The Chase Freedom® card has been a tremendously successful rewards credit card by offering up to 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent each quarter for purchases in rotating categories that cardholders sign up for and 1% cash back for all other purchases. But since not everyone wants to keep track of a rewards calendar, Chase introduced the Freedom Unlimited® card, which offers solid cash back rewards like Chase Freedom at a consistent rate.
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As a Freedom Unlimited cardholder, you earn a full 3% cash back on your first $20,000 in purchases the first year and 1.5% cash back on all purchases. There’s no minimum to redeem for cash back, no limits on the amount of rewards you can earn and no bonus categories to keep track of. Rewards can be redeemed for cash back, merchandise, gift cards and travel reservations. And rewards never expire so long as your account remains open.
New applicants also get promotional financing APR of and balance transfers, with just a 3% balance transfer fee or $5 minimum. After the promotional rate expires, the ongoing APR is . (You can check your credit score for free on Credit.com to see where you stand, with updates every 14 days.)
Another benefit is the card’s annual fee.
New cardholders earn a full 3% cash back on the first $20,000 in purchases the first year and an intro APR of on both purchases and balance transfers.
Having this card lets you earn a competitive amount of cash back on all purchases without keeping track of bonus categories. While the standard Chase Freedom card offers unlimited 1% cash back on purchases (outside of revolving categories), Freedom Unlimited cardholders earn 1.5% cash back, which is 50% more rewards.
The Freedom card’s sign up bonus is $150 after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Freedom cardholders also earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in different bonus categories each quarter and when the cardholder activates the categories. Not bad, but if you’d rather not mess with categories or enrolling to earn more, the Freedom Unlimited offers ample ongoing benefits and added cash back year one.
Both cards carry no annual fee and have the same introductory APR offers on purchases and balance transfers.
Freedom cardholders who choose this card give up the chance to earn 5% cash back at featured merchants when these bonus categories include retailers where they normally shop, so the Freedom Unlimited card may fall short depending on your preferences. Also, those who carry a balance could find cards with a lower interest rate that don’t offer rewards for spending. (Not sure how credit card interest rates work? Here’s a primer.)
The Chase Freedom Unlmited card is ideal if you’re looking to earn competitive rewards without complicated terms and conditions. The standard Freedom card requires you to “activate” bonus categories every quarter, where the Chase Freedom Unlimited doesn’t. And while the standard Freedom card limits its sign-up bonus to three months when you spend $1,500, the Freedom Unlimited lives up to its name by giving you the chance to earn up to $600 cash-back the first year. And with the Unlimited card, you have a full year to spend the $5,000 needed to earn $150 cash back at the 3% rate, not just 3 months.
At publishing time, the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom cards are offered through Credit.com product pages, and Credit.com is compensated if our users apply and ultimately sign up for these cards. However, this relationship does not result in any preferential editorial treatment. This content is not provided by the card issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of Credit.com alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer.
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