How to earn points

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns Ultimate Rewards points at the following rates:

  • 5X back in points on travel purchased through Chase Travel.
  • 3X back in points  on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services.
  • 3X back in points  on drugstore purchases.
  • 1.5X back in points  on all other purchases.

There's no rotating categories to activate and no spending caps. There's also a limited-time 2% on Lyft rides through September 30, 2027. 

The drawback is that this card, along with all other Chase "cash back" cards, charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so using it abroad is a no-go. For overseas spending, you'll want to use one of the Sapphire cards, Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, or any other no-FX card.

Chase Freedom points value

Rewards from Chase Freedom Unlimited are tracked as Ultimate Rewards points, where each $1 in cash back is equal to 100 points. In practice, this means a baseline value of about 1 cent per point when you redeem directly as cash back, statement credits, or many gift card options. 

If you later move those points to a Chase travel card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can often unlock higher value through boosted travel redemptions or partner transfers, which can lift your effective points value above 1 cent each.

Learn More: What Are Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Worth?

Perks and benefits

The Chase Freedom Unlimited comes with complimentary DashPass.

Complimentary DashPass

Activate by the stated deadline and get complimentary DashPass for six months, waiving DoorDash delivery fees and lowering service fees on eligible orders. It's a modest perk for a no-fee card, useful mainly if you order delivery regularly.

Insurance and protections

For a no-annual-fee card, the Freedom Unlimited includes a useful set of protections — though they're lighter than the Sapphire cards' (notably, no rental car or trip delay coverage). Coverage requires you to pay with the card.

Trip Cancellation & Interruption

You can be reimbursed up to $1,500 per covered traveler and $6,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable passenger fares, if your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations.

Purchase Protection

Covers your eligible new purchases for 120 days from the date of purchase against damage or theft up to $500 per item.

Extended Warranty

Extends the time period of the manufacturer's U.S. warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less, up to four years from the date of purchase.

Auto Rental Coverage

Decline the rental company's collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage provides reimbursement for theft and collision damage for most rental vehicles. In the U.S., coverage is secondary to your personal insurance.

Travel and Emergency Assistance

If you run into a problem while traveling away from home, this benefit provides legal and medical referrals and access to other travel and emergency assistance services. (You will be responsible for the cost of any goods or services obtained.)

Coverage details last reviewed Jul 15, 2026. Always confirm current terms in the issuer's guide to benefits before relying on coverage.

Transfer partners

Points earned with the Chase Freedom Unlimited cannot be transferred directly to other programs, but you can transfer them to an eligible Ultimate Rewards credit card first and then transfer them to Chase's airline and hotel partners.

Eligible cards include:

This means that pairing the Chase Freedom Unlimited with any of the cards above will allow you to redeem your points for more than the average value towards travel. In practice, this can easily push your Chase Freedom Unlimited points value to up to 2 cents or more per point when used for high-value travel redemptions instead of simple cash back.

Learn More: Overview of Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners

Fees

Annual Fee

The Chase Freedom Unlimited has a $0 annual fee.

With several solid 3% back categories and a base earning of 1.5% back on all other purchases, it is very easy to hold long-term as a core everyday card for cash back as well as a companion to your Sapphire or Ink cards for travel.

Authorized User Fee

There is no fee to add additional users to the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Adding family and friends as authorized users can help build rewards faster.

Foreign Transaction Fee

The Chase Freedom Unlimited has a 3% foreign transaction fee. That means it’s usually not the best card to use directly for travel abroad.

Is it worth it?

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is worth it for almost anyone — with no annual fee, there's virtually no downside to carrying it, and its value only grows if you pair it with a Sapphire card. The real question isn't whether to get it, but whether you'll use it on its own or as part of a larger Chase setup.

As a standalone card: it's an excellent everyday earner. You get at least 1.5% back on everything, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 5% on Chase Travel, with no fee to earn back and no categories to track — so every dollar of rewards is pure gain. For someone who wants one simple, above-average cash-back card, it more than justifies a spot in your wallet.

As part of a Chase trifecta: this is where it shines. Paired with a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, its points stop being flat 1-cent cash back and become transferable travel rewards worth potentially 2 cents or more. Used this way, the Freedom Unlimited becomes the everyday-spending engine that feeds a far more valuable points pool — and that combination is hard to beat at its price.

Where it falls short: it's not a card for travel abroad, thanks to the 3% foreign transaction fee, and its protections are lighter than the Sapphire cards' — no rental car or trip delay coverage — so you'll still want a travel card for trips. And if you'd rather have simple, uncomplicated cash and won't pair it, a flat 2% card like the Citi Double Cash edges out its 1.5% base on non-bonus spending.

Bottom line: for a no-fee card, the Freedom Unlimited is close to essential — strong enough to carry alone, and genuinely valuable as the backbone of a Chase points strategy. Run your spending through the calculator to see what it earns on its own versus paired with a Sapphire card.