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The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is an excellent no-annual-fee card for individuals who are looking to accumulate points and miles (or cash back) with Chase. The card earns 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase, 3% on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% on all other purchases.
The Freedom Unlimited becomes even more powerful when paired with one of Chase's premium credit cards, allowing you to convert cash back into Ultimate Rewards points for travel redemptions with a variety of airline and hotel partners. However, it's likely not the best card for your overseas travels, as you'll pay a foreign transaction fee of 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars.
Here's everything you should know about the Freedom Unlimited.
- INTRO OFFER: 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!
- Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).
- After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
- No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open!
- Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24%.
- No annual fee - You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited® card
- Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, real-time alerts, and more.
- Member FDIC
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1.5% on all purchases
Chase Freedom Unlimited Pros
- Excellent earning rates for travel, dining, drugstores, and everyday spending
- No annual fee
- No minimum amount for redemptions
- Rewards don't expire as long as your account is in good standing
- Purchase and travel insurance protections
Chase Freedom Unlimited Cons
- You can't access Chase's transfer partners unless you have another card with an annual fee
- 3% foreign transaction fee
- Chase's strict application rules may make you ineligible for this card.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Welcome Bonus
The Freedom Unlimited is offering a sign-up bonus of 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. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases. Applicants are eligible for this bonus if they currently do not have this card and have not received a welcome bonus on this card in the last two years.
Earning 6.5% back on travel or 4.5% back at dining and drugstores during your first year with the Freedom Unlimited is powerful — especially powerful on a card with no annual fee. Even the 3% earnings on everyday purchases is impressive. This offer makes the Freedom Unlimited one of the best cards for everyday spending during your first year as a cardholder.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Benefits
As a no-annual-fee card, don't expect elite perks with the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. However, there are a few cardholder benefits worth highlighting, such as fraud monitoring and free access to your credit score with Chase Credit Journey. You'll also enjoy these perks:
Introductory APR offers
New cardholders can enjoy introductory annual percentage rate (APR) offers on both balance transfers and purchases, as follows:
- 0% Intro APR on Purchases: Valid for 15 months, then a Variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24%.
- 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers: Valid for 15 months, then a Variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24%. There is a balance transfer fee, though. Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Travel and purchase insurance protections
Whether you're buying gifts or purchasing travel with the Freedom Unlimited, you'll enjoy benefits like purchase protection, extended warranty protection, auto rental Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), travel and emergency assistance services, and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
When making travel purchases on your Freedom Unlimited, cardholders can be reimbursed for travel costs up to $1,500 per traveler and up to $6,000 per trip if their trip is cut short or canceled due to a variety of reasons. These reasons can include severe weather and sickness, among other mishaps.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Earning Rates
The Freedom Unlimited earns cash back at the following rates:
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1.5% on all purchases
Note that the Freedom Unlimited earns cash back, but you can turn this into Ultimate Rewards points when paired with another credit card. You'll need one of these cards: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. If you hold one of these three cards in addition to the Freedom Unlimited, you can transfer your earnings to another card, unlocking flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards that you can use with 14 airline and hotel partners.
Related: How To Use Chase Ultimate Rewards
Redeeming Points With the Chase Freedom Unlimited
If the Freedom Unlimited is your only card from Chase, your redemption options are limited. You can redeem your earnings as a statement credit, toward gift cards, for travel in the Chase travel portal, or toward eligible purchases with Chase Pay Yourself Back. Most of these redemptions offer a value of 1¢ per point for your rewards; you also can pay at checkout with a wide variety of merchants, and these redemptions are typically worth less than a penny each.
Assuming you also have one of the three cards mentioned in the previous section, the best strategy for points redemptions involves transferring your rewards to Chase's three hotel and 11 airline partners. This offers the best opportunity for outsized value. Consider that AwardWallet readers typically redeem points at 1.97¢ apiece with these partners — nearly double the value of options in the previous paragraph.
Related: 22 Different Ways To Redeem Ultimate Rewards
Application Restrictions
Chase features some of the more limiting application restrictions of the major credit card providers. Limitations include:
- 5/24 policy: If you've been approved for five or more new credit cards in the previous 24 months (from any provider, not just Chase), it is highly unlikely you will be approved for the Freedom Unlimited.
- 2/30 policy: You can only open a maximum of two personal credit cards (or one personal card and one small business card) with Chase in a 30-day period.
You'll also see this specific rule in the Freedom Unlimited‘s terms and conditions:
“This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of this credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of this credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.”
If you currently have the Freedom Unlimited or earned a welcome bonus on it in the past 24 months, you won't be eligible for this current offer.
For more details, check out our post covering application restrictions for major credit card providers.
Cards That Compete With the Chase Freedom Unlimited
If this isn't the right card for your wallet, consider these other cards:
- If you want a card that earns 5% back on quarterly rotating spending categories, check out the Chase Freedom Flex℠. This card offers 5% back every quarter on different spending categories, such as gas stations and live entertainment — up to $1,500 of these purchases — and doesn't have an annual fee. You'll have the same opportunities to combine rewards with other Chase cards that we discussed above. You can learn more in our full review of the Freedom Flex.
- If you're over 5/24 but still want a no-annual-fee card that offers 5% back, look into the Citi Custom Cash® Card. Rather than having a set category that earns 5% back, the card automatically awards 5% back on whichever category has the most spending that month — up to $500 of these purchases monthly. For more information on this no-annual-fee card, check out our review of the Citi Custom Cash.
- If you're looking for better earnings on everyday expenses, consider the Citi® Double Cash Card. You'll earn 2% back on all purchases, awarded as 1% when you buy and another 1% when you pay your bill. It also has no annual fee. More details are in our Citi Double Cash review.
Related: Our Favorite Benefits on Credit Cards with No Annual Fee
Bottom Line
The Freedom Unlimited is an excellent credit card for those who want to quickly accumulate Chase points without having to open a card with an annual fee. You'll have access to a great earning structure, a handful of modest benefits, and the ability to unlock even more valuable reward redemptions if you pair this card with another as part of your credit card strategy.
- INTRO OFFER: 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!
- Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).
- After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
- No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open!
- Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24%.
- No annual fee - You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited® card
- Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, real-time alerts, and more.
- Member FDIC
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1.5% on all purchases
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
$800 is a good earning, and 12,000 in spending is very reachable
It seems not easy for me to spend 12k on the 5x 🙁
Pair this with the CSP and you’ll be earning URs in no time.
This is fantastic news for holiday season!
Excellent offers, I will apply for one of these cards
Already have the card and use it plenty.
Wish Chase Freedom cards can transfer points to partners directly.
Too bad I use Walmart grocery pick up and this card does not seem to count that as grocery.
Do you get $200 statement credit or 20000 UR points ?
Technically, you earn 20,000 points. If you only have the Chase Freedom Unlimited, these can be redeemed for a statement credit at a rate of 1 cent each. However, you can turn these points into transferrable UR points if you “combine” the points into your Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred card account.
I got the Freedom Unlimited in May, and hit the bonus recently. I wrote a SM to Chase and then called to request a bonus match to this exceptional offer, and was told that the offer is targeted to only some existing cardholders. I had put all of my grocery spend on my Sapphire Preferred to hit the bonus, and now that I’ve hit all of the bonuses, I have switched my in-store grocery spend to the Freedom Unlimited. Hopefully with a couple months’ worth of spending data in groceries, I can make another request to be bonus matched before this offer disappears.
This is an incredible offer, but I wished that Chase would offer it retroactively to all cardholders who were issued the card in the last 90 days (and are still in the signup bonus period).
What does it mean “if used as a stand alone card”?
If you only have the Chase Freedom Unlimited, it works as a cashback card. However, if you combine it with a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Freedom Unlimited effectively earns points. That’s because you can transfer the cashback from the Freedom Unlimited to the CSR or CSP.
When the card isn’t paired with a Sapphire card it’s a Cashback card but if you also hold a Sapphire card, you can combine points for greater value.
Thanks for the amazing notice
Wow! Any word on when this offer ends? I’m moving in the next couple weeks and I can’t have it mailed to my current address but can’t have it mailed to my house yet nor do I want to get declined for not matching my credit report.
No end date has been communicated to us so far. I recently moved right after applying for a card, and USPS mail forwarding got my card to me—albeit a few weeks later than expected.
Problem is I’m military overseas and my mailing and billing address is an APO box and USPS mail forwarding doesn’t apply. Now with COVID mail takes about two months to get here which would then get forwarded to our new address making the whole thing about a 4 month turnaround. I guess I need to wait.
Ah understood. Historically, offers like this tend to stick around for about 60 days, so you probably have some time. We generally don’t find out until right before the change, but we’ll definitely let you know if the end date is announced in advance. Thank you for your service.
Everyone in the working world does a service for someone. Thank you Erik for making my life – and the lives of however many tens or hundreds of thousands of readers you have – easier.
I’ll check followup via email but I check the site daily anyway so I’ll keep an eye out for an update on this offer. Pairing this with the CSR would be a big deal.
Wow. I cringe at your wait time. I mean, c’mon. When you’re serving us, we really need to figure out how to do a much better job of getting you your mail, as quick as humanly possible. I’d have no problem giving up a day for mine stateside for you all to be prioritized.
The so-called “no forex fee” these days actually once again hide the forex surcharges. AMEX is doing it again for example, though it was sued for such practice and paid its card members rebates almost 15 years ago.
Now, curious if they’d be willing to upgrade an existing Chase Freedom Unlimited to add that 5% grocery bonus category. That would inspire me to use it more than just every once in a while.
The only data point I’ve seen is recent applications. But being that it’s a signup bonus, I would doubt longtime cardholders could ask for it.
Had Chase Freedom for many years. Will think about unlimited as a second card.
Great rewards until they change the rules…
they should get rid of 5/24 if they want more sign-ups.
I have the Freedom Unlimited card (and CSR and Freedom and Ink). Can I apply for another one? Is it possible to have two of the same product with Chase?
No. The terms note that “This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of this credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of this credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.”
Chase ink unlimited earns the same I believe
Wish freedom unlimited can use rewards freely as Sapphire cards do.
How can the 800 prize be accumulated? What are the consumptions that must be made to accumulate this amount?
Any idea if retroactive for recent applications? My wife just got this card a couple weeks ago without this offer
I have the CSP, i think this will be a good addition to my reward earnings.
Are grocery delivery services included in the 12K grocery spend? Instacart, Shipt, etc.?
Hey David, it will take a little while until we start getting data on this, but my guess would be yes. Several delivery services coded as grocery for the Sapphire cards when Chase ran the 3x/5x promo. Hopefully, the Freedom Unlimited offer follows suit.
these are Amazing cards!! Jump in a get them now!!!