the average cardholder who mainly uses the Freedom Flex domestically for its rotating 5% categories, this change trades a perk they were actively using for one they may never take advantage of.
Cards That Still Have Cell Phone Protection
If cell phone protection is the perk you actually care about, you don't need to give it up. You just need to move your phone bill to a different card. These cards still offer it:
- Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
- One Key+™ Mastercard®
- All three Bilt cards (Bilt Palladium Card (See Rates & Fees), Bilt Obsidian Card (See Rates & Fees), Bilt Blue Card (See Rates & Fees))
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- American Express Platinum Card®
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
One thing to check before switching: if your carrier gives you an autopay discount for paying by bank account, moving your bill to a credit card could cost you that discount. It's worth confirming your carrier's specific terms first.
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Cards That Already Have Zero Foreign Transaction Fees
If it's the fee waiver you actually want, and you're not attached to the Freedom Flex specifically, these no-annual-fee cards already offer it today. No need to wait until September 2026:
- Capital One Quicksilver: flat 1.5% cash back, no foreign transaction fees
- Capital One VentureOne: travel-focused rewards, no foreign transaction fees
- Wells Fargo Active Cash: flat 2% cash back, no foreign transaction fees (and still has cell phone protection)
- Wells Fargo Autograph: bonus categories, no foreign transaction fees (and still has cell phone protection)
- Discover it Cash Back: rotating 5% categories, no foreign transaction fees
- Bank of America Travel Rewards: no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees
- Citi Double Cash: 2% flat cash back, no foreign transaction fees
Worth noting: Wells Fargo Active Cash and Autograph currently offer both no foreign transaction fees and cell phone protection, which is more than the Freedom Flex will offer even after this update.
The Bigger Lesson: Card Benefits Change Quietly
Chase didn't send an email or push notification about this. It just updated a PDF. That's fairly normal: issuers change benefits all the time, and most cardholders only find out when they try to file a claim and get denied.
This is exactly the kind of change that's easy to miss if you're not actively tracking your cards' terms. Kudos tracks benefit and credit changes like this automatically, so you're not relying on catching a quiet PDF update before it costs you a claim.
You can check your own cards' current benefits for free with a Kudos account, and Kudos Premium tracks all your credits and benefits proactively so you're using them before they expire or before they disappear. Learn more about the Kudos Benefits Tracker.
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are those of Kudos alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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