The no-fee Freedom Unlimited card is a great choice for those who also carry a premium Ultimate Rewards card such as the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, Ink Plus, or Ink Business Preferred.
The Freedom Unlimited card is unique among Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards in that you’ll earn a minimum of 1.5 points per dollar for all spend while also earning 3 to 5 points per dollar within specific bonus categories. Chase advertises the Freedom Unlimited as a cash back card, but it actually earns Ultimate Rewards points. When paired with a premium card, the points earned with the Freedom Unlimited card become more valuable. You can freely move your points to a premium card in order to get better than 1 cent per point value for travel. For example, if you move points to a household member’s Sapphire Reserve card, you can get 1.5 cents per point value. In that situation, the Freedom Unlimited earns between 2.25% (1.5 cents per point X 1.5 points per dollar) and 7.5% in rewards! See our Chase Ultimate Rewards Guide for details.
This card does charge foreign transaction fees, so leave it at home when traveling internationally. Within the US, though, the Freedom Unlimited is an excellent choice both for its category bonuses and as an “everywhere else” card which earns a minimum of 1.5 points per dollar.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Application Tips
Chase Application Tips
Call (888) 338-2586 to check your application status |
Should you apply?
In my opinion, the Freedom Unlimited is a good choice in many cases, but it’s especially good if you or a household member has (or plans to get) the Sapphire Reserve card. Use the Freedom Unlimited to earn 5X for travel booked through Chase, 3X for drugstores and dining, and 1.5X on all other spend. Move your Freedom Unlimited points to the Sapphire Reserve account to get at least 1.5 cents per point value from all points. When you earn 1.5X with the Freedom Unlimited and redeem at 1.5 cents value with the Sapphire Reserve, you get a combined 2.25% return on your spend.
Are you eligible?
To apply for the Freedom Unlimited card, you must not currently have the same card (it’s okay to have a different Freedom card), and you must not have received a welcome bonus for the Freedom Unlimited in the past 24 months.
Additionally, to get this card you must be under 5/24.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
How to apply
You can find the current best welcome bonus offer and application link at the top of this page: Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Application status
After you apply, call (888) 338-2586 to check your application status.
Reconsideration
If your application is denied, I recommend calling for reconsideration (1-888-270-2127). It’s surprising how often denials can be changed to approvals just by asking.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Perks
Travel Protection
- Auto Rental Coverage: Chase offers secondary auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver) when renting within your country of residence (presumably it is primary for rentals in other countries).
- Trip Cancellation / Interruption Insurance: If your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
Purchase Protection
Extended Warranty: “Extends the time period of U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.”
Damage and Theft Protection: “Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.”
Chase Freedom Unlimited Earn Points
Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus for this card is advertised as cash back, but the rewards are actually delivered as Ultimate Rewards points. Here’s the current offer:
Card Offer |
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Up to 30K points / $300 cash back ⓘ Affiliate Earn an additional 1.5% on all purchases (up to $20K spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back.No Annual Fee This card is likely subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Recent better offer: Unlimited Double Cash Back for 12 month (expired 1/11/24) |
Refer Friends
Bonus Spend
Card Info Name and Earning Rate (no offer) |
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Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase Travel℠ ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x drugstores ✦ 1.5X everywhere else |
The Freedom Unlimited card offers surprisingly strong earnings for a fee-free card: 5X travel booked through Chase, 3X dining and drugstore, and 1.5X everywhere else. At the time of this writing, the Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex are the only nationally available credit cards in the United States that I’m aware of which offer a great bonus for drugstore spend. It’s also unusual for cards with strong bonus categories to earn better than 1X for all other spend, yet that’s what the Freedom Unlimited offers.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Redeem Points
Pay Yourself Back
Chase changes or renews the eligible categories every few months. When using this feature, Sapphire Reserve cardholders get 1.25 cents per point value for most categories, and all other eligible cardholders get 1 cent per point value. Chase used to offer 1.5 cents per point value for Sapphire Reserve cardholders and 1.25 cents per point value for Sapphire Preferred cardholders. That was a decent deal. With the lower redemption values in play today, we no longer recommend this option. More details about Chase's Pay Yourself Back feature can be found here.
Cash Back
Cardholders can cash out points for 1 cent each. Cash back can be taken as a statement credit, check, or ACH transfer.
Travel
Redeem points for travel: 1.5 cents per point
This option requires that someone in your household has the ultra-premium Chase Sapphire Reserve card. First move (combine) points from your no-fee card to the Sapphire Reserve account. Next, log into Chase under the Sapphire Reserve account, and go to the Chase portal to book your travel. A $500 flight would usually cost 50,000 points if you used points attached to the no-fee card, but with the Chase Sapphire Reserve it would cost only 33,333 points.Redeem points for travel: 1.25 cents per point
This option requires that someone in your household has a premium card that earns Chase points: Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred. First move (combine) points from your no-fee card to one of these premium cards. Next, log into Chase under the account that now has the points, and go to the Chase portal to book your travel. A $500 flight would usually cost 50,000 points if you used points attached to a no-annual-fee card, but with the Chase Sapphire Preferred it would cost only 40,000 points.Details about booking travel through Chase
You can use the Chase portal to book airfare, hotels, cruises, activities, and car rentals. Airfare purchased through the portal still earns airline miles and elite qualifying miles. Hotels booked this way do not earn hotel rewards. Worse, hotels booked through the portal often won't offer you elite benefits even if you have status.Travel protections apply
When you pay with points for travel, Chase's automatic travel protections do apply. So, you can be covered for things like car rentals, trip delays, trip cancellation & interruption, lost luggage, etc. The coverage you receive will be based on which card's rewards were used to book the trip. For example, if you have both a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Sapphire Reserve, you would want to move your points from the Preferred to the Reserve and then use the Reserve points to book your trip. You will get both better value (1.5 cents per point) and better travel protections. See: Sapphire Reserve Travel Insurance.Transfer points
Move points to premium or ultra-premium card first
You cannot transfer points directly from a no-annual-fee Chase card to airline or hotel partners, but you can move points first to a premium card (Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, for example) or ultra-premium card (Sapphire Reserve) and then transfer the points to airline or hotel partners. Points can be transferred to the loyalty accounts of the primary cardholder or any authorized user on the account. Points can also be transferred to the loyalty account of a joint business owner, but they do need to be an authorized user on the associated business account.Transfer Partners
Rewards Program | Best Uses |
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Aer Lingus Avios | Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
Air Canada Aeroplan | Redeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know. |
Air France KLM Flying Blue | Monthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel. |
British Airways Avios | While flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can often be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights outside the US. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
Emirates Skywards | The best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. See: How to find and book Emirates first class awards. |
Finnair Plus+ | Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs. |
Hyatt | Use for Hyatt free nights, free suite nights, lounge upgrades, or suite upgrades. Hyatt points are often worth more than 2 cents each. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. |
Iberia Avios | On their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
IHG | IHG dynamically prices their awards and sometimes offer very good value. IHG Premier and IHG Premier Business cards offer the fourth night free on award stays. |
JetBlue | JetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards. |
Marriott Bonvoy | 5th Night Free awards. Opportunities to get outsized value exist but can be hard to find. |
Qatar Privilege Club Avios | Qatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios. |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Use to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines). |
Southwest Rapid Rewards | Award flights are fully refundable. Point values vary due to certain taxes not being charged on awards, but tend to average around 1.5 cents per point. |
United MileagePlus | United offers free award changes and free cancelations. Like Avianca and Aeroplan, United never charges fuel surcharges for awards. Unfortunately, United charges many more miles for international first class awards. Good uses of miles include United's Excursionist Perk awards and (sometimes) dynamically priced United economy awards. |
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Virgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight). |
Other ways to redeem points
You can also use points to pay some merchants directly (Amazon.com, for example or via Chase Pay). Don't do this. These options offer very poor value. Further, they may compromise the security of your account (i.e. if someone hacks into your Amazon account, they might spend your points - causing you a headache in getting your points reinstated).
Chase Freedom Unlimited Manage Points
Combine Points Across Cards
If you intend to cancel a card that earns Chase points, you should first combine your points with a card you intend to keep active. Once you cancel, you will forfeit any unused points in that account (See: My 90,000 Points mistake). A product change should not affect your balance, but some people prefer moving points before a product change as well just to be safe.
Share Points Across Cardholders
Why this is valuable:
- You earn points with the card offering the best return on purchases and then use points with the card offering the best redemption rate.
- Only one member of your household needs to maintain a premium card for transferring to partners or booking travel (though note that the primary cardholder can only transfer points to partner loyalty programs in the name of the primary cardholder or authorized users).
How to Keep Points Alive
Chase Freedom Unlimited Lifecycle
How to meet minimum spend requirements
Keep, cancel, or product change?
Is this card worth keeping in the long run? Yep. With no annual fee and strong earning power, why not? If you decide to cancel anyway, make sure to first redeem any remaining points or move them to another Ultimate Rewards card.
Related Cards
Ultimate Rewards Consumer Cards
Card Offer and Details |
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20K points ⓘ Non-Affiliate Earn 20,000 points (worth $200 cash back) after spending $500 in the first 3 monthNo Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Great for 5X and 3x categories and World Mastercard benefits. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase Travel℠ ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x drugstores ✦ 5X in rotating categories on up to $1,500 spend per quarter (Q4 2024: McDonalds, PayPal, Pet Stores & Selectr Charities) Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ✦ Cell phone protection ✦ Lyft credits ✦ $10 monthly credit for non-restaurant DoorDash orders See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
Up to 30K points / $300 cash back ⓘ Affiliate Earn an additional 1.5% on all purchases (up to $20K spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back.No Annual Fee This card is likely subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Recent better offer: Unlimited Double Cash Back for 12 month (expired 1/11/24) FM Mini Review: Great for 3x categories and 1.5X everywhere else. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase Travel℠ ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x drugstores ✦ 1.5X everywhere else Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ✦ $10 monthly credit for non-restaurant DoorDash orders See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
None This card is no longer availableNo Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Great for 5X categories. Good companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Earning rate: 5X Lyft through March 2025; 5X in rotating categories on up to $1,500 spend per quarter (Q4 2024: McDonalds, PayPal, Pet Stores & Selectr Charities). Card Info: Visa Signature or Platinum issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ✦ $10 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 3 months free Instacart+ See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
60K Points ⓘ Affiliate 60K after $4K spend in 3 months$95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: There may be elevated offers available by applying in-branch A similar offer with the first year annual fee waived may be found in-branch. YMMV. Recent better offer: 60K points + $300 travel credit (Expired 11/14/24) FM Mini Review: Great signup bonus. Unlocks ability to transfer points to hotel & airline partners. Solid option to pair with fee-free Ultimate Rewards cards such as the Freedom cards, Ink Business Cash, and Ink Business Unlimited. Earning rate: 5X Travel booked through Chase Travel℠ (2X all other travel) ✦ 3X Dining ✦ 3X Select streaming services ✦ 3X Online grocery ✦ 5X Lyft (through March 2025) ✦ 10% annual point bonus Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ✦ $10 monthly credit for non-restaurant DoorDash orders ✦ Free DashPass through 2027 ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ $50 back for hotel stays booked through Chase per cardmember year in the form of a statement credit |
60K Points ⓘ Affiliate 60K after $4K spend in 3 months$550 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: 70K after $4K spend showing on some accounts when logged-in to Chase Recent better offer: Expired 12/1/22: 80K after $4K spend FM Mini Review: Excellent all-around card for frequent traveler. Best when paired with no-fee Chase Freedom Flex, no-fee Freedom Unlimited & no-fee Chase Ink Cash Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 10X hotels & car rentals booked through Chase Travel℠ ✦ 10X Chase Dining ✦ 5X flights booked through Chase ✦ 3X Travel and Dining ✦ 10X Lyft (through March 2025) Card Info: Visa Infinite issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: $300 Annual Travel Credit ✦ Points worth 1.5 cents each towards travel when booked through the Chase Travel(SM) Portal✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ Primary auto rental coverage ✦ Priority Pass Select lounge access ✦ Access Sapphire Lounges for yourself and 2 guests for free ✦ Access select Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges when flying Star Alliance ✦ Up to $120 Global Entry fee credit ✦ Free DashPass through 2027 See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
Ultimate Rewards Business Cards
Card Offer and Details |
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None This card is no longer available$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 Earning rate: ✦ 5X office supplies, 5X cellular/landline/cable ✦ 2X gas and hotels ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: ✦ Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
Up to 75K points ⓘ Affiliate 35K after $3K spend in 3 months and an additional 40K points after $6K spend in 6 months. No Annual Fee Alternate Offer: If you have a household member with an Ink card, you may prefer the referral offer whereby the referrer can earn 40,000 points and the new account holder can earn 75,000 points after $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months since it will yield more total points. Recent better offer: 90K after $6K spend in 6 monthd (expired 1/17/24 FM Mini Review: This one should be in everyone's wallet. Incredible welcome bonus for a no-annual-fee card. Great card for 5X categories. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 5X office supplies and cellular/landline/cable (on up to $25,000 in total purchases in 5x categories annually) ✦ 2X on the first $25K in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each cardmember year ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
90K points ⓘ Affiliate 90K after $8K spend in 3 months$95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: There is an in-branch offer of 120K points after $8K in purchases in the first 3 months. Recent better offer: 120K after $8K spend (expired 9/4/24) FM Mini Review: Great card for welcome bonus and 3X categories. Also consider theInk Business Cash for its 5X categories, and the Ink Business Unlimited to earn 1.5X everywhere. Earning rate: 3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year) ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: ✦ Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ Cell phone protection against theft or damage See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
75K points ⓘ Affiliate 75K after $6K spend in 3 monthsNo Annual Fee Alternate Offer: You may be able to get an offer of 120,000 points after $6,000 in purchases via a Business Relationship Manager. FM Mini Review: Great welcome bonus for a fee-free card. Good option for earning 1.5X everywhere. Good companion card to Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 1.5X on all purchases ✦ 5X Lyft through through March 2025 Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
After how many UR points saved up do you think it’s worth to product change a Freedom card to a CSP? I can’t make the min spend for the CSP and I’d rather cash them all into Hyatt.
Hard to say. It might be possible (I’m not sure) to upgrade, move your points, and then call again and say that you changed your mind.
But if you want to justify the full $95 annual fee, you can do the math like this:
Can you use the CSR pay yourself back at 1.5x for grocery purchases made on the CFU if you’ve connected the accounts?
No, but you can move the points over and make new purchases to pay yourself back. Here’s an example:
What Mask do u wear and where can I buy it for a 3 hr Tour (flt) ??
I looked on FM..
CHEERs
I like my Frequent Miler mask 🙂
You can buy one if you want:
THE reason I got this card is for the 5X groceries year 1 up to $12K, but it is not mentioned. You only see it in the box for the card with the link to apply. Seems like it should at least be up front under “Should you Apply?”
That’s a good point. The problem is that the guide is intended to work without respect to whatever the current signup offer is. I don’t know how long the 5X grocery part of the signup offer will last.