Lucrative cash back program with a big first-year bonus
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has some of the best cash back rates you can find. It earns:
- 5% on travel booked through Chase Travel
- 5% on Lyft rides through March 2025
- 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3% at drugstores
- 1.5% on other purchases
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.
A 0% intro APR for avoiding interest charges
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:
- You need to make minimum payments every month. If you don't, you'll be charged a late fee, and Chase could even cancel your 0% intro APR offer.
- The go-to 20.49% - 29.24% Variable APR applies after the intro period. Do your best to pay off your card before then so you don't get charged any interest.
- It's still better to avoid debt if you can. Only carry a balance on your credit card if you need to, not just because it has a 0% intro APR.
Combine with a Chase travel card for more ways to redeem rewards
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.
Complimentary purchase and travel protections
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: