In the world of travel credit cards, the best things don't come free. Want great travel perks? You'll have to pay for them with higher annual fees.
But just because cards like the Platinum Card® from American Express, The Chase Sapphire Reserve, and others are loaded with big benefits doesn't mean you should use them for your everyday spending.
That's where cards like the no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited Card really shine. And it's only gotten better recently, after adding lucrative bonuses for buying groceries for new applicants. And all cardholders will get even more bonus categories soon.
While it's a cashback card, The Chase Freedom Unlimited is the perfect complement to travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It allows you to pile up points even faster.
Here's why we think the Chase Freedom Unlimited is one of the absolute best no-annual-fee credit cards on the market.
Click Here to learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Full Benefits of the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card
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Intro Offer: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back!
- Earn 5% cashback on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
- Earn 5% cashback on Lyft rides through March 2025.
- Earn 3% cashback on dining, including takeout and delivery services
- Earn 3% cashback at drugstores
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cashback on all other purchases
- Subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, so you won't get approved for the Chase Freedom Unlimited if you've opened five or more credit cards (from any bank, not just Chase) in the last 24 months.
- No Annual Fee!
It Pairs Well with the Chase Sapphire Preferred & Reserve Cards
The Chase Freedom Unlimited Card is technically a cashback credit card. But one of the best benefits it offers is the ability to convert that cashback to Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Each cent is worth 1 Ultimate Rewards point.
In order to do so, you must hold either the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve. And considering the Chase Freedom Unlimited card earns an unlimited 1.5% cash back (or 1.5 Ultimate Rewards points) per dollar spent, it can be better to use it for your spending rather than your Preferred or Reserve card.
Let's say I spend $200 at Amazon. Since Amazon doesn't earn a category bonus on either the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred, I would earn 1 Ultimate Rewards point per dollar spent – thus earning me 200 points.
But if I made that same purchase with my Freedom Unlimited Card instead, I would earn 1.5% cashback on the $200 purchase which equates to $3. And since that cashback can be transferred into my Ultimate Rewards points balance, I would effectively be earning 300 points.
The best part? Once you transfer those cashback bonuses to Chase points, it redeems at a higher rate depending on which Sapphire card you have. If you hold the Preferred card your points will be worth 1.25 cents each, and if you hold the Reserve, they will be worth 1.5 cents each when used in the Chase Travel Portal or with the new Pay Yourself Back Feature.
Read: How to Transfer Points Between Your Chase Cards
It's The Best Card for Everything Else
Lots of travel rewards credit cards out there earn huge bonuses for spending in certain categories – making them the obvious choice for certain transactions.
Take, for example, the American Express Gold Card and the 4x Membership Rewards points it earns at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 of spending each year (then 1x). Or the Platinum Card from American Express, which earns 5x points per dollar spent on airfare booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel on up to $500,000 spent each calendar year. Or even the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which earns 3x points per dollar spent at restaurants and on all travel and 10x points per dollar spent at Lyft through March 2025.
But what about all those other transactions that don't earn any sort of category bonus multiplier? This is where the Freedom Unlimited Card shines.
That's because it earns an unlimited 1.5% cashback on every dollar you spend – regardless of which category the purchase falls under. And because you can transfer the cashback to your stash of Chase points, it is an easy choice for the card to use for every other purchase that doesn't earn a category bonus from a different card.
No Annual Fee & A Small Minimum Spend for a Bonus
One of the most appealing things about the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card is that it doesn't have an annual fee.
And on top of that, you can earn
Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cashback!
The one downside is that the Chase Freedom Unlimited does charge a foreign transaction fee of 3% – common among no annual fee credit cards. That said, keep this card in your wallet when you are traveling abroad.
Bottom Line
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is a no-nonsense option that will allow you to earn a bonus on every dollar you spend. It has no annual fee, allows new cardholders to earn 5% back (or 5x points) at the grocery store for the next 12 months, and makes a great companion to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve cards.
Click Here to learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Can the points transfer from the Unlimted also go to a Chase Ink?
Yep, they can transfer to the Chase Ink Preferred and any card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points.