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.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers cardmembers 1.5% rewards on all purchases. It is the essential “everywhere else card” in the Chase Ultimate Rewards® ecosystem.
Although the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is marketed as a “1.5% everywhere” card, it offers plenty of bonus spending categories. You get 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining at restaurants including eligible takeout and delivery, and 3% on drugstore purchases. Although rewards are marketed as cash back, the card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points behind the scenes, which can be transferred to a premium Ultimate Rewards® card and redeemed for greater value.
For a card with no annual fee, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® comes with a healthy set of benefits, including purchase protection, extended warranty, secondary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance, and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
Get the Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Welcome bonuses
Offer #1: card_name: bonus_miles_full
Offer #2: Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus get a 5% gas and grocery offer up to $600 cash back. (Earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.)
Our take on the welcome bonuses: These are both arguably the best offers we’ve seen on this card. One of the other might be better for you, depending on how you plan to use the card.
One of the links above is a affiliate link and the other link is a referral link. If you use our affiliate link, we may earn a commission. If you use a referral link, either we or someone on our team may earn points. We always show you the best offer, regardless of our ability to earn a commission.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% travel through Chase; 3% dining; 3% drugstore; 1.5% all other purchases
What you need to know about Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Here’s what you need to know about the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Card.
Rewards
| Travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards® | 5% | |
| Lyft rides through March 31, 2025 | 5% | |
| Dining at restaurants, including eligible takeout and delivery | 3% | |
| Drugstore purchases | 3% | |
| All other purchases | 1.5% |
Rewards are earned as Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, which can be redeemed for cash back at one cent per point. You can get more than one cent per point of value from Ultimate Rewards if you hold an additional premium credit card. See below for more details.
Benefits
| Consumer insurance benefits Purchase protection Chase extended warranty protection | |
| Travel benefits Secondary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance Trip cancellation/interruption insurance | |
| Third-party merchant benefits Complimentary 3 months of DashPass Complimentary 3 months of Instacart+ |
Other important terms
- No annual fee
- 3% foreign transaction fee
Chase Freedom Unlimited® welcome bonus
Get the Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Welcome bonuses
Offer #1: card_name: bonus_miles_full
Offer #2: Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus get a 5% gas and grocery offer up to $600 cash back. (Earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.)
Our take on the welcome bonuses: These are both arguably the best offers we’ve seen on this card. One of the other might be better for you, depending on how you plan to use the card.
One of the links above is a affiliate link and the other link is a referral link. If you use our affiliate link, we may earn a commission. If you use a referral link, either we or someone on our team may earn points. We always show you the best offer, regardless of our ability to earn a commission.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% travel through Chase; 3% dining; 3% drugstore; 1.5% all other purchases
Chase Freedom Unlimited® rewards
The Chase Freedom Unlimited offers increased rewards in select categories including Lyft, gas, travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, dining, and drug store purchases. Details are below.
Lyft rides: 5% cash back (through March 31, 2025)
Gas station purchases: 5% cash back (up to $6,000 spent in the first year)
Travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards: 5% cash back
Dining, including eligible takeout and delivery: 3% cash back
Drugstore purchases: 3% cash back
All other purchases: 1.5% cash back
Chase Ultimate Rewards card synergies
Chase Ultimate Rewards points can always be redeemed for cash back rewards at one cent each. This makes 10,000 points worth $100. But your points can become even more valuable when you hold a premium Ultimate Rewards credit card.
If you hold a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred card, you have access to a handful of redemption options that can increase the value of your points:
- Point transfers to airline and hotel partners
- Increased value when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Pay Yourself Back options
To use the points you earned from your non-premium Ultimate Rewards credit card for one of these redemptions, simply transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to your premium Ultimate Rewards credit card.
Card Benefits
In addition to earning rewards on a variety of bonus categories, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® comes with a slate of additional benefits. Details on relevant benefits are below.
Purchase protection – Purchase protection can provide reimbursement if an eligible item you buy using your card is damaged or stolen. The purchase protection on the Chase Freedom Unlimited card covers $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. See the coverage limits and terms in your card’s guide to benefits.
Extended warranty protection – Chase extended warranty protection extends the time period of a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less. Extended warranty protection on the Freedom Unlimited covers a maximum of $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account. See our guide on Chase extended warranty protection for more details.
Secondary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance – Auto rental collision damage waiver insurance provides reimbursement for damage to a rental car caused by theft or collision. The coverage you get with the Chase Freedom Unlimited is secondary coverage within your country of residence and primary outside of your country of residence.
Trip cancelation and interruption insurance – Trip cancellation and interruption insurance can reimburse you for prepaid travel expenses if your trip is cancelled or interrupted by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations.
Complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership – Get three months of complimentary DashPass membership, providing unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on eligible orders through DoorDash and Caviar. After your complimentary membership expires, you are automatically enrolled in DashPass at 50% off for the next nine months.
All credit card benefits have coverage limits, exclusions and limitations. See your card’s Guide to Benefits for specific details on what is covered.
How to apply:
Get the Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Welcome bonuses
Offer #1: card_name: bonus_miles_full
Offer #2: Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus get a 5% gas and grocery offer up to $600 cash back. (Earn 5% cash back on combined gas station and grocery store purchases on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.)
Our take on the welcome bonuses: These are both arguably the best offers we’ve seen on this card. One of the other might be better for you, depending on how you plan to use the card.
One of the links above is a affiliate link and the other link is a referral link. If you use our affiliate link, we may earn a commission. If you use a referral link, either we or someone on our team may earn points. We always show you the best offer, regardless of our ability to earn a commission.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0
Rewards: 5% travel through Chase; 3% dining; 3% drugstore; 1.5% all other purchases
A few notes on applying for Chase cards
- Chase generally won’t approve you if your credit report is showing 5 or more new credit card accounts opened in the last 24 months. This rule is knows as the 5/24 rule. If you’re unsure if you are “under 5/24” you should check your 5/24 status before applying for a Chase card. Note that recently this rule seems to have softened. See our coverage about Chase 5/24 for more.
- How often you can earn a welcome bonus on a Chase card varies by card family.
- Most cards allow you to earn a welcome bonus if it has been at least 24 months since your last received a welcome bonus on the same card.
- Chase Sapphire-branded cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can only earn a welcome bonus once every 48 months.
- You can only hold one Chase Sapphire-branded card at a time.
- If you apply for a Chase card and the bank offers a higher bonus within 90 days, you can send Chase a secure message or call them to have your welcome offer matched.
- Chase business cards do not report to personal credit reports as long as they are current.
Should you keep the card after the first year?
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has an annual fee of $0. Even if you don’t use the card, keeping it open and occasionally putting spending on a no-annual-fee credit card can help you build your credit. However, there are still a number of reasons to keep the Chase Freedom Unlimited open. Here are the benefits that might make this card worth keeping after the first year.
- Increased earnings in bonus categories like travel, dining, and drugstore purchases
- Purchase protection and extended warranty benefit
- Decent earnings on everyday spending
Frequently asked questions
The Chase Freedom Unlimited does not offer cell phone protection. That benefit is available on the Chase Freedom Flex card.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is issued as a Visa card. The similarly-name 5% rotating category card, the Chase Freedom Flex, is issued as a Mastercard.
If you also hold a premium Ultimate Rewards credit card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer the points you earn with the Chase Freedom to airline and hotel partners.
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.