The Chase Freedom Unlimited card is unique among Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards in that you earn a minimum of 1.5x for all spend while also earning 3x-5x within bonus categories, including dining and drugstores. The card has no annual fee and earns Chase Ultimate Rewards, which can be very powerful when paired with the right cards. Let’s take a deeper look.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Current Welcome Offer
| Card Offer |
|---|
Unlimited Double Cashback for One Year ⓘ Affiliate Unlimited, uncapped double cashback on all spending for first year of card membershipNo Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Low spenders may prefer a different intro offer with an initial spend bonus and additional bonuses for gas and grocery purchases. Details here. This card is likely subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). |
Chase Freedom Unlimited Review
Outside of getting it for an enticing welcome offer, the Chase Freedom Unlimited can be a pretty attractive card…within the right context. There’s better cashback cards out there, but if the Freedom Unlimited is paired with a premium card that unlocks the ability to transfer to partners (either the Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve), the points that it earns become significantly more valuable. In that context, we value Ultimate Rewards at 1.5 cents each, so the Freedom Unlimited effectively brings in between 2.25% (1.5 cents per point X 1.5 points per dollar) and 7.5% in rewards. Pretty good for a card with no annual fee.
- Annual Fee: None
- Authorized User Annual Fee: Free
- Foreign Transaction Fee: 3%
- What points are worth: The Freedom Unlimited card is advertised as a cashback card, but it actually earns Chase Ultimate Rewards. Our current Reasonable Redemption Values pegs their value at 1.5 cents each. Note that this assumes the cardholder also has a premium card that unlocks the ability to transfer to partners (either the Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve). Without one of those cards, points are only worth 1 cent each towards cashback, which can be taken as a statement credit, via check or ACH transfer.
- Best Use for Points: When combined with a premium card, Chase Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to travel partners at a 1:1 ratio and this will usually yield the most value. Our favorite hotel transfer partner is undoubtedly Hyatt, where redemptions can often exceed 2-3 cents per point. Airline partners are good, if not great, and include Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue and British Airways Avios, as well as domestic programs like United Mileage Plus, Southwest Rapid Rewards and JetBlue. Freedom Unlimited cardholders can redeem Ultimate Rewards for travel through the Chase Portal at a value of 1 cent each. Those who also have an Ink Business Preferred or Sapphire Preferred in the family can combine points with those cards and redeem them for travel through the Chase Portal at 1.25 cents each. Sapphire Reserve cardholders can do the same thing and redeem points at 1.5 cents each through the portal.
- Earning Categories:
- 5X on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal
- 5x on Lyft rides (through March 2025)
- 3x at restaurants and drugstores
- 1.5x everywhere else
- Credits:
- $10 Instacart credit (quarterly)
- $10 GoPuff credit (monthly, through 12/31/23)
- Travel Protections:
- Auto Rental Coverage: Secondary auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver). Provides reimbursement for theft and collision damage for rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. Within the US, the card’s coverage is secondary to your personal insurance (assuming you have it). Outside of the US, it’s primary.
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance: 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 Protections:
- Extended Warranty: One additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less (US warranties only).
- Damage and Theft Protection: Covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim/$50,000 per account.
- Who’s this card for? Those who also carry a premium Ultimate Rewards card such as the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred. Folks looking for a straight cashback card can do better.
- Is the Freedom Unlimited a keeper? Yes, but not without a premium Ultimate Rewards card.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Pros and Cons
Pros
- Earns 1.5x Ultimate Rewards everywhere
- Great 3x categories for a card with no annual fee
- Currently has one of the best welcome offers of all the Ultimate Rewards-earning cards
- Good transfer partners, especially for folks looking for domestic airline and hotel programs
- Miles can be shared across cards and cardholders
- Unusually for a fee-free card, provides travel and purchase protections
Cons
- 3% foreign transaction fee
- Must be paired with a “premium” card in order to transfer to partners
- Not the most exciting group of airline partners
Chase Transfer Partners
| Rewards Program | Capital One Transfer Ratio | Best Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 via BA | Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus (Avios.com) 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 | 1 to 1 | 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 | 1 to 1 | 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 | 1 to 1 | While flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. 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 | 1 to 1 | The best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be steep. See: Emirates Sweet Spot Awards - First class from 30K miles round trip. |
| Hyatt | Use for Hyatt free nights, free suite nights, lounge upgrades, or suite upgrades. Hyatt points are often worth at least 2 cents each, but they’re sometimes worth far more. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. | |
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 via BA | 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 | 1 to 1 via BA | 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 | 1 to 1 | 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 | 1 to 1 | Virgin Atlantic offers a few great sweet spot awards including US to Europe on Delta One business class for 50K points one-way. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight). |
Related Cards
Chase Ultimate Rewards Consumer Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
20K points + 5% on gas and groceries for a year ⓘ Non-Affiliate Earn 20,000 points (worth $200 cash back) after spending $500 in the first 3 months + 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases (not including Target or Walmart) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.No Annual Fee Be sure to select the card you want after clicking through. This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Even though this card is marketed as a cash back card, it actually earns Ultimate Rewards points which are redeemable for 1 cent each, or can be combined with other Ultimate Rewards-earning cards to get even more value. This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months. 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. Recent better offer: 20K points + 5x grocery stores for the first year on up to $12K in qualifying purchases 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 ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 ✦ 3x dining ✦ 3x drugstores ✦ 5X in rotating categories on up to $1,500 spend per quarter (Q4 2023: PayPal, wholesale clubs, and select 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 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 3 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
Unlimited Double Cashback for One Year ⓘ Affiliate Unlimited, uncapped double cashback on all spending for first year of card membershipNo Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Low spenders may prefer a different intro offer with an initial spend bonus and additional bonuses for gas and grocery purchases. Details here. This card is likely subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). FM Mini Review: Great for 3x categories and 1.5X everywhere else. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Earning rate: 5x travel booked through Chase ✦ 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 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 3 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) 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 2023: PayPal, wholesale clubs, and select charities). Card Type: Visa Signature or Platinum Noteworthy perks: Free DashPass for up to 3 months upon activation ✦ $10 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 3 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) 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. 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 (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 transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ✦ Free DashPass through 2025 ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ $50 annual credit for hotel stays booked through Chase ✦ $15 quarterly Instacart credit ✦ 6 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) |
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 Earning rate: 10X hotels & car rentals booked through Chase ✦ 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 transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: $300 Annual Travel Credit ✦ Points worth 1.5 cents each towards travel ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ Primary auto rental collision damage waiver ✦ Priority Pass Select lounge access ✦ $100 Global Entry fee credit ✦ $5 monthly DoorDash in-app credit through December 2024 ✦ Free DashPass through 2025 ✦ Earn 10X on Lyft spend✦ Free Lyft Pink All Access Memberhsip through December 2024 ✦ $15 monthly Instacart credit ✦ 12 months free Instacart+ ✦ $10 monthly GoPuff credit (through 12/31/23) See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
Chase Ultimate Rewards Business Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
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 Type: Visa Signature Business Noteworthy perks: ✦ Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
90K points ⓘ Affiliate 90K after $6K spend in 3 monthsNo 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. FM Mini Review: This one should be in everyone's wallet. Incredible signup bonus for a no-fee card. Great card for 5X categories. Excellent companion card to Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred. Earning rate: 5X office supplies ✦ 5X 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 |
100K points ⓘ Affiliate 100K after $8K spend in 3 months$95 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 80K after $5K spend. Many preferred the 80K offer due to the much lower spend requirement FM Mini Review: Great card for signup bonus and 3X categories. Also consider the fee-free Ink Business Cash for its 5X categories, and the fee-free 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 transaction 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 |
90K points ⓘ Affiliate 90K after $6K spend in 3 monthsNo 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 in 3 months [Expired 3-20-23] FM Mini Review: Great signup 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. 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 |
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
