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

Chase Slate Edge overview

The Chase Slate Edge is tailored to those consumers who want to improve their financial profile, either by reducing their credit card debt or raising their credit score. This card comes with a lengthy introductory 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 existing debt and raise their credit score over time.

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Who is this card for?

If you’ve damaged your credit score and are facing credit card debt, know that you’re not alone. According to My Credit Summit, the average household credit card debt in 2021 was $5,525, while Plutus Pocket indicates this has grown to $5,585 as of June 2022 — and the fees continue to grow the longer you’re unable to pay off your balances.

If you’re a consumer who needs to start reducing your credit card debt, you’re an ideal candidate for the Slate Edge. While you may think applying for another credit card isn’t the way to meet that goal, the Slate Edge comes with an introductory APR offer and other key tools to help you improve your finances.

Related: The best Chase credit cards of 2022

Sign-up bonus

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.

Related: The top no-annual-fee credit cards with a 0% intro APR

Main benefits and perks

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 19.49% to 28.24% applies). This means that 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 19.49% to 28.24% 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 in a timely manner 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 factors in for a whopping 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 your 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.

Related: 6 things to do to improve your credit in 2022

Which cards compete with the Chase Slate Edge?

The Chase Slate Edge’s direct competitor is the Citi® Double Cash Card, which also 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.

The Citi Double Cash also offers a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for the first 18 months (then a variable APR of 18.74% to 28.74% applies and based on creditworthiness)

However, the downside to the Citi Double Cash is that you’ll likely need a good or excellent credit score to qualify. This may put many candidates out of the running to apply for this card. Meanwhile, the Chase Slate Edge is explicitly designed for those looking to rebuild their credit, giving you better approval odds in general.

If you have a low credit score and have trouble getting approved, you may want to consider a secured credit card instead. The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit 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.

A significant downside to this card is that you’ll face a 29.99% variable APR. This means you’ll want to pay your balance on time and in full to avoid this high interest rate. But, if your goal is strictly to rebuild your credit, the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card is an excellent tool.

Bottom line

Consumers have faced various financial challenges throughout the pandemic. 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.

Not only will this card 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 of your purchases.