Is the Chase Freedom Unlimited Worth It?

• Written by Jeanine Skowronski
  

  Jeanine Skowronski

  Credit cards, banking, investing, Insurance

  Jeanine Skowronski is an editor, writer, and veteran personal finance journalist with over 15 years of industry experience. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism and professional writing from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Jeanine has served as the Editor-in-Chief of Publisher Partnerships at Natural Intelligence, Head of Content at Forage, Managing Editor at Red Ventures (Bankrate and CreditCards.com), Head of Content at Policygenius, Executive Editor of Credit.com, and a columnist for Inc. Magazine. Her work has been featured in U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, American Banker, Newsweek, Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, MSN, CNBC, and various other top financial publications. She has appeared as a credit card analyst and pundit on Vox, Slate, Good Morning America, The Willis Report, ABC World News with David Muir, NPR's Marketplace, USA Today, CNN Money, and other local radio and television stations. Jeanine has authored several top studies on personal finance, including widely circulated research on how millennials were eschewing plastic back in 2014 and a white paper on parents and money in 2021. She is the founder and author of Money As If, a weekly personal finance newsletter. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband, two cats, and two dogs.

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• Edited by Emily Gadd
  

  Emily Gadd

  Credit Cards, Personal Finance, Health & Wellness

  Emily Gadd is an editor, responsible for writing about personal finance and credit cards. She got her start writing and editing at Healthline. She is passionate about creating educational content that makes complex topics accessible. Emily lives in Seattle with her husband and two cats.

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• Reviewed by Jasmin Baron
  

  Jasmin Baron

  Credit Cards, Travel Rewards, Loyalty Programs, Family Travel, Credit Building, Credit Scores

  Jasmin Baron is CardCritics’ senior editor, responsible for editing and writing credit cards, travel rewards, loyalty program, and other credit-related content. She is passionate about personal finance education and enjoys sharing tips and tricks for making the most credit card points and miles with her readers. Her expertise in maximizing credit card travel rewards originated from over two decades of aviation industry experience, including 18 years working as a pilot and college professor/flight instructor in her native Canada. Her work has appeared on sites such as CNN Underscored Money, Business Insider, The Points Guy, and point.me. When she’s not planning her next trip with credit card rewards, you’ll probably find her tinkering around in the kitchen, hanging out with her three kids, or playing with her dog, Benji.

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• Last Updated Sep 26, 2025

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is worth it for most card users as it offers a sweeping range of top benefits, including solid base rewards, a generous welcome offer, competitive introductory annual percentage rates (APRs) and notable purchase protections, for no annual fee. 

The popular cash-back credit card is perhaps best known for its competitive 1.5% base rate on purchases. But it also offers bonus rewards on a few common spending categories — namely, Chase Travel℠, dining and drugstore purchases — making it a top option if you’re looking to earn straightforward rewards on everyday expenses. (Be sure not to carry a balance, though.)  

Learn more about what makes the Chase Freedom Unlimited worthwhile.

Quick Verdict 

I’ve had the Chase Freedom Unlimited since its launch in 2016, and so, as a long-term accountholder, I can confidently call it a keeper. 

The card, admittedly, gets bested in certain head-to-heads. You can find a higher flat cash back rate, for instance, on the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card or Citi Double Cash® Card, an advertising partner, and the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card has carried a more lucrative welcome offer. 

But the Chase Freedom Unlimited’s well-rounded features and benefits, coupled with a $0 annual fee, make it a solid addition to any wallet. And the card’s a no-brainer for loyalists with more than one Chase credit card, given how easily and quickly you can rack up and redeem points through the Ultimate Rewards® platform.  

Chase Freedom Unlimited: At a Glance 

• Annual fee: $0
• Welcome offer: Intro Offer: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
• Rewards structure: Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases
• Statement credits and perks: Six-month complimentary DashPass membership, 2% cash back on Lyft rides (through Sept. 30, 2027), purchase protection, extended warranty protection, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, secondary auto rental coverage, travel and emergency assistance
• Estimated value: $440 per year, based on average US spending in common everyday categories

Who Should Consider Chase Freedom Unlimited?

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is a good option for anyone who wants to confidently earn a competitive cash back rate without having to track bonus categories or think too much about which card to use for purchases.

It’s a great option for people who have other Chase credit cards, as you can combine its rewards with those earned through the rotating-category Chase Freedom Flex® and travel-centric Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® credit cards.

Put it on your consideration list, too, if you’re looking for a low introductory APR offer, but want a credit card that earns rewards for the long haul. 

Who Should Skip Chase Freedom Unlimited? 

You need at least good credit to qualify for this card, so if you don’t quite have a Chase Freedom Unlimited-worthy credit score (think a FICO score of at least 670), you might want to hold off on applying. 

And, while the card offers a competitive 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, then 18.99% - 28.49% Variable APR, you might want to opt for a different zero-interest credit card if you suspect you’ll need more time to pay back those balances, or worry the rewards program will entice you to overspend. 

It’s also worth noting that, while the Freedom Unlimited has a competitive rewards program, 1.5% isn’t the highest flat cash back rate out there. The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card, Citi Double Cash Card and Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® effectively offer 2% cash rewards on all purchases, for no annual fee. 

So if you’re simply after the highest flat cash back rate on all purchases, you might want to opt for one of those cards instead.

How To Maximize Chase Freedom Unlimited’s Value 

Tap these tips to get more out of your Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card.

Pool Your Points

While I’d call the Freedom Unlimited a worthwhile standalone investment, it truly shines as a companion to other Chase credit cards, given how easy it is to transfer, combine and redeem points through the issuer’s Ultimate Rewards platform.

Over the last 12 months, for instance, I earned and ultimately redeemed $212.77 in statement credits by combining my Chase Freedom Unlimited with Freedom Flex rewards — and I’ve got around another $150 worth of rewards banked, a nice amount of money to “make” off of planned spending.  

Keep in mind, too, that the Freedom Unlimited is an even better companion to Chase’s Sapphire Preferred Card or Sapphire Reserve, as these cards qualify for Points Boost, a new feature that increases the redemption value of your points through the Chase Travel portal up to 1.75x or 2x, respectively. Having one of these cards also unlocks points transfers to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, which include United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards and World of Hyatt.

Clock Your Benefits

When I first got my Freedom Unlimited nearly a decade ago, its big selling point was the lucrative 1.5% back on all purchases. But Chase has smartly evolved the Freedom Unlimited’s benefits to stay competitive among cash-back credit cards as new entrants hit the market. 

For instance, in 2020, it added the bonus categories — 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and 3% cash back on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services — to the card’s rewards suite. And Points Boost, while more of an indirect benefit, was launched in June 2025. 

As a result, long-term cardholders especially should look for updated benefits that they may currently be underutilizing. 

Use Your Extra Perks

The Chase Freedom Unlimited has quite a few lesser-known extras under its hood, including:

• Purchase protection, covering eligible new purchases for 120 days from the buy date against damage or theft (up to $500 per item).
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, which potentially reimburses you for up to $1,500 per covered traveler and $6,000 per trip for eligible passenger fares, if a charged trip is canceled or ended prematurely by sickness, severe weather or other covered perils. 
• Auto rental coverage, which reimburses theft and collision damage for most rental vehicles, if you decline the rental car company’s collision insurance and charge the full cost of the rental to your card (this coverage is secondary to your personal insurance, however).

Final Verdict on the Chase Freedom Unlimited 

So long as you don’t routinely carry a balance and can meet Chase’s credit score and income requirements, consider the Freedom Unlimited a low-risk, low-maintenance and largely worthwhile addition to your wallet.   

While it doesn’t win on every single cash back credit card line item, it is among the more well-rounded cards on the market, offering long-term rewards, a solid introductory APR offer and a few enticing “first-year” perks, including a strong welcome offer and complimentary six-month DashPass membership, for no annual fee. 

Plus, it pairs well with Chase’s other Ultimate Rewards credit cards, meaning you can still pursue — and even more readily maximize — the premium perks of, say, the Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred Card.

The information related to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® was collected by CardCritics™ and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product/card. Product details may vary. Please see issuer website for current information. CardCritics™ does not receive a commission for this product.