Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers great value, but you’ll need a plan to reap all the benefits.
With a $0 annual fee, you can start earning extra value for your spending right away. But it still pays off to know all of the card’s features, even with no upfront cost to earn back.
- Earn the sign-up bonus
- Learn the bonus categories
- Choose how to redeem your rewards
- Activate the DoorDash benefits
- Consider the 0% intro APR for big purchases
1. Earn the sign-up bonus
The best way to maximize the value of Chase Freedom Unlimited® is to make sure to qualify for the welcome bonus.
You can earn a $200 bonus when you spend just $500 on purchases in the first 3 months after your account opens. That’s a bonus that would take far longer to earn via the card’s ongoing rewards rates alone.
2. Learn the bonus categories
Once you earn the sign-up bonus, the quickest way to start racking up rewards is by spending in the card’s bonus categories. With Chase Freedom Unlimited®, you’ll earn …
- 3% back on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services)
- 3% back on drugstore purchases
- 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel℠ portal
- 1.5% back on all other eligible purchases
We like Chase Freedom Unlimited® for how it pairs strong bonus categories and a quality rate on all other purchases, but not everyone will find the same value in these categories.
For instance, if you already have a travel rewards card that earns points or miles, it might still be a good idea to keep using that card instead of shifting your travel spending. It all depends on how you intend to use your rewards, and the value you get from those redemptions.
3. Choose how to redeem your rewards
Chase Freedom Unlimited® is known as a cash back rewards card, but it offers several ways to redeem your rewards.
If you opt for cash back, you’ll be able to apply your rewards as a statement credit to your card balance or as an electronic deposit into an eligible Chase checking or savings account.
You can also redeem rewards for gift cards, travel booked through Chase Travel (including a portion of the booking cost) and for eligible Amazon.com orders at checkout. But while gift cards and travel redemptions offer the same 1-cent value as cash back redemptions, Chase says that other methods may offer a lower value.
4. Activate the DoorDash benefits
Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers several DoorDash perks to help cardholders save when using the app.
First, you’ll get 6 months of complimentary access to DashPass, a subscription that features $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders.
You’ll have the chance to activate DashPass access when you add the card as a primary payment option on DoorDash, and the activation must be done by the end of 2027. Keep in mind that you’ll be automatically enrolled in DashPass at the end of the complimentary access period at the current monthly cost.
DashPass members also get up to $10 in credits every quarter on non-restaurant DoorDash orders through the end of 2027. That’s a solid value for the complimentary access period, and a nice ongoing perk if you choose to continue your DashPass membership.
5. Consider the 0% intro APR for big purchases
If you’re planning to make a big purchase and need time to pay it off, Chase Freedom Unlimited® could also help you save money on interest charges.
The card offers a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months after account opening. But make sure to try to pay off your purchases and transfers before the intro APR expires, or you’ll be charged a variable regular APR of 18.24% – 27.74% on any remaining purchase or transfer balances.
There’s also balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater in the first 60 days. 5% (minimum $5) thereafter.
While the balance transfer offer could be helpful for those carrying debt on other cards, we recommend that cardholders wanting to use the card for other benefits try to stick to the 0% intro purchase APR offer. In general, it’s a good idea not to use the same card for both new purchases and managing existing debt — juggling both balances can get complicated, and you could end up in more debt than when you started.
What’s next?
Your Chase Freedom Unlimited® comes with other benefits, like purchase protection and trip cancellation insurance. But the perks we’ve called out above are most likely to help you find value early in your card membership.
Once you start using the card more often, you might find it has some gaps you’d like to fill. For instance, if you want more travel perks, you may want to add another Chase card to maximize your rewards.