If you’re looking for a card to use for everyday spending, the American Express® Gold Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited® are great options. However, each card functions differently—one is a rewards card, and the other is a cashback card.
The Amex Gold is a great card for earning points at restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and flights booked directly with airlines. Cardholders can also enjoy up to $424 in annual credits and nice travel and purchase protections.
The Freedom Unlimited sets itself apart with 1.5% back on non-bonus purchases, plus higher rewards in select categories including dining and travel. This flexible rewards card becomes even more valuable when paired with a premium Chase card, allowing you to transfer your rewards to travel partners.
Which card are you going to choose?
Full Reviews: American Express® Gold Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
Overview of Each Card
Welcome Bonuses
American Express Gold:
The Amex Gold currently offers the following welcome bonus:
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
Welcome Bonus Eligibility
You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer on the American Express Gold card if you have or have had:
- American Express Gold
- American Express Platinum Card®
- The Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley
- Platinum Card® from American Express for Charles Schwab
- Previous versions of the above cards.
Chase Freedom Unlimited:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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Earning Rewards
American Express Gold:
The Amex Gold earns Membership Rewards points and offers some very nice points multipliers to help you earn a lot of points:
- 4 points per dollar on dining at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year (then 1x points).
- 4 points per dollar U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year (then 1x points).
- 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly from the airline or booked on AmexTravel.com.
- 2 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
Chase Freedom Unlimited:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns the following rewards:
- 5% cash-back on travel purchased via the Chase Travel℠.
- 5% cash back on Lyft rides (through March 2025).
- 3% cash back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services.
- 3% cash back at drugstores.
- 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
Winner:
It depends on how you spend your money. The Amex Gold is great for people who spend a lot on dining and groceries, while the Chase Freedom Unlimited is ideal for those with diverse expenses and can benefit from the 1.5% cashback on all non-category purchases. Also, consider if you prefer earning points or cashback.
Card Benefits and Perks
American Express Gold:
The American Express Gold card offers the following benefits for its cardholders:
$120 Dining Credit: Earn up to $10 in monthly statement credits when you pay with the Amex Gold Card at participating dining partners, including Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment is required.
$120 in Uber Cash: Get up to $10 monthly Uber Cash for U.S. Uber Eats orders and rides when you add your American Express Gold Card as a payment method. Your Uber Cash can be redeemed using any American Express card.
$100 Resy Credit: Get up to $50 semi-annually in statement credits after you pay with the Amex Gold to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. Enrollment is required.
$84 Dunkin’ Credit: You can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations.
Up to $100 in Hotel Credits: Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. Eligible charges vary by property.
No Foreign Transaction Fees (rates & fees): The Amex Gold’s lack of foreign transaction fees makes it an ideal choice for international purchases, especially considering you can earn 4 points per dollar at global restaurants (on the first $50,000 spent per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar).
Travel and Purchase Benefits
Trip Delay Insurance: When your trip is significantly delayed due to covered reasons like equipment failures or severe weather, this protection reimburses you for reasonable expenses including lodging, meals, toiletries, and medication. The coverage activates when you pay for travel with your card and extends to family members on the same itinerary, though you’ll need to seek reimbursement from the travel carrier first.*
Baggage Insurance Plan covers your baggage if it is lost, damaged, or stolen and you purchase your ticket with this card.*
Secondary Rental Car Insurance: This card provides backup protection for rental car damage or theft when you charge the full rental to your card.*
Extended Warranty Protection: When you purchase items with your credit card, you’ll get an extra year of warranty coverage on eligible items that have original manufacturer warranties of up to five years. This valuable perk means you can protect expensive electronics and appliances that come with longer manufacturer warranties without paying extra for store protection plans*
Return Protection allows cardholders to receive a refund for purchased items within a certain timeframe for items that merchants may not accept for return.*
ShopRunner Membership: As a cardholder, you’ll enjoy a complimentary ShopRunner membership, which provides free 2-day shipping and free returns at over 100 participating online retailers. This benefit can help frequent online shoppers save on shipping costs and streamline the return process.
Amex Offers: As an American Express cardholder, you can access Amex Offers. These targeted, limited-time promotions provide discounts or bonus points on purchases with select merchants. Offers are added to your card, and you’ll receive either a percentage or dollar amount back as a statement credit when you meet the offer terms. While offers vary and may not always align with your spending habits, this perk can be valuable when an offer matches your preferences.
* Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
Chase Freedom Unlimited:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited offers the following benefits:
Intro APR: 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. After that, a reg_apr,reg_apr_type APR.
120-Day Purchase Protection: Get 120 days of protection against damage, theft, and even loss of your purchases – one of the longest windows available. This premium coverage automatically applies when you pay with your card.
Extended Warranty Protection: Your purchases gain an extra year of warranty protection when bought with this card, extending manufacturer warranties of three years or less without the inflated prices of store warranty plans.
Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: This protection reimburses you for non-refundable, prepaid travel expenses if you need to cancel before departure or cut your trip short due to covered situations like severe illness or weather events. Coverage activates when you pay for your trip with the card, but it’s important to note that reimbursement only applies for specific covered reasons rather than any cancellation.
Secondary Rental Car Insurance: This card provides backup protection for rental car damage or theft when you charge the full rental to your card.
Winner:
The Amex Gold wins. It offers more benefits such as annual credits, and several travel and purchase protection perks.
Value of the Annual Fees
American Express Gold:
The American Express Gold has a $325 annual fee (rates and fees), which is offset by up to $424 in annual credits, trip and purchase protections, and extra points on dining, flights, and U.S. supermarkets.
Chase Freedom Unlimited:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited has no annual fee, making it a great option for earning rewards without having to pay a large annual fee.
Authorized users can be added to the card for free and can help earn rewards through their spending.
Winner:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is the clear winner. You don’t have to worry about paying annual fees.
Redeeming Rewards
Amex Gold:
American Express Membership Rewards points are a versatile and valuable currency for travelers. The program offers numerous redemption options, with transfers to airline partners being the most lucrative way to use your points.
Amex partners with 18 airlines and 3 hotel chains, allowing you to access a wide range of travel possibilities. Some of the best redemptions include booking business class flights to Europe through Air France-KLM Flying Blue for as low as 50,000 miles one-way. Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club offers excellent value for Delta One flights to Europe at 50,000 points, significantly less than booking directly through Delta.
For those planning a trip to Asia, transferring to ANA Mileage Club can yield incredible value. Round-trip business class flights from the West Coast to Tokyo can be booked for just 90,000 miles. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is another great option, especially for their renowned long-haul flights like New York to Singapore.
Domestic travelers can benefit from transferring to British Airways Executive Club for short-haul American and Alaska Airlines flights, with awards starting at just 8,250 Avios for distances up to 650 miles.
While transferring to airline partners typically offers the best value, Amex also allows direct redemptions for flights through their travel portal. However, this option generally provides lower value at 1 cent per point.
To maximize your Membership Rewards, focus on high-value airline transfers for premium cabin international flights. With strategic planning, you can unlock extraordinary travel experiences and significant savings on your next adventure.
Membership Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
|
|
|---|---|
Aer Lingus Avios
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AeroMexico [1 to 1.6]
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Air Canada Aeroplan
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Air France/KLM Flying Blue
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ANA
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Avianca LifeMiles
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British Airways Avios
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Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
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Delta SkyMiles
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El Al [1,000 to 20]
|
Emirates
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Etihad Guest
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Hawaiian Airlines
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Iberia Avios
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JetBlue [250 to 200]
|
Qantas
|
Qatar Airways
|
Singapore KrisFlyer
|
Virgin Atlantic
|
Choice
|
Marriott Bonvoy
|
Hilton Honors [1 to 2]
|
Chase Freedom Unlimited:
To redeem the points or rewards on this Chase card, log in to your Ultimate Rewards® account, navigate to the “Earn/Use” tab on your home page, and choose the type of redemption you want. The most popular options include:
Cash Back: Redeem your points in the form of a statement credit towards your balance or receive a direct deposit into a bank account.
Gift Cards: Convert your rewards into a gift card from your preferred retailer, with gift card options starting at 500 points for $5, so that’s worth 1 cent per point.
Pay With Points: Use your points to pay for Amazon or PayPal purchases. However, we don’t really recommend this option since redemption values are typically less than 0.8 cents apiece. Amazon Gift cards would be a better option.
Travel: If you book a trip through Chase’s travel portal, you redeem your rewards at one cent per point.
But you can easily increase the value by 25-50% of this card’s rewards by holding a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards card, which allows you to transfer to Chase’s airline and hotel partners or cash out points towards travel with higher bonuses:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card = 25% Bonus
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® = 50% Bonus
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card = 25% Bonus
Winner:
It’s a tie. Chase and Amex both have solid rewards programs that offer flexible redemptions. Amex might have more transfer partners but it doesn’t mean it’s better. Each program has unique transfer partners that the other program doesn’t have.
The Verdict
The Amex Gold and Freedom Unlimited are two different cards that cater to different consumers, but looking at the various factors mentioned above, there’s a clear winner.
The Amex Gold is the superior card overall because it offers great rewards, multiple annual credits, travel and purchase protection, and flexible redemption options.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is a good option if you are looking for a no annual fee card or pair it with one of Chase’s premium Ultimate Rewards cards.
Which card are you going to choose?
