Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited: Which One Is Right for You?

• Written by Angela Mae
  

  Angela Mae

  Investing, credit cards, consumer loans, commercial financing, taxes, retirement, banking, fintech

  Angela Mae is a B2B and B2C writer for top finance brands and platforms. She specializes in investing, taxes, retirement planning, and consumer & commercial financing. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English and 10+ years’ experience. Through a combination of extensive journalistic experience, deep-dive research, and expert interviews, she helps brands reach their audience and inspire people to achieve financial freedom.

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• Last Updated Aug 14, 2025

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® are both Chase credit cards, but the offerings, benefits and earnings potential of each are quite different.

While both are solid introductory cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers more value when it comes to travel benefits. The Chase Freedom Unlimited, meanwhile, has great cash back earning potential without an annual fee.

Here’s what to know about the Freedom Unlimited vs. Sapphire Preferred Cards, and which might be better for you.

What Makes the Sapphire Preferred Card Worth Getting?

Launched back in 2009, the Sapphire Preferred Card is a classic and, for many travelers, a must-have in their wallet. It’s a relatively low-fee card (only $95 a year) that boasts some great travel perks, protections and other incentives. It even comes with a hefty welcome bonus.

These are the main reasons why you might want to consider this card.

Competitive Welcome Bonus

The Sapphire Preferred Card comes with 75,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards® points when you spend $5,000 in the first three months of opening the account. These points become worth 75% more when redeemed through the new Points Boost feature in Chase Travel℠. That’s up to a $1,312 value upfront — simply by activating and using the card enough to meet that spending threshold.

The bonuses don’t stop just because you’re no longer a new member. In fact, every year on the anniversary of opening your account, you’ll receive bonus points equal to 10% of the total purchases you made in the previous year. Say you spend $10,000 on purchases. You’ll get 1,000 bonus points. And if you spent $30,000? You’ll get 3,000 bonus points.

Points for Shopping and Travel

As expected with a rewards card, the Sapphire Preferred Card gives you the chance to earn points on nearly any purchase — including travel-related and everyday ones. Here’s what that looks like:

• 5x points for all travel purchased through Chase Travel
• 3x points for online grocery purchases, dining, takeout and select delivery services
• 3x points on select streaming services
• 2x points on all other travel purchases (not purchased through Chase Travel)
• 1x points on everyday purchases

Points never expire as long as your card is active, so you won’t have to rush to use them. Instead, you can let them add up until you really want to treat yourself on a trip.

If you want even more value (and who doesn’t?), take advantage of Chase’s 1:1 point transfer program. With it, you can earn even more by transferring points to Chase’s travel partners, which include domestic airlines and hotels.

Partnership Rewards

The Sapphire Preferred Card comes with some hard-to-beat partnership benefits as well. Here’s what’s currently available (see issuer terms for the most up to date details):

• Complimentary access to DashPass — a membership for both DoorDash and Caviar — which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders for a minimum of one year when you activate by Dec 31, 2027

Valuable Travel Protection and Related Perks

If you’ve traveled before, and chances are you have, you know the importance of having travel protections in place. With the Sapphire Preferred Card, you get that plus other benefits, including:

• Up to $50 yearly hotel credit through Chase Travel
• Lost luggage insurance
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Theft protection
• Auto rental collision damage
• And more

What Makes the Freedom Unlimited Worth Getting?

The Freedom Unlimited card isn’t as directly geared toward travelers as the Sapphire Preferred Card, but you can still benefit from some great perks and rewards. Since its 2016 launch, this card has been a solid choice for those who enjoy earning cash back on their purchases — travel and otherwise.

Even better, the Freedom Unlimited card doesn’t have an annual fee. That means you can take full advantage of those cash back rewards (and other incentives) without having to pay anything back.

Here’s what you need to know about this card.

Welcome Bonus Worth $200

Right now, Chase is offering new card members $200 cash back after they spend $500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Earning rewards is as easy as using the card on a couple of monthly utility bills or a grocery run or two. After the intro period, as long as you pay off the balance in full at the end of the month, you won’t even be charged any interest — that’s extra cash upfront for spending what you would already do.

New card members also qualify for 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, then 18.99% - 28.49% Variable.

Earn at Least 1.5% Cash Back on Everything

Where the Freedom Unlimited card excels is in its flexibility and opportunity to earn cash back on everyday purchases. These are the main ways to maximize those cash back rewards:

• 5% cash back on all travel purchases through Chase Travel
• 3% cash back on dining in at restaurants, takeout and certain delivery services
• 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
• 1.5% cash back on all other purchases

You can redeem your cash back for gift cards, or you can request it as a statement credit. Alternatively, you can link your Freedom Unlimited card to your Amazon account and redeem your rewards on your Amazon purchases.

Travel Protection and Insurance

While not strictly a travel rewards card, the Freedom Unlimited does come with some key travel-related perks, including:

• Purchase protection (against damage or theft)
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
• Access to travel and emergency assistance services
• Rental car coverage
• 24/7 fraud monitoring
• Extended warranty protection

Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Freedom Unlimited: Fees

Neither the Freedom Unlimited nor the Sapphire Preferred Card have exorbitant fees. Even so, it never hurts to know what you’re paying.

These are the main fees for the Freedom Unlimited card:

• No annual fee
• 0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, then 18.99% - 28.49% Variable
• Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
• 3% foreign transaction fee
• Up to $40 late payment fee

And here are the Sapphire Preferred Card’s most notable fees:

• $95 annual fee
• 19.99% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
• Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
• No foreign transaction fee
• Up to $40 late payment fee

Side By Side Comparison

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

4.8

CardCritics™ Rating

CardCritics™ uses a 5-star rating system determined by our editorial team. The comparison factors include annual fees, APRs, bonus offers, ongoing rewards, accessibility, redemption options, and more. These factors are then weighted by importance to focus on key features that are most important in each specific category.

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Chase Freedom Unlimited®

4.8

CardCritics™ Rating

CardCritics™ uses a 5-star rating system determined by our editorial team. The comparison factors include annual fees, APRs, bonus offers, ongoing rewards, accessibility, redemption options, and more. These factors are then weighted by importance to focus on key features that are most important in each specific category.

Read Full Review

Annual Fee

$95

$0

Purchase and Balance Transfer APR

19.99% – 28.24% Variable

0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, then 18.99% – 28.49% Variable

Welcome Bonus

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Intro Offer: Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening

Ongoing Rewards

Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

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

Pros & Cons

PROS

• Generous intro bonus
• Primary rental car coverage
• 10% Anniversary Bonus

CONS

• Lounge access or free checked bags are not available
• No intro APR for purchases or balance transfers
• Complicated rewards

PROS

• Higher than average base rate of 1.5%
• Elevated 3-5% cash back on select categories
• Valuable bonus opportunity

CONS

• No ability to transfer points to travel partners unless you have an eligible annual-fee Chase card
• Charges a foreign transaction fee

Learn More

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How to Choose

If you’re thinking about getting either card, it is important to decide if the elevated rewards and perks offered by the Sapphire Preferred Card warrant the annual fee. Digging into what spending categories you fall into most often will also help you decide. The elevated base rate offered by Freedom Unlimited is tough to beat if you spend across many different categories.