Contents
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® credit card has an offer for $200 bonus cash when you spend $500 within the first 3 months of account opening. This bonus can be worth more when you pool this card with certain other cards from Chase. More on this below. Compare with other top card bonuses here.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® or Walmart® purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year. Also earn 5% on travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1.5% on all other purchases. This makes it a good everyday card for just about everyone. By itself, it rates about the same or better than competitors like the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card.
But, pair it with certain other Chase cards and it’s a whole new ball game. Let’s discuss all of this below.
*Chase Bank also offers great bonuses with their Checking/Savings accounts.
Chase Freedom Unlimited® $200 Bonus Cash
Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Compare this with other card bonuses here.
The bonus comes in the form of Ultimate Rewards points where you can redeem for cash back or travel. Redeeming for travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal will get you the same value. But, pair it with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and you’ll get even more value with your points through Ultimate Rewards. More on this below.
Here are some ideas on meeting the spending requirement:
What Chase Freedom Unlimited® Rewards Are Worth
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is far from the average flat-rate, cashback card. With it, you’ll get 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target or Walmart purchases) on up to $12k spent in the first year, 5% on travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1.5% on all other purchases. Your cash back comes in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. So, your $200 introductory bonus will show on your Ultimate Rewards account as 20,000 points.
With Ultimate Rewards points, you have the flexibility to redeem your rewards for:
- Statement credits
- Mailed checks
- Gift cards
- Travel booked through Chase
All redemption options above get you $0.01 per point. This valuation is neither good nor bad. It’s what you would get for your points, on average, across different rewards cards.
But, you can also transfer your Freedom Unlimited points to certain other Chase cards for added value. This is where it gets really interesting. Based on this flexibility, I value each point earned with this card to be worth up to an average 2 cents each. Those 20,000 bonus points could be worth up to $400 in value. Let’s go over the details below.
Maximizing Your Chase Freedom Unlimited Rewards
If you want to maximize your rewards value, pair your Chase Freedom Unlimited® with certain other Ultimate Rewards points earning cards. These include the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. There are other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points. But, these particular cards get more value when points are redeemed through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Because you may want to pair other Ultimate Rewards cards for other scenarios (e.g. maximizing category rewards), they include:
This opens up a wider range of redemption options, giving you more rewards flexibility and more value for your Freedom Unlimited rewards. You can pool the points from the Chase Freedom Unlimited® with those of the below cards. You can then redeem your points at the higher value associated with the paired card.
| Paired Ultimate Rewards Card | Points Value |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | $0.0125 per point |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | $0.015 per point |
| Ink Business Preferred® Credt Card | $0.0125 per point |
So, paired with these cards, 20k points can be worth $250 to $300 when travel is booked through Ultimate Rewards.
But, how can you get up to 2 cents per point in value (20k points = $400)? With your paired card, you can actually transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to Chase’s awesome list of Airline/Hotel partners. By doing so, you can potentially get even more value with your bookings. I’ve tested this myself with a points transfer over to United MileagePlus. Indeed, the same number of points had more value with a United booking.
Pairing with the Ultimate Rewards cards mentioned lets you transfer points to partner loyalty programs. Click here for a list.
Bottom Line
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a no-frills, cashback card with a great first year cash back rate offer. It delivers decent ongoing value without an annual fee.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® also offers rewards that are quite versatile. If you’re looking for a companion to another Ultimate Rewards card, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better deal.
Remember, you won’t want to use this card abroad due to the foreign transaction fees.
If you’re looking for flexible rewards with decent value, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a strong choice.
| OFFER LINK | OFFER | OUR REVIEW |
| Chase Business Complete Banking℠ | $300 Cash | Review |
| Chase Total Checking® | $225 Cash | Review |
| Chase Secure Banking℠ | $100 Cash | Review |
| TD Bank Beyond Checking | $300 Cash | Review |
| TD Bank Convenience Checking℠ | $150 Cash | Review |
| HSBC Premier Checking | $450 Cash | Review |
| Axos Business Checking | $100 Cash | Review |
| Aspiration Checking | $150/$200 Cash | Review |
| Ally Invest | Up To $3,000 | Review |
| Betterment | Up To 1 Year Free | Review |
| BlockFi | Up To $250 BTC | Review |
| Voyager (code BH5F1A) | $25 In BTC | Review |
| TradeStation | $100 Bonus | Review |
| Coinbase | $10 In BTC | Review |
| Robinhood | Free Stock | Review |
| Motley Fool | Stock Advisor Discount | Review |
Get a $200 bonus when you use this link to open a Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card and spend $500 within 3 months of account opening:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18/YFD956ISFD