Chase Freedom Unlimited Review: Big Cash Back and an Innovative Bonus

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.

Is the Chase Freedom Unlimited worth it?

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.

Author's personal experience

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.

What everyone else is saying

From professional reviewers to real cardholders, here's a summation of other people's opinions on this Chase card.

What our competitors think

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.

Social media consensus

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.

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:

• Chase Freedom Flex℠
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®

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:

• Purchase protection covering new purchases against damage or theft for 120 days (up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account)
• Extended warranty protection for an additional year on U.S. manufacturer's warranties of three years or less
• Auto rental damage collision waiver for theft and collision damage

The bonus categories aren't the best for everyday spending

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.

A foreign transaction fee makes this a poor choice for international travel

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.

Chase Freedom Unlimited credit score

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.

Pre-approval process

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.

Intro APR

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.

Fees

Here are the fees for the Chase Freedom Unlimited®:

• Annual fee: $0
• Balance transfer fee: Intro fee of 3% ($5 minimum) on transfers made within 60 days of account opening; 5% ($5 minimum) after that
• Cash advance fee: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
• Foreign transaction fee: 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
• Late payment fee: Up to $40
• Returned payment fee: Up to $40

Credit limit

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.

Our credit card methodology

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.