Chase Slate Edge card review: Reduce debt and raise your credit score

Chase Slate Edge overview

The Chase Slate Edge is tailored to consumers who want to improve their financial profile by reducing their credit card debt or raising their credit score. This card comes with a lengthy introductory annual percentage rate (APR) period to help you avoid interest for 18 months, plus several other incentives after you make consistent on-time payments. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐

Here at The Points Guy, we know that the right credit card can unlock a whole suite of benefits and rewards that are simply not available when you use a debit card instead.

But there’s one major caveat: In order to avoid credit card interest fees, you must first pay your balance on time and in full. Therefore, if you currently have credit card debt, your first step should be to prioritize reducing your account balance.

Fortunately, there are tools to help you avoid an exorbitant amount of interest and late fees. One of these is the Chase Slate Edge credit card, which has no annual fee and is designed specifically for those who want to reduce their debt and raise their credit score over time.

Chase Slate Edge welcome offer

The Chase Slate Edge doesn’t come with a sign-up bonus, but it does offer an introductory APR offer on purchases and balance transfers.

Chase Slate Edge benefits

While you won’t earn any points or cash back with the Chase Slate Edge, this card is intended to help rebuild your credit from the ground up.

As mentioned, there’s a 0% introductory APR period on purchases and balance transfers for the first 18 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers (then a variable APR of 20.24%-28.99% applies). This means you can transfer your account balance from your existing credit cards to the Chase Slate Edge and enjoy a sweet 0% interest rate for a limited time.

While you’ll face an introductory balance transfer fee of $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater during the first 60 days (then $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater thereafter), this 18-month period gives you time to strategically pay off your balance as quickly as possible without accruing any other interest.

After the introductory period, you’ll face a variable APR of 20.24%-28.99% on any remaining balance. Fortunately, the Slate Edge will automatically consider you for a 2% APR reduction if you spend $1,000 by your next account anniversary and make on-time payments.

There’s another incentive to pay on time with the Slate Edge: you’ll enjoy an automatic credit line increase by spending $500 in the first six months. The opportunity to gain an increased credit line is good news for those who need access to a higher limit and want to reduce their debt-to-credit ratio — which makes up 30% of your FICO credit score.

Finally, Chase offers user-friendly tools such as Credit Journey and My Chase Plan to help you manage your debt and track progress toward your financial goals.

To sum it up, while you won’t earn any enticing rewards with this card, it’s more important to focus on reducing your debt and avoid any ancillary fees first — and the Chase Slate Edge delivers the tools you need to do that.

Which cards compete with the Chase Slate Edge?

Several simple starter cards compete with the Chase Slate Edge.

If you want more rewards: The Citi® Double Cash Card (see rates and fees) has no annual fee but offers cardholders the opportunity to earn valuable cash-back rewards. You earn 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay off your balance for those purchases. That’s a considerable 2% rewards rate on all your purchases, which can certainly add up to more money in your pocket over time. For more information, read our full review of the Double Cash.
If you have a low credit score: You may want to consider a secured credit card, like the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card (see rates and fees). This card allows you to define your credit limit by putting down a fully refundable deposit of up to $1,000. You’ll be automatically considered for a credit line increase after six months, incentivizing users to hone in on their credit usage strategies and rebuild their credit scores. For more information, read our full review of the Capital One Secured.

For additional options, check out our full list of the best secured cards.

Read more: What is a secured credit card?

Is the Chase Slate Edge worth it?

If one of your immediate goals is to reduce credit card debt, the Chase Slate Edge can be a crucial tool to unlock financial freedom once and for all. It’s a great option if you’re trying to rebuild your credit score. Just note that you won’t earn cash-back, points or miles on your purchases, though.

Bottom line

Not only will the Chase Slate Edge help you rebuild your credit and establish healthy credit habits, but you can then move on to bigger and better credit cards that can help you earn maximum rewards on all your purchases. The card’s lengthy introductory APR period, plus other incentives to help you make on-time payments, make it a worthy addition to any beginner’s wallet.

Apply here: Chase Slate Edge

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.