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The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is good for earning cash back with a one-card wallet. It has bonus categories, earns 1.5% on non-bonus spending, and starts you off with an impressive sign-up bonus. This card also pairs well with Chase travel cards as part of a more advanced rewards strategy.
Find out if it's right for you in our full Chase Freedom Unlimited® review.
On Chase's Secure Website.
On Chase's Secure Website.
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Intro APR 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months
Purchases: 0% Intro APR on Purchases, 15 months
Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers, 15 months
Regular APR
20.49% - 29.24% Variable
Rewards Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases
1.5% - 5% cash back
Annual Fee N/A
$0
Welcome Offer Earn an extra 1.5% 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 Travel℠, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.
Up to $300 cash back
A cash back card that has it all with unlimited 1.5% - 5% cash back rates and an excellent 0% intro APR offer. There's also an innovative sign-up bonus worth up to $300 cash back. With the bonus, you’ll earn 4.5% cash back on dining and drugstores, 6.5% on travel booked through Chase Travel, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After the bonus, you’ll still earn the regular cash back rates on every purchase.
We recommend comparing options to ensure the card you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of standout credit cards.
Offer | Our Rating | Welcome Offer | Rewards Program | APR | Learn More |
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Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor |
Discover will match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. N/A | 1% - 5% Cashback Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically. |
Intro: Purchases: 0%, 15 months Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months Regular: 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR |
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Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor |
Up to $300 cash back Earn an extra 1.5% 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 Travel℠, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases. | 1.5% - 5% cash back Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases |
Intro: 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months Purchases: 0% Intro APR on Purchases, 15 months Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers, 15 months Regular: 20.49% - 29.24% Variable |
Apply Now for Chase Freedom Unlimited®
On Chase's Secure Website. |
|
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor |
75,000 Miles 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening | 2X-5X miles Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. |
Intro: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A Regular: 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable) |
You won't find many cash back cards that offer as much value as the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. It earns competitive cash back rates no matter where you use it, and it doesn't charge an annual fee.
Some people follow the "Chase Trifecta" strategy -- getting three different Chase credit cards to earn bonus rewards across lots of spending categories. I currently have a "Chase Pentafecta" of five Chase cards. Suffice to say, I like my Chase cards, including my Chase Freedom Unlimited®. It's a fantastic all-purpose card to use anywhere and everywhere. And if you like to travel, you could combine it with one of the Chase Sapphire cards.
From professional reviewers to real cardholders, here's a summation of other people's opinions on this Chase card.
Average competitor rating: 4.4 / 5 stars
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® gets near unanimous high marks, including two other 5-star reviews. Its average is brought down by a review that gave it 3.4 stars. To be honest, that strikes me as too low -- this is one of the top credit cards, not just a decent one.
The foreign transaction fee was a common complaint. Lots of cash back cards charge one, so this isn't uncommon. But it would make this card even better if it got rid of that fee.
Another critique was that this Chase card doesn't earn bonus rewards on groceries or on most travel spending, except for Chase Travel bookings and Lyft rides through March 2025. Even outside of its bonus categories, it earns 1.5%, which isn't bad. If you're not sure, explore other credit card reviews to see if you can find one that better fits your spending habits.
There are a ton of positive comments about the Chase Freedom Unlimited® on social media. Users have called it "excellent," "great," and "probably one of the best."
Multiple social media users mentioned that this is a great credit card for beginners, as long as your credit history is good enough to get approved. People also pointed out how well this Chase card works in combination with a Chase Sapphire card. We didn't find any criticisms, so it appears that this card is well-liked online.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has some of the best cash back rates you can find. It earns:
There are plenty of cards that earn a flat rate of 1.5% or 2% everywhere. And there are plenty of cards with bonus categories. What makes the Chase Freedom Unlimited® special is that it combines the two: Bonus categories and a rate of 1.5% everywhere else. That makes it a card you can use anywhere.
As a welcome offer, you can earn even more. Earn an extra 1.5% 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 Travel℠, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.
Have a few big expenses you'll need to pay off over time? Or dealing with expensive credit card debt costing you 20% or more per year in interest? The Chase Freedom Unlimited® could help with that.
It has a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. For any purchases you make, you'll have 15 months to pay them off interest free. You'll have the same amount of time to pay off any credit card debt you transfer over.
Now, there are a couple of important points to mention about this benefit:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is an excellent cash back card. If you just want to use it for earning cash back, you could certainly save a lot of money that way. But if you like to travel, you may want to pair it with a Chase travel card.
Here's why: Chase lets you transfer rewards between its Ultimate Rewards cards. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is one of these cards. Each $1 of cash back you earn with it is technically 100 Ultimate Rewards points. Here are Chase's other Ultimate Rewards cards for consumers:
All these cards have different bonus categories. By carrying more than one, you can earn bonus rewards on more purchases. Also, the Chase Sapphire cards offer better travel redemptions. They let you transfer points to Chase's airline and hotel partners, and also redeem points at 25% to 50% more value for Chase Travel bookings.
Chase cards work so well together that people often open three of them, such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, the Chase Freedom Flex®, and a Chase Sapphire card. This strategy is called the Chase Trifecta.
It's always a nightmare when you get sick right before a vacation. If you go anyway, you could infect others. But getting your travel costs refunded can be quite a challenge, too.
If you booked with the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, it can help with that. It has trip cancellation/interruption insurance. This can reimburse you for up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for your prepaid, nonrefundable passenger fares. It applies when your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather, or other covered situations.
That's just one of a few useful and complimentary protections this card offers. It also has:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® doesn't earn bonus cash back in many everyday spending categories. For example, gas and groceries are two of the largest monthly expenses for Americans as a whole. You'll only be earning 1.5% on those. The best gas and groceries cards earn 3% or more in those categories.
It's not a huge issue. No cash back card can have it all. But it's worth thinking about which card works best for your typical spending.
This Chase card charges a foreign transaction fee of 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars. If you use it outside the United States, you'll pay an extra $30 in fees for every $1,000 you spend.
This fee is common on cash back cards, although not all of them charge it. While the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a big earner in its home country, you're better off getting a card with no foreign transaction fees to use on trips abroad.
A FICO® Score of 670 or higher is recommended to apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. Keep in mind that Chase also looks at other factors, including your credit history as a whole, your income, and even the number of credit cards you've opened recently. If you've opened five or more cards in the previous 24 months, your application will most likely be declined because of Chase's 5/24 rule.
You can sometimes check if you're pre-approved for Chase cards on its website. It offers a pre-approval tool, but this tool isn't always available.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. This is one of the longer 0% intro APR offers, giving you plenty of time to pay down purchases or debt.
Here are the fees for the Chase Freedom Unlimited®:
The minimum credit limit for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is $500, according to the terms and conditions. On the high end, there are cardholders who report having credit limits of over $20,000. Chase sets your credit limit when you're approved, basing it on many factors, most importantly your income and credit history.
If you want bonus cash back in everyday spending categories: The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express earns 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. online retail purchases, up to a $6,000 spending cap in each category. Terms apply. That's an excellent rate in places where most consumers spend a lot of money every month.
If you want a card with no foreign transaction fee: The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) is a cash back card that doesn't charge you any extra on foreign transactions. It also has a great cash back program, earning 3% on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®).
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a card that can work well for almost anyone. Whether you're looking for one card you can use everywhere or as part of a Chase Trifecta, it could be a valuable addition to your wallet.
At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.
We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.
No, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is made of plastic.
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The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a Visa credit card.
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
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