The card_name is a cash back credit card with no annual fee. It offers 5% back on travel purchased through Chase, 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% back on all other purchases.
It also pairs well with an Ultimate Rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, helping you earn more rewards and convert them to valuable points you can transfer to airline and hotel partners.
On top of that, it also comes with several travel and purchase benefits, making it an even more valuable choice.
This article will cover everything you need to know about this card to determine if you should add this card or a different card to your wallet. Let’s dive right in.
Welcome Bonus
The card_name currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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Earning Cash Back or Points
The card_name earns the following rewards:
- 5% cash-back on travel purchased via the Chase Travel portal.
- 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.
No Annual Fee
The Freedom Unlimited doesn’t have an annual fee. This provides cardholders with the freedom to use their card for everyday purchases, without the added stress of worrying about hitting a certain spending threshold or earning a specific amount of rewards to justify the annual fee.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Benefits
The card_name offers the following benefits:
0% Intro APR for 15 Months
The Freedom Unlimited offers 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. After that, a reg_apr,reg_apr_type APR.
Secondary Rental Car Insurance
Secondary rental car insurance covers any damage to a rental car not covered by your primary insurance when you pay for the rental using this card.
Other credit cards offer primary rental car insurance, which pays before your insurance and saves you the hassle of filing multiple insurance claims.
You still need to maintain liability car insurance to cover damage to another person or property.
Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance reimburses you for non-refundable expenses if your trip is interrupted or canceled for a covered reason such as illness, severe weather, or an accidental injury when you pay for your travel expenses with this card.
Extended Warranty
Credit card extended warranty protection adds up to an additional year of coverage for eligible purchases on manufacturer’s warranties up to 3 years.
Coverage matches the protection provided by the original warranty so that damage or defect would have to be covered by the original warranty for extended warranty coverage.
Purchase Protection
Purchase protection can save you a lot of money if you bought an eligible item that is damaged or stolen within 120-days.
For example, if accidentally dropped your new phone or laptop and broke the screen, you could file a claim to get it replaced if it was purchased within the last 120 days.
Door Dash, Lyft, and Instacart Benefits
DoorDash: Get a complimentary 3 months of DashPass, DoorDash’s membership that provides unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on eligible orders on DoorDash and Caviar. After that, you are automatically enrolled in DashPass at 50% off for the next 9 months. Activate by December 31, 2024.
Lyft: Earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025. That’s 3.5% cash back in addition to the 1.5% cash back you already earn.
Instacart+: Get a complimentary 3 months of Instacart+ membership that provides unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on eligible orders. After the complimentary Instacart+ membership period ends, you will be automatically enrolled in an annual Instacart+ membership unless you cancel. Enroll by July 31, 2024. Once enrolled, cardmembers can also earn up to $10 in statement credits each quarter through July 31, 2024 when they make eligible Instacart purchases with their Chase Freedom Unlimited® card.
Redeeming Points
To redeem the points or rewards on your Chase Freedom Unlimited® 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, including:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review)
- card_name (review)
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review)
These three cards allow you to transfer this card’s Ultimate Rewards to the other Chase card to unlock:
25% Bonus: If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, you can redeem points for 1.25 cents per point for a travel purchase, which is a 25% bonus over the standard 1.0 cents per point.
50% Bonus: If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can redeem points for 1.5 cents for a travel purchase, which is a 50% bonus over the standard 1.0 cents per point.
Potentially More Than 50% Bonus: With the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, and Ink Preferred cards, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, including Hyatt, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Air Canada Aeroplan. This allows you to earn even more value, especially for business-class flights.
Pros & Cons
Just like any credit card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited has its advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the card’s pros and cons to help you decide if it’s for you.
Pros
- No annual fee
- Intro APR period
- No minimum points required for redemptions
Cons
- Has foreign transaction fees
Card Alternatives
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
Citi® Double Cash Card
The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer boasts a strong 2% rewards rate on purchases, where you get 1% back when you buy and 1% when you pay.
This zero-annual-fee card offers a solid earning potential as long as you pay your balance on time, and it provides a simple way to rack up points with no bonus categories to track.
You can also boost your rewards by also holding the Citi Premier® Card (review), which allows you to transfer points to airline and hotel programs. This combination effectively allows you to earn 2 airline miles per dollar on all spending with the Citi Double Cash.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- bonus_miles_full
- 5x Points on Travel Booked Via Chase
- 3x Points on Dining and Eligible Delivery Services
- 2x Points on All Other Travel Purchases
- 10% Anniversary Points Boost
- Trip Delay and Trip Cancellation Insurance
- Primary Rental Car Insurance
- $95 Annual Fee
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review) is one of the best rewards cards for travelers who want solid earning rates for travel and dining expenses.
For only $95 per year, this card earns 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, 3x points on dining, online groceries, and streaming services, and 2x on all other travel purchases.
Cardholders will also get a 10% anniversary points bonus, a 12-month DoorDash DashPass subscription when activated by December 31, 2024, and a $50 anniversary hotel statement credit.
Plus, it provides extensive travel protections, including trip delay, primary rental car, baggage, and purchase protection plans.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
- bonus_miles_full
- 5% Cash Back on Purchases in Your Top Eligible Spend Category Each Billing Cycle up to $500 (1% after that)
- 0% Intro APR for 15 Months on Purchases and Balance Transfers ($5 or 5% fee). After that, reg_apr,reg_apr_type.
- No Annual Fee
The Citi Custom Cash is a no-annual-fee card that earns 5% cash back in your top spending category each billing cycle.
Eligible 5% cash back categories, among several others, include:
- Restaurants.
- Gas stations.
- Grocery stores.
- Select travel.
- Home improvement stores.
- Drug stores.
- Fitness clubs.
This allows you to turn the Custom Cash into your 5% cash back card for your favorite category.
Is The Chase Freedom Unlimited Worth It?
The card_name is a great no-annual-fee card that earns points on everyday expenses. Cardholders can easily stack up on points which they can cash out as statement credits or redeem through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Alternatively, you can get more value from the Freedom Unlimited card if you have another Chase card that earns ultimate rewards points.
You can convert your cashback points into Ultimate Rewards points, which are one of the most valuable currencies s in the points and miles space.
Bottomline? The Chase Freedom Unlimited card is worth signing up for.
