March 14, 2025: The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a no-annual-fee credit card that offers least 1.5% cash back rewards everywhere paired with generous benefits. The Freedom Unlimited is one of our favorite cards for earning points everywhere.
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Chase Freedom Unlimited® review
Cards and Points Rating: 5.0/5.0
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The Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers solid rewards everywhere, bonus rewards in a handful of useful categories, a great welcome offer, and benefits that are best-in-class among credit cards with no annual fee.
But perhaps the most compelling aspect of the Freedom Unlimited is how it pairs with other Chase credit cards. If you also hold a premium Ultimate Rewards® credit card, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® you can get increased value out of your points through travel redemptions.
Frankly, there aren’t many reasonable requests that we could make to improve the Chase Freedom Unlimited®—it’s already offering much more value than it probably needs to.
Pros
- 1.5% cash back on every purchase, plus bonus categories.
- Extended warranty and purchase protection.
- No annual fee.
- Great pick if you want a single card to use everywhere.
- Earns Ultimate Rewards® points.
Cons
- New cardmember offers are different through different channels—you have to hunt around to get the best offer.
- Ultimate Rewards® ecosystem doesn’t have great options for gas or grocery rewards.
Chase Freedom Unlimited® at a glance
Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is an excellent choice for a use-anywhere card, thanks to its 1.5% cash back rewards and extended warranty benefit.
Sign-up bonus
Best offer: bonus_miles_full
Learn how to apply.
Rewards
- 5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠.
- 5% on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025.
- 3% on dining at restaurants, including eligible takeout and delivery services.
- 3% drugstore purchases.
- 1.5% on other purchases.
Rewards are marketed as cash back, but earned as Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.
Ultimate Rewards® can be combined across cards you hold. If you hold a premium Ultimate Rewards card, you can transfer your points to Chase’s transfer partners or use your points for increased value when you book travel through Chase Travel℠. For more about using Ultimate Rewards, check out our guide on the Ultimate Rewards program.
Benefits
Consumer insurance benefits
Travel insurance benefits
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance.
- Auto Rental Coverage.
- Roadside Assistance.
- Travel and Emergency Assistance.
Partner benefits and statement credits
- 6 months of complimentary access to DashPass.
Subject to auto-renewal at the current monthly rate. Activate by December 31, 2027.
Welcome bonus: Earn bonus cash back
Chase markets the Chase Freedom Unlimited® through several channels and several different bonus offers are typically available. Here are the best current sign-up bonuses on the Freedom Unlimited:
Annual fee: annual_fees
Best offer: bonus_miles_full
Learn how to apply.
Rewards: 1.5% cash back, plus bonus categories
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® features “1.5% cash back on every purchase” but that doesn’t really tell the full story. In addition to 1.5% base cash back rewards, the card offers additional rewards in several bonus categories:
- 5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠.
- 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services.
- 3% on drugstore purchases.
- 1.5% on all other purchases.
Chase markets the Freedom Unlimited as a cash back card, but the card earns Ultimate Rewards® points, which can be redeemed for cash back. For more on how to increase the value of the rewards you earn, see our guide to Ultimate Rewards®.
Benefits: Great benefits for a no-annual-fee card
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has an incredible suite of benefits for being a card with no annual fee. Here’s what the Freedom Unlimited includes:
Consumer insurance benefits
- Extended Warranty Protection extends the warranty of eligible items by up to one additional year, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per account.
- Purchase Protection provides coverage against theft, damage, or involuntary and accidental parting for 120 days from the date of purchase, up to $500 per item and $50,000 per account.
Travel insurance benefits
- Auto Rental Coverage provides reimbursement for damages caused by theft or collision of a rental vehicle. To be eligible for coverage, you must rent from a rental agency using your card. Coverage is secondary in the United States.
- Roadside Assistance provides a single number to call for pre-negotiated per-service fees on certain roadside assistance services. The cost of the services provided is the responsibility of the Freedom Unlimited cardholder.
- Travel and Emergency Assistance can coordinate services like medical referrals, legal assistance, emergency translation services, and document delivery when you are traveling away from home. The cardholder is responsible for services provided.
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance covers common carrier fares up to $1,500 per covered traveler and $6,000 per trip if your trip is interrupted or cut short for a covered reason.
Who is Chase Freedom Unlimited® best for?
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a card that almost anyone can benefit from having in their wallet, thanks to its combination of good rewards everywhere, good consumer benefits, and no annual fee. But these types of people will benefit most from the Freedom Unlimited:
- Someone who wants simplicity. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a good choice if you want a single no-annual-fee card to use everywhere. Yes, you can get cards that earn 2% everywhere, but most of those cards do not include the extended warranty and purchase protections offered by the Freedom Unlimited.
- Travelers collecting Chase Ultimate Rewards®. If you hold a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® adding the Freedom Unlimited to your wallet can increase the rewards you earn “everywhere else” by 50%. Ultimate Rewards can be transferred between cards, so you can use the points you earn on your Freedom Unlimited for the enhanced redemption options on your premium cards.
- Frequent diners. The Freedom Unlimited isn’t marketed as a dining card, but it earns 3% rewards on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services. If you’re currently earning less on dining out, you should pick up this card.
Cards that complement the Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Because the Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns Ultimate Rewards® points, there are a handful of other Chase cards that can make the rewards you earn more valuable and increase the total amount of rewards you earn. Here are some other cards you should consider.
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® earn more rewards on travel and open up opportunities to get more value from your points through travel redemptions. Since you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points between cards, you can move your points to either card and get more value when you redeem points through Chase Travel℠.
- The Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers bonus rewards in its 5% rotating quarterly bonus categories. Historically, rotating categories have included useful categories like grocery stores, Target, Amazon.com, gas stations, PayPal, wholesale clubs, and home improvement stores. The card also has a cell phone protection benefit, with the Freedom Unlimited lacks.
- Small business owners can add an Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or an Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card to their wallet. The Ink Cash earns additional rewards in business-related categories and the Ink Preferred earns more rewards on travel while enabling redemptions through Chase Travel℠ for 25% more value and transfers to travel partners.
- For more rewards on gas and groceries, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express fills in where the Freedom Unlimited earns only 1.5%. The Blue Cash Preferred earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%) and 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit. You’ll also earn 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services and 1% cash back elsewhere.
Alternatives to the Chase Freedom Unlimited®
If you are looking for a single card that earns good rewards everywhere, here are a few alternatives to consider:
- The TD Double Up Credit Card earns 2% cash back on all of your eligible purchases. You’ll also receive Visa benefits like cell phone protection, purchase security and extended warranty. Unfortunately, the card is only available if you are within TD Bank’s U.S. footprint—which includes only a handful of states on the east coast.
- If you are not averse to paying an annual fee, the U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® card can get you 3% cash back or 4.5% travel rewards anywhere you use a mobile wallet to check out. The card has a $400 annual fee, but that can be largely offset by $325 in annual credits that apply toward eligible travel and dining purchases.
- Small business owners might want to consider the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card for its 1.5% cash back (also earned as Ultimate Rewards®). If you spend a lot month-to-month, keeping the spending on a business card can help you keep high balances off your personal credit report. Plus the card almost always has one of the best Ultimate Rewards new cardmember welcome bonuses.
Bottom line: An excellent card on its own, and an Ultimate Rewards® powerhouse
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a card that almost everyone should consider getting. Between its great rewards everywhere and its suite of benefits, you’re almost certainly going to better your wallet by picking up the card. And if you have other cards in the Chase Ultimate Rewards ecosystem, the card is a must-have.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Chase Freedom Unlimited® offer cell phone protection?
The Freedom Unlimited does not offer cell phone protection. That benefit is available on the Chase Freedom Flex card.
Is the Chase Freedom Unlimited a Visa or Mastercard?
The Freedom Unlimited is issued as a Visa card. The similarly-name 5% rotating category card, the Chase Freedom Flex, is issued as a Mastercard.
Can the Chase Freedom Unlimited®’s points be transferred to airlines?
If you also hold a premium Ultimate Rewards® credit card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can transfer the points you earn with the Chase Freedom to airline and hotel partners.
Am I automatically enrolled in the DashPass membership on the Chase Freedom Unlimited card?
No. You must enroll in the complimentary DashPass membership.
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
