At first glance the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card might seem like a run of the mill cash back card. It earns a fixed 1.5% cash back or 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on all purchases. While many other credit cards offer higher earning rates, this no annual fee card can bring big rewards to savvy cardholders. If you pair this card with one that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can convert your rewards into fully transferable points, doubling their value.

Who is this card for?

This card has a place in the wallet of both beginners and experts alike. It’s a great card for beginners because the flat 1.5% earnings rate means you don’t need to keep track of bonus categories. Earning a flat rate is easy to understand and requires no extra thought or work. The card also has no annual fee.

And for experts wanting to accumulate Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, this card can help with that strategy. Earning 1.5% may not sound like a lot, especially when comparing to other Ultimate Rewards eligible credit cards. For example:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve – earns 3 points per dollar on travel and dining
• Chase Sapphire Preferred – earns 3 points per dollar on dining, online groceries and streaming services and 2 points per dollar on travel
• Chase Freedom – earns 5% cash back or 5 points per dollar in rotating categories
• Chase Freedom Flex – earns 5% cash back or 5 points per dollar in rotating categories, plus 5% in the Chase Travel Portal and 3% on dining and at drugstores

However, all of the above cards earn just 1 point per dollar on purchases outside of each card’s bonus categories. This is where the Chase Freedom Unlimited becomes the perfect complementary card for those who own one or more of the above cards. Use the Chase Freedom Unlimited for any purchases that don’t fall into one of the other cards’ bonus categories and you’ll earn an extra half point per dollar spent. Over time, those extra points can really add up.

You can apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card here.

Card Features

Bonus Offer

You’ll earn 20,000 bonus points, or $200 cash back, after you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months after account opening.

Annual Fee

This card has no annual fee.

Earning Rates

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no limits or caps. It’s not an amazing rate, but this is a good catch-all card for purchases that don’t earn bonus points from any other cards. And as you’ll read below, pairing it with other eligible cards in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, makes this an even more powerful card.

A simple 1.5% earnings rate has been in place since this card debuted in 2016. However, in an unexpected twist, Chase recently announced that it’s adding bonus categories! Beginning September 15, 2020, cardholders will earn bonus cashback on travel, dining and drugstore purchases.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited will offer three new bonus categories:

• 5% cash back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal
• 3% cash back on dining
• 3% cash back at drugstores

In addition, earlier this year Chase added an amazing new benefit for new applicants. New cardholders can earn an extra 3.5% cash back (for a total of 5%) on grocery store purchases during your first cardmember year. This benefit caps out after spending $12,000 but if you reached the cap, you’d earn extra 42,000 Ultimate Rewards points! This benefit applies to new cardholders on or before January 13, 2021.

First Year Gas Bonus

In addition, new cardholders can earn an extra 4% cash back (for a total of 5%) on gas station purchases during your first cardmember year. This benefit caps out after spending $6,000 but if you reached the cap, you’d earn 24,000 extra Ultimate Rewards points!

Redeeming Points

Points earned from the Chase Freedom Unlimited are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed for cash back, gift cards or travel. In the examples below, let’s assume you earned 30,000 points in a year on the card. If redeemed for cash back, that would be worth $300. However, if you pair this card with another eligible card in Chase’s Ultimate Rewards® program, and transfer points to that card, you can really supercharge the card’s value. 

For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

For Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders, points are worth 1.5 cents per point when redeemed in the Chase Travel Portal. That means those same 30,000 points would be worth $450 (30,000 points x $0.015).

Chase Sapphire Preferred / Ink Business Preferred

Cardholders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, also improve their effective return rate, just not quite as much. With these two cards, points are worth 1.25 cents per point when redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel Portal. So with these cards, 30,000 points are worth $375 (30,000 points x $0.0125).

Moving your Chase Freedom Unlimited points to any of these cards gets you way more value than the 1 cent each you’d get by redeeming them for cash back. But the Chase Travel Portal isn’t your only option. You can often get even greater value by transferring points to any of Chase’s 14 travel partners!

For example, you could transfer 70,000 Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines to fly first class from New York to Los Angeles. Tickets often sell for around $1,750, so the value of those 70,000 points is around 2.5 cents per point ($1,750 / 70,000 points). That’s full cent per point above the travel portal value, for an effective return rate of 3.75% (1.5 points per dollar multiplied by 2.5 cents per point = 3.75 cents per dollar)!

For more information on Chase’s flexible points program, check out The Complete Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Card Benefits

Low Intro APR

0% intro APR for the first 15 months on purchases, then a variable APR of 14.99% – 23.74%.

Purchase Protection

This benefit covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. As always, make sure you read the fine print for benefit terms and conditions. 

Extended Warranty Protection

With this benefit, you can extend the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by one additional year. This applies to eligible warranties of three years or less.

DoorDash Delivery

Get 3 free months of DashPass, which gets you free delivery and reduced service fees on all orders over $12. After that, you are automatically enrolled in DashPass at 50% off for the next 9 months.

What other cards compete with Chase Freedom?

Citi® Double Cash Back

The most popular competitor is the Citi® Double Cash Back card. This unique card offers 2% cash back (1% cash back when you make a purchase and 1% cash back when you pay your bill). There is no annual fee but also no sign-up bonus. This card also now allows cardholders to convert their cash back into Citi ThankYou Rewards points. Similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards, this program opens up even more value with a travel portal and airline transfer partners.

Chase Freedom Flex℠

Another card that competes with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is the Chase Freedom Flex℠. It offers an identical sign-up bonus and 5% back on travel purchases from the Chase Travel Portal, 3% on dining and 3% at drugstores. Instead of earning 1.5% on all other purchases like the Freedom Unlimited, this card earns 1% but has rotating categories which earn 5%. These categories change quarterly which can make it tough to fully maximize the benefits every quarter. It’s also important to note that the card only earns 5% on the first $1,500 in combined purchases in the rotating categories each quarter.

You’ll have to look at your own spending patterns to see which Freedom card is better for you. Personally I’ve found a spot for both cards in my wallet. With no annual fee on either, why not own both!

Other Competitors

There are also a few other cards that offer the same flat 1.5% on all purchases. However, remember that most of these cards don’t get the benefit of boosting earnings and redemptions by pairing with another eligible Chase Ultimate Rewards card.

• Citi® Double Cash Back – This unique card earns 2% cash back on all purchases, 1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay your bill. There is no annual fee.
• Wells Fargo Case Wise Visa® – This card earns a flat 1.5% on all purchases. It also comes with a $200 sign-up bonus after spending $1,000 in purchases during the first three months of account opening and has no annual fee.
• Capital One® Quicksilver® – The Quicksilver card earns a flat 1.5% on all purchases. It comes with a $150 sign-up bonus after spending $500 in purchases during the first three months of account opening and has no annual fee.

Bottom Line

The appeal of the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card always lied in its simplicity. It’s flat 1.5% earnings rates makes it a great card for everyday, non-bonus spending. Now, with new bonus categories, the card goes from a good catch-all card to one with serious value. Plus it can provide even more value when paired with another Chase Ultimate Rewards eligible credit card.

So put this card on your list! If you’re just starting out with credit cards or are a seasoned vet, this card can help you earn valuable travel points very quickly.

Apply here for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card.