Chase Freedom Unlimited Visa Signature Review
Updated August 31, 2024.
The Facts
The Math
With the September 2020 revamp, Freedom Unlimited becomes a great card for bonus categories. Travel booked through UR returns 5%: it makes a lot of sense to book airfare (other than a few exceptions such as Southwest) to take advantage of the bonus, as the rates are the same as if you book directly with airlines and if you remember to add your frequent flyer number you will still earn miles and be recognized for your elite status; however, you may want to think twice before booking hotels, because several hotel programs won't allow points accumulation or recognize your elite status if you book through a third party; you may also need to be careful about car rentals, as you might not be able to apply certain coupons or promotions. In addition, it is not bad to earn 3% for dining & drugstores. For general spending's 1.5%, you might want to check out a 2% cashback card such as Citi Double Cash and Elan Fidelity Visa.
If you have a premium UR card such as Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred, you will unlock the full potential of Freedom Unlimited by having two premium features. The first feature allows travel redemption at fixed value: 1.25 cents/point when you have Sapphire Preferred / Ink Preferred, making Freedom Unlimited a 6.25% | 3.75% | 1.88% rewards card, and 1.5 cents/point when you have Sapphire Reserve, making Freedom Unlimited a 7.5% | 4.5% | 2.25% rewards card. The second feature allows points transfer to frequent traveler miles/points and may represent even higher returns. Our current conservative value for UR points with the transfer feature happens to be 1.5 cents/point, and Freedom Unlimited also returns 7.5% | 4.5% | 2.25% in this way.
Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Reserve make a great combo, allowing you to pool UR points in Sapphire's account for fixed value rewards or points transfer with elevated value. Obviously, you want to use Freedom Unlimited for most purchases, while using Sapphire Reserve for foreign transactions. As for travel, it makes sense to put hotels & car rentals on Sapphire Reserve as previously explained, and you need to decide on which to use for airfare - even though Freedom Unlimited gives you 2 more points, Sapphire Reserve's travel protection is second to none, offering Travel Delay, Baggage Delay, and other coverages with higher insurance amounts. In addition, if you want to throw in Chase Freedom Flex WEMC that earns 5x points on quarterly rotating categories, your return will be even higher. Chase is smart to make you keep all three cards if you want to maximize UR point earning.
Freedom Unlimited vs. Amex EveryDay Preferred (EDP, $95 annual fee): Amex EDP is another card that could return 1.5x frequent flyer miles for general spending, and there are several differences between the two beyond the annual fees. First of all, EDP only return 1.5x miles when you have at least 30 transactions per month, and Freedom Unlimited only returns 1.5x miles when you have a premium UR card which costs at least $95 a year. Secondly, Freedom Unlimited returns 5x points for travel through UR and 3x for dining & drugstores, while EDP offers up to 4.5x for groceries and 3x for gas. Lastly, while our current valuation of Chase UR and Amex MR points are similar, they have some different transfer partners: Chase has United, Southwest, Hyatt, etc., while Amex has ANA, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Hawaiian, etc.
The Conclusion
Chase Freedom Unlimited becomes a great card for bonus categories by itself after the September 2020 revamp. When paired with a premium UR card, it becomes even stronger, returning 7.5% | 4.5% | 2.25% rewards, for travel thru UR | dining & drugstores | general spending, respectively.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: None
- Signup Bonus: 20,000 points (advertised as $200) after spending $500 within 3 months of new account opening and 5x points on groceries, up to $12,000 in purchase within the first year. This card is not available if you currently have this card or have received a signup bonus for this card in the past 24 months. Based on anecdotal reports, this card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (you won't be approved for this card if you have opened 5 or more new accounts within the past 24 months; any new account with any issuer will count, not just with Chase; new accounts include most credit cards and charge cards but exclude non-Chase business cards and store charge cards). Historical Best Bonus: (1) 20,000 points + 5x points on groceries for the first year in 2020 & 2021 & 2023; (2) 20,000 points + 5x points on gas for the first year in 2022; (3) 20,000 points in 2018 and 2019; (4) 3x points on all purchases for the first year in April 2018.
- Application landing page [Disclaimer: we will receive a referral bonus from Chase if you apply and are approved for this card. The signup bonus you will receive is the same as if you visit Chase's non-referral link].
- Rewards: 5x travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x dining & drugstores, and 1.5x everything else. In addition, through March 2022, earn 5x on Lyft purchases (3.5 additional points).
- Best Use of Ultimate Rewards (UR) points: Even though Chase Freedom Unlimited is advertised as a cash back card, it actually earns UR points. You can redeem UR points for merchandise, gift cards, cash or travel, at up to 1 cent per point. Unlike Citi ThankYou, BofA WorldPoints, and Amex Membership Rewards whose cash redemption rate is worse than other options, the cash redemption in UR is at exactly 1% starting at 2,000 points = $20 with increments of 1,000 points. So undoubtedly cash back is the best redemption of Chase Freedom Unlimited for most cardholders. However, if you have a premium UR card (Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, Ink Preferred), you can move the UR points earned from Freedom Unlimited to the premium UR account and take advantage of two premium redemption features: (1) transfer UR points to miles/points of frequent traveler programs at 1:1 ratio, or (2) fixed value travel redemption when booking through UR at 1.25 cents/point for Sapphire Preferred / Ink Preferred and 1.5 cents/point for Sapphire Reserve. This obviously increases Freedom Unlimited's value quite a bit. Please see our review on Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. C1 vs. CR for detailed analysis of the five programs that allow mile/point transfer.
- Other benefits: (1) Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection which offers perks including daily complimentary breakfasts for two, room upgrades upon availability, late checkout upon availability, $25 food and beverage credit per stay, free room wi-fi, and VIP amenities, at over 900 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. You may book a hotel on VisaSignatureHotels.com and the rates are the same as BAR. This benefit is actually available to any U.S. issued Visa Signature cards. (2) Three months of DoorDash's subscription service DashPass for free - activate before December 31, 2021. DashPass, normally $9.99 per month, offers $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on food orders over $12 via DoorDash. After the 3 month period, you will be automatically enrolled in DashPass at 50% off for the next 9 months, so remember to cancel if you don't plan to continue the subscription.
- History: Before its launch in March 2016, there were rumors that the popular Chase Freedom will be replaced by this new card; it turned out that Chase just added a new product alongside Freedom. In September 2020, Chase enhanced this card by adding travel thru UR as a 5x category and dining & drugstores as 3x categories.
The Math
With the September 2020 revamp, Freedom Unlimited becomes a great card for bonus categories. Travel booked through UR returns 5%: it makes a lot of sense to book airfare (other than a few exceptions such as Southwest) to take advantage of the bonus, as the rates are the same as if you book directly with airlines and if you remember to add your frequent flyer number you will still earn miles and be recognized for your elite status; however, you may want to think twice before booking hotels, because several hotel programs won't allow points accumulation or recognize your elite status if you book through a third party; you may also need to be careful about car rentals, as you might not be able to apply certain coupons or promotions. In addition, it is not bad to earn 3% for dining & drugstores. For general spending's 1.5%, you might want to check out a 2% cashback card such as Citi Double Cash and Elan Fidelity Visa.
If you have a premium UR card such as Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred, you will unlock the full potential of Freedom Unlimited by having two premium features. The first feature allows travel redemption at fixed value: 1.25 cents/point when you have Sapphire Preferred / Ink Preferred, making Freedom Unlimited a 6.25% | 3.75% | 1.88% rewards card, and 1.5 cents/point when you have Sapphire Reserve, making Freedom Unlimited a 7.5% | 4.5% | 2.25% rewards card. The second feature allows points transfer to frequent traveler miles/points and may represent even higher returns. Our current conservative value for UR points with the transfer feature happens to be 1.5 cents/point, and Freedom Unlimited also returns 7.5% | 4.5% | 2.25% in this way.
Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Reserve make a great combo, allowing you to pool UR points in Sapphire's account for fixed value rewards or points transfer with elevated value. Obviously, you want to use Freedom Unlimited for most purchases, while using Sapphire Reserve for foreign transactions. As for travel, it makes sense to put hotels & car rentals on Sapphire Reserve as previously explained, and you need to decide on which to use for airfare - even though Freedom Unlimited gives you 2 more points, Sapphire Reserve's travel protection is second to none, offering Travel Delay, Baggage Delay, and other coverages with higher insurance amounts. In addition, if you want to throw in Chase Freedom Flex WEMC that earns 5x points on quarterly rotating categories, your return will be even higher. Chase is smart to make you keep all three cards if you want to maximize UR point earning.
Freedom Unlimited vs. Amex EveryDay Preferred (EDP, $95 annual fee): Amex EDP is another card that could return 1.5x frequent flyer miles for general spending, and there are several differences between the two beyond the annual fees. First of all, EDP only return 1.5x miles when you have at least 30 transactions per month, and Freedom Unlimited only returns 1.5x miles when you have a premium UR card which costs at least $95 a year. Secondly, Freedom Unlimited returns 5x points for travel through UR and 3x for dining & drugstores, while EDP offers up to 4.5x for groceries and 3x for gas. Lastly, while our current valuation of Chase UR and Amex MR points are similar, they have some different transfer partners: Chase has United, Southwest, Hyatt, etc., while Amex has ANA, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Hawaiian, etc.
The Conclusion
Chase Freedom Unlimited becomes a great card for bonus categories by itself after the September 2020 revamp. When paired with a premium UR card, it becomes even stronger, returning 7.5% | 4.5% | 2.25% rewards, for travel thru UR | dining & drugstores | general spending, respectively.