Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card is a winner in the market with unlimited cashback on everyday purchases, allowing you to earn 5% Cash Back on travel purchases without any membership fee.
You also get 3% cash back on dining and restaurants, including dining and takeout. The additional 3% category is on the drugstore purchases and on all other eligible purchases you get 1.5% cashback.
| Pro’s | Con’s |
|---|---|
| No Annual membership fee | Balance Transfer Fee |
| 0% Promotional APR | Foreign Transaction Fee |
| Multiple Reward category | Limited Card benefits and perks |
Table of Contents
Welcome Bonus
With the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, you get to earn a $200 Bonus credit along with 5% cashback for transactions done at the Gas stations.
After you apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, to be eligible to get the $200 bonus credit, you need to spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from the day the account was opened.
For the very first year, you get the bonus category for rewards which is with the Gas station. You can earn 5% cashback for the transaction done at the Gas station for the first year.
0% promotional APR offer is also there on purchases for 15 months from the date of account opening. After that, the APR changes, and the new APR may be a variable APR that could vary between 15.24% to 23.99%.
Cash Back Categories
- 5% Cash Back on travel.
- 3% Cash Back on dining at restaurants, including take-out.
- 3% Cash Back on drugstore purchases.
- 1.5% Cash Back on all other purchases.
Reward redemption Options
Redemption for a statement credit
There is no minimum reward required to redeem as a statement credit. You do have the option to select between statement credit or else if you wish you can get it deposited to your checking or saving account directly.
If you choose to redeem it as a statement credit, it will be applied to the account, and the overall account balance will be adjusted after adjusting the reward once redeemed.
Shop with Points at Amazon
You also can link your reward account with Amazon and at the checkout page with them on the Amazon account you can select your reward account and can make the payment from that instead.
Gift Card
You also get to choose from a wide range of Gift cards and can pay them using your reward accounts. The gift card options are for Shopping, Dining, Entertainment, and many more.
Travel
You also can redeem the rewards and can pay for your travel at a very competitive rate and will get flexible ways to pay the remainder.
Fees Associated With Chase Freedom Unlimited
Annual fee
Chase Freedom Unlimited is a fee-free card. It should be the preferred card if you do not use a credit card regularly and wish to avoid any fee for keeping the card active.
Foreign transaction fee
This card has a 3% foreign transaction fee which is very much on the higher side and should be avoided using while at an international location.
Balance transfer fee
Chase Freedom Unlimited card has an introductory balance transfer offer which comes with a fee of either 3% or $5 of the amount, whichever is higher and is available within 60 days from the account opening date. After that, the balance transfer fee is $5 or 5% of the total transfer, which is high.
Cash advance fee
Chase Freedom Unlimited also has a Cash advance fee which is 5% of the total withdrawal or $10 which is higher.
Late payment fee
Chase Freedom Unlimited does charge a late payment fee if the minimum due is not paid off by the payment due date and the fee can go up to $40.
Over the limit fee
Unlike most other credit cards, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card does not charge any additional fee for exceeding the account assigned limit.
Additional Benefits
Fraud Protection
Fraud Protection ensures you are not to be held responsible for any unapproved charges done on your card or account.
Purchase Protection
Purchase Protection gives you the coverage on your new purchases for initial 120 days against damage or loss up to $500 per claim with a $500,00 account limit.
Extended Warranty Protection
It helps you Extend the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year and upto 3 more years on eligible merchants.
Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
You can claim to be reimbursed up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for nonrefundable passenger fares which are prepaid, due to medical emergency or in some unforeseen circumstances.
Conclusion
The Chase Freedom Unlimited card is a beginners card with no annual membership fee and a cashback of 1.5% on the no bonus category. This should certainly be on our watch list if you do not use your credit card regularly but wish to keep improving your credit score by keeping a credit card active.
The 5% cashback on travel, the $3% on dining and Drug stores, and the bonus category of 5% on travel for the first year make this card an overall well-performing card. Along with that the 0% APR offer makes it a fine bet where you can carry the balance from any other credit card and can pay them off partially without any additional interest charges.
With a card like Blue Cash Preferred From American Express or The Blue Cash Everyday from American Express with Cash Back rewards, a card with no annual fee with one of the best cashback rewards is something that can help you taking the decision if you intend to apply for this card. If you ever wish to jump up to an Ultimate Rewards earning card, you do have the option to select reward points instead of cashback which makes this card more unique.
