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When it comes to getting a quality return on your everyday spending that’s simple to understand, look no further than the Chase Freedom Unlimited® credit card.
On the surface, this card may not look like much. However, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card is a great $0 annual fee card that allows you to convert your cash back into Ultimate Rewards points, making it very attractive for non-bonus category spending.
Let’s take a deeper look at the Chase Freedom Unlimited card to see why it should hold a place in your wallet.
Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy
(on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
Chase Freedom Unlimited Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus for the Freedom Unlimited varies, but it’s usually competitive for a $0 annual fee card.
Since the bonus can be converted into Ultimate Rewards points, you can extract far more value from it than the dollar amount, especially if you have a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and can leverage either the Chase TravelSM or transfer partners.
Bonus Categories
The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 3% cash back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services. Additionally, it earns 3% on drugstore purchases, a bonus category found on few cards.
If you purchase travel through Chase Travel, you’ll earn 5% cash back on your spending using the Freedom Unlimited.
For all other purchases, this card earns a flat 1.5% cash back. This makes it ideal for purchases that fall outside of typical bonus spending categories, such as bill payment, car repairs or wedding expenses.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Perks & Benefits
Since the Freedom Unlimited is a $0 annual fee credit card, it has less to offer than certain heavyweight premium cards from Chase.
That being said, you’ll benefit from the following perks as a cardholder:
- Purchase protection—By purchasing a product on your Freedom Unlimited, you’ll automatically be covered for 120 days against theft or damage of new purchases up to $500 per claim or $50,000 per account.
- Extended warranty—By purchasing a product on your Freedom Unlimited, you’ll automatically extend the time period of a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by one additional year as long as the original warranty is three years or fewer.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver—If you decline your rental company’s collision damage waiver and charge the entire rental cost to your Freedom Unlimited, your car will have secondary coverage for collision damage and theft. You’ll be covered up to the actual cash value of the car.
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance—If your trip is cut short by inclement weather, sickness, injury or another covered cause, you’ll be reimbursed up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable passenger fares (provided you charged them to your card).
- Complimentary three months of DashPass—You’ll be eligible for DoorDash’s membership that provides unlimited $0 deliveries and reduced service fees on eligible orders with Caviar and DoorDash. After this complimentary period, you’ll be automatically enrolled in DashPass at a discounted rate of 50% for the subsequent nine months (activate by Dec. 31, 2027).
- 5% cash back on Lyft rides—You can earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides as a Freedom Unlimited cardholder when you charge them to your card (through March 31, 2025).
Keep in mind that the Freedom Unlimited charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so you might want to plan on leaving it at home on your next international adventure.
Can You Get the Freedom Unlimited?
As is the case with all Chase cards, the Freedom Unlimited falls under Chase’s 5/24 rule. This means that you won’t be eligible for this card or any other Chase credit card if you’ve opened five or more personal cards, as well as any business cards from Capital One, TD Bank or Discover, within the last 24 months.
However, Capital One Spark Travel Elite, Capital One Venture X Business Card and Capital One Spark Cash Plus accounts don’t count toward the 5/24 rule.
Maximizing the Freedom Unlimited
The Freedom Unlimited is best used as part of your Ultimate Rewards earning arsenal.
Ideally, you have either a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred card, which already earn you bonus points on travel, dining and on a range of other purchases.
You might also have a Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card to earn you bonus points on office supply spending as well as at gas stations and restaurants. Or perhaps you have the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card which earns you bonus points on travel, shipping, cable and phone services, internet and advertising purchases.
Regardless, being able to use the Freedom Unlimited to earn 1.5X Ultimate Rewards points on spending that would only earn 1X points on some of the cards listed above can make a big difference.
Consider this math. If you earn 1.5X Ultimate Rewards points on a transaction using your Freedom Unlimited and pool those earned points with your Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you could then use those same Ultimate Rewards points in the Chase Travel Portal at a redemption rate of 1.5 cents per point.
This effectively makes those 1.5X Ultimate Rewards points that you originally earned on your Freedom Unlimited worth 2.25X Ultimate Rewards points. That’s a solid return on non-bonus category spending. Of course, the return rate is even higher for bonus category spending on the card.
Alternatively, you could pool those same points into your Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred account, and transfer them to one of Chase’s 14 hotel or airline transfer partners.
Even without point pooling, the Freedom Unlimited holds its own against other $0 annual fee credit cards. However, stacking it with some of the premium Ultimate Rewards earning cards allows you to stretch your points even further.
Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy
(on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
Is the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Right for You?
If cash back alone is what you’re after, you may do better with a card such as the Citi Double Cash® card that earns 1% cash back on all purchases and an additional 1% cash back when you pay.
Citi Double Cash® Card
$200
cash back
after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
However, if you’re interested in earning cash back that can be redeemed as a flexible rewards currency, the Freedom Unlimited is a solid choice. Not only will you earn a competitive rate on dining, drugstore purchases and travel purchased through Chase, you’ll also earn 1.5% cash back (or 1.5X Ultimate Rewards points) on all non-bonus category spending.
If you can pool these earnings into an account of an Ultimate Rewards earning card, you’ll be set for lucrative redemptions.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re a credit card pro or an amateur, the Chase Freedom Unlimited can easily justify a spot in your wallet. If you’re also a cardholder of a Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred, having a Freedom Unlimited can help you earn more on spending that otherwise wouldn’t fall into bonus categories for those cards.
Plus, by not having an annual fee, you don’t have to track all of the perks and benefits that come with a card like the Sapphire Reserve to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth out of it. You can just swipe, earn and move along all while building up your points balance.
There has never been a better time to consider applying for the Chase Freedom Unlimited card and adding it to your wallet.
New to the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best card to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. , 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
(on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s 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.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s 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.
bonus cash back
after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Miles
once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
bonus points
after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
Membership Rewards® Points
after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back. Limited time offer. Offer ends 11/6/24.
