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Chase Freedom Unlimited Review: 1.5% Cash Back With Decent Bonuses - YouTube
Channel: Logan Allec
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what's up everybody logan alec here with
[2]
another credit card review video
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today i'm taking a look at the chase
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freedom
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unlimited this review video basically
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has three parts in the first part
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i'm going to tell you all about the
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features and benefits of the chase
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freedom unlimited
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and in the second part of the video i'm
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going to go over the pros and cons of
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the chase freedom unlimited
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and finally at the end of the video well
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i can't tell you exactly if this is a
[24]
good card for you but at the end of the
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video
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i will be giving you two examples of
[28]
people for whom this card
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is probably a good fit as well as three
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examples of people
[33]
who might want to stay away from the
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chase freedom unlimited
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so be sure to stick around till the end
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so you have a complete comprehensive
[40]
picture of the freedom unlimited
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not just the pros not just the cons but
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a complete picture
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chase is currently offering a welcome
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bonus of 200
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if you spend 500 on purchases in the
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first three months after opening a new
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freedom unlimited card
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as long as you haven't already taken
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advantage of that bonus in the past two
[57]
years
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now before i get into the details of the
[60]
freedom unlimited i just want to mention
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this is a card you're interested in i
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would really appreciate it
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if you use my link in the description
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below i
[69]
may get a commission if you do that
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thank you so much for supporting the
[72]
channel this of course comes at no extra
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cost to you
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but it helps support the channel all
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right let's get into the freedom limited
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this is one of chases of flagship cards
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it comes with cash back at
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three different tiers depending on the
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type of purchase select the freedom flex
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that i reviewed
[86]
last month link at the top of the screen
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the freedom unlimited gives you a five
[89]
percent cash back when you book travel
[91]
to the chase ultimate rewards program
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uh you know travel to chase ultimate
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reward you can buy hotels
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cars flights right the basic stuff
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vacation rentals cruises various
[101]
activities
[102]
so even though the freedom unlimited is
[104]
a cash back card it's still very well
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suited to travel
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and you can get even more travel rewards
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when you pair the freedom unlimited
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with either the chase sapphire preferred
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or the chase sapphire reserve
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i will of course talk more about those
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strategies later unfortunately you are
[117]
stuck with chase's collection
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uh selection when it comes to getting
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that five percent cash back on travel
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you can't book an airbnb or something
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like that through chase but in my
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experience their restrictions aren't too
[126]
limiting
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this is what the ultimate rewards
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interface looks like here i'm looking
[129]
for hotels in las vegas right it's
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pretty much what you would expect
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from any hotel website or app again as
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long as you go through this interface
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as long as you book through chase and
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not through the hotels website or
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something like that
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you'll come away with five percent cash
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back on all of those
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purchases and the name is freedom
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unlimited
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right so obviously there are no limits
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on how much cash back you can earn
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through these programs you won't have to
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worry about going over
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the maximum or something like that the
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freedom unlimited also
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comes with a three percent back on
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drugstore purchases
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as well as three percent back on
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restaurant purchases which includes
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takeout as well as
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delivery from eligible delivery services
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that's a little ambiguous but this is
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all based on merchant codes right so
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if you're using a delivery service
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that's associated with a restaurant
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something like doordash
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or ubereats you should be able to get
[181]
that three percent cash back
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on the other hand if you order groceries
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from a platform like instacart
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or amazon fresh those aren't going to be
[189]
coated as
[189]
restaurants so you won't get the three
[191]
percent cash back on that makes sense
[192]
right so the restaurant category is
[194]
broad
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it includes uh in restaurant dining as
[196]
well as various restaurant code to take
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out
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um okay so that covers the bonus
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categories unlike the freedom flex the
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freedom unlimited doesn't come with an
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extra five percent uh
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cash back category but it does offer a
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base 1.5
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cash back on all other purchases into
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the one percent you would get with the
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freedom flex on non-voters category so
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overall
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there's a lot to like about the freedom
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unlimited in terms of cash back you get
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five percent back on travel book through
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chase
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as well three percent back on drugstore
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and restaurant purchases those are all
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really common categories for spending
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and you also get a
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decent base percentage of 1.5 percent on
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non-bonus spending
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so if you're looking for a flat cash
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back card though
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this isn't going to be the highest base
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rate say double cash for example offers
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two percent back on everything
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downside of course of a card like the
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double cash is that there aren't any
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bonuses for particular categories
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it's just two percent back no matter
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where you use it i
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actually highlighted the double cash
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card in my freedom flex video recently
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it's a great option right if you want to
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pair it with a card like the freedom
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flex or the freedom unlimited right or
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some other card
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that offers good benefits in specific
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categories for example you can use the
[259]
freedom unlimited
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to get those bonuses on the bonus
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categories and then put all your
[263]
other non-bonus spending on your double
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cash neither of these cards come with
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any annual fee so you don't have to
[268]
worry about whether you're spending
[270]
enough
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to justify the cost of the card there
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are a couple other
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small perks with the freedom unlimited
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that i want to mention chase is
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currently offering 5
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cashback on lyft through the end of
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march 2022
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this does not apply to gift cards car
[283]
rentals things like that but it does
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apply to lift subscriptions as well as
[286]
car
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and bike rides there aren't any limits
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on those rewards so if you use lyft
[290]
frequently then this is just one more
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reason
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to consider the freedom unlimited on top
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of that new freedom unlimited card
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holders will get
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three free months of doordash dash pass
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that removes the delivery fee on orders
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of over 12
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from eligible restaurants you'll get
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this as long as you activate the
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subscription
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by the end of 2021 and even after that
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initial free three-month period
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you'll have the option to continue your
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subscription at 50
[316]
off for the next nine months so i
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wouldn't necessarily recommend the
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freedom unlimited
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just to get three months of dash pass or
[324]
or nine months and a half off
[325]
it's only ten dollars per month anyway
[327]
but it's still a nice little perk
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right if this is a card you're looking
[330]
at and use door dash now when it comes
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to redeeming rewards through
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chase most chase credit cards generally
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use the same ultimate rewards
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platform and you can transfer your
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points between chase cards
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including the chase freedom flex the
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freedom unlimited
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sapphire preferred sapphire reserve as
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long as they're your cards or they
[349]
belong to someone else in your household
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for example
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you might want to put all your points
[355]
into a single account so that you can
[357]
use them to cover your hotel
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or something like that it's really easy
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to do that
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from within the chase app you just
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select ultimate rewards you choose one
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of your cars and tap the menu icon in
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the upper left corner
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and scroll down until you see combined
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points
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there are no fees or limits or anything
[374]
like that like i said you can use the
[376]
strategy just to consolidate your points
[378]
into a
[379]
single account but this is also a really
[381]
good way to get even more
[384]
out of your ultimate rewards points the
[385]
sapphire preferred card offers a 25
[387]
bonus on points when you redeem them for
[390]
travel through chase ultimate rewards
[392]
that bonus jumps to 50 percent with the
[394]
sapphire reserve
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so the city double cash just for
[397]
comparison uh gives you two percent cash
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back on everything obviously that looks
[401]
higher
[401]
than the 1.5 percent you can get a
[403]
non-bonus spending with the chase
[404]
freedom unlimited
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but that changes if you also have a
[407]
chase sapphire reserve
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in that case you'll be able to transfer
[411]
your points from your freedom unlimited
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to your sapphire reserve and you'll get
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a 50
[416]
bonus when you redeem them for travel
[418]
which will bring that 1.5
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on non-bonus spend on the on the freedom
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unlimited up to two point two five
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percent which
[425]
actually beats out the ca c double cash
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when it comes to pure value
[428]
now both the sapphire preferred and the
[430]
sapphire reserve come with annual fees
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95 dollars for the preferred and a
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whopping 550
[437]
a year for the reserve so i'm not saying
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that everyone with a freedom unlimited
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card trip upgrade to one of those
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but this can be a really effective
[444]
strategy to get
[445]
more out of your chase freedom unlimited
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earnings
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uh if you ever decide to get one of
[450]
those to chase sapphire travel cards
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one more point i want to emphasize for
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the freedom unlimited is that if you
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open a new card
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you'll get 00 apr and purchases for the
[458]
first 15 months
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that's an offer they're running right
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now now i want to be clear what that
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means
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you can't just charge a bunch of
[463]
purchases to the card and then forget
[465]
about it
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okay yourself to make the minimum
[467]
payment in order to avoid late fees
[470]
but you won't be charged any interest on
[472]
those purchases okay as long as you
[473]
continue to make the minimum payment
[475]
and as long as you get them paid off by
[477]
the end of that 15 month period
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all right now i'm going to go over the
[480]
pros and cons of the chase freedom
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unlimited then after that i'll tell you
[483]
the kinds of people that chase freedom
[485]
unlimited
[485]
would probably be a good fit for as well
[487]
as maybe some folks that chase stream
[489]
unlimited
[489]
might not be a good fit for first pro
[493]
of the chase stream unlimited is the
[494]
five percent cash back on travel book
[496]
through chase ultimate rewards
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it's obviously an incredible reward for
[499]
travel purchases
[501]
it basically you'll save uh one dollar
[504]
for every 20 that you spend on travel
[506]
especially considering this is a no
[507]
annual fee card this is a really big
[510]
advantage if you tend to have a lot of
[511]
travel related expenses
[513]
but as i will discuss later in this
[515]
video
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that is not all that relevant to you if
[518]
you already pay
[520]
for all of your travel points anyway
[522]
number two if you sign up right now
[524]
you'll get 200
[525]
in additional cash back as long as you
[526]
spend 500 or more in the first three
[528]
months
[529]
i've taken advantage of this offer and
[530]
similar offers from chase in the past
[532]
it's very simple
[533]
you will automatically get that credit
[535]
as long as you pass the spending
[536]
threshold
[537]
obviously that's just a one-time thing
[538]
but it's still an excellent perk to go
[540]
along with everything else that you'll
[541]
get
[542]
with the freedom unlimited okay pro
[544]
number three the chase
[545]
freedom unlimited gives you the
[547]
opportunity to transfer
[548]
points to the sapphire preferred or the
[550]
sapphire reserve
[552]
the freedom unlimited actually offers
[554]
much more cash back on travel
[557]
and drugstore purchases than either of
[559]
those premium cards
[560]
and the reward rate for purchases in
[562]
general is also higher
[564]
so these cards are much more effective
[566]
combined than they would be on their own
[568]
if you haven't built up enough credit
[570]
for a sapphire card
[572]
and of course you can start with
[573]
something like a freedom unlimited
[574]
gradually improve your credit score
[576]
and save up your points so you can
[578]
transfer them to a sapphire card
[580]
whenever you're able to get one the
[582]
freedom unlimited offers 1.5
[584]
cashback on everything and if you
[586]
combine that with the sapphire reserve
[587]
50
[588]
boost on travel but through chase
[590]
ultimate rewards
[591]
you end up with the card that's
[592]
essentially giving you 2.25
[595]
cash back which is a really competitive
[597]
rate compared to a lot
[599]
of other cards out there and that
[601]
combination actually comes out ahead of
[603]
the city
[604]
double cash cards two percent which is a
[606]
really common recommendation for
[607]
maximizing cash back
[608]
though of course with the city double
[610]
cash you have more flexibility with it
[612]
right because you are
[613]
rewarded in cash right well with the
[615]
freedom unlimited sapphire reserve combo
[618]
in order to get that 2.25 you have to
[620]
redeem for travel
[622]
through chase ultimate rewards finally
[624]
pro number four
[625]
as i mentioned the chase freedom
[626]
unlimited card does not charge an annual
[628]
fee
[629]
annual fees are not always a bad thing
[631]
right oftentimes you can make up the
[633]
annual fee
[634]
through a card's rewards but it's nice
[636]
to be able to get these rewards for free
[638]
without having to calculate on an annual
[640]
basis whether the annual fee is worth
[642]
the money
[643]
uh whether you really come out ahead
[644]
right so the sapphire prefer on the
[646]
other hand that has a 95
[648]
annual fee the sapphire reserve bumps
[650]
all the way up to 550
[651]
per year and again there are situations
[653]
where that might be worth the
[654]
investments
[655]
but it's a lot more straightforward
[656]
obviously if you can get these rewards
[658]
without having to pay now there are some
[660]
really good reasons to get the freedom
[662]
unlimited card
[663]
that i just described but i do want to
[665]
talk about the cons as well
[666]
and make sure you understand the
[668]
disadvantages of this card compared to
[670]
some of the other options
[671]
you might be looking at call number one
[674]
this card is subject to the 524 rule
[676]
which means that chase will
[677]
automatically reject you
[679]
if you've already opened five other
[681]
credit cards in the 24 months
[683]
before you apply for the freedom
[685]
unlimited doesn't matter if you have the
[686]
best credit in the world
[688]
does it matter if you've never missed a
[689]
payment this is just chase policy
[692]
and you'll have to wait until some of
[693]
your old cards move out of the
[695]
out of that 24-month period before you
[697]
try to get approved for the freedom
[699]
unlimited call number two the freedom
[700]
unlimited card comes with a three
[702]
percent foreign transaction fee there's
[703]
no way around that
[705]
so if you're taking this card abroad
[706]
you're going to be losing an extra
[708]
three dollars for every hundred dollars
[710]
you spend obviously that's going to add
[712]
up
[712]
when you're traveling out of the country
[714]
now maybe not a deal breaker
[716]
right because remember you don't want to
[718]
go abroad with only one card
[720]
right that charges a three percent
[721]
foreign transaction fee if you're
[723]
planning to travel outside the us i
[724]
would strongly recommend getting another
[726]
card
[727]
with no foreign transaction fee there
[729]
will be a link to some cards like that
[731]
in the description below
[733]
in case you want to check out some of
[734]
those options finally card number three
[736]
even though the freedom unlimited card
[738]
comes with a decent 1.5 percent on cash
[740]
back for purchases that don't fall under
[742]
one of the bonus categories
[744]
you're going to get even more on those
[745]
purchases with a card like the city
[747]
double cash
[748]
or another card that comes with two
[749]
percent or even more
[751]
cash back on general spending the
[753]
alliant visa signature for example is a
[755]
good example
[756]
uh it has a 99 annual fee that is way
[758]
for the first year but it also comes
[759]
with 2.5
[760]
cashback instead of 1.5 percent cash
[762]
back on up to ten thousand dollars in
[764]
spending per month
[765]
so let's say you put 25 thousand dollars
[767]
uh on your card per year
[769]
about the alliant 2.5 of twenty five
[771]
thousand is going to be six hundred
[772]
twenty five dollars in cash back
[774]
compared to 375 you'd get with the
[776]
freedom unlimited card on non-bonus
[777]
categories again 1.5 percent isn't
[779]
terrible
[779]
obviously it's better than nothing but
[781]
there are better cards to put general
[782]
spending on
[783]
particularly if you're willing to pay
[785]
the annual fee right so should you get
[787]
the freedom unlimited
[788]
well that really depends okay now that
[791]
we cover the pros and cons i'm going to
[792]
go over a few types of people
[794]
for whom i think the chase stream
[795]
unlimited would be a solid bet
[798]
and then i'm going to go over some
[799]
situations and types of people for whom
[801]
i don't think the chase freedom
[803]
unlimited is the way to go
[805]
let's start with the folks for whom the
[806]
chase freedom unlimited
[808]
might be a good choice number one
[812]
since the chase freedom unlimited is so
[814]
versatile with its bonus categories of
[816]
travel
[816]
restaurants and drugstores it's good for
[819]
someone who just wants
[820]
one go-to card for all their purchases
[822]
and isn't necessarily
[824]
worried about maximizing their rewards
[826]
in every purchase category
[828]
number two it's also a good card for
[830]
those who already have a premium chase
[832]
card like the chase sapphire reserve
[834]
because by transferring your chase from
[836]
unlimited points to the reserve
[838]
you can earn outsized rewards as i
[840]
mentioned previously
[842]
however there's a bit of a caveat with
[844]
that in that if you already pay for most
[846]
of your travel with
[847]
points you may want to think twice
[850]
about getting the chase freedom
[852]
unlimited so now let's talk about the
[854]
cases where the chase freedom unlimited
[856]
may not be the card for you and let's
[858]
start with that example i just
[860]
mentioned the chase freedom unlimited is
[862]
probably
[863]
not best for someone who already pays
[865]
for most of their travel with
[866]
points since in this scenario the chase
[870]
freedom unlimited's five percent cash
[871]
back on purchases
[872]
made through chase ultimate rewards is
[874]
moot since you already pay for your
[876]
travel with points anyway
[878]
and if you do pay for most of your
[880]
travel points already you party
[882]
you probably already have a premium
[884]
travel card
[885]
like the chase sapphire reserve which
[887]
already gives you 4.5
[889]
back on restaurants when you redeem for
[891]
travel which essentially makes the chase
[893]
freedom unlimited's
[894]
dining bonus category moot as well the
[896]
freedom unlimited does have a three
[898]
percent drugstore category
[900]
but like i mentioned previously you can
[902]
get up to six percent back at grocery
[904]
stores with other cards
[905]
perhaps the one lucrative thing left is
[907]
the fact that the 1.5
[909]
back on all other purchases on the
[910]
freedom unlimited can become 2.25
[913]
percent
[914]
if you transfer those points to the
[915]
sapphire reserve but the question you
[917]
have to ask yourself is
[918]
is it really worth it to open a new
[921]
credit card right especially considering
[922]
the chase
[923]
524 rule when you have options like the
[926]
alliant visa signature which gives 2.25
[928]
cash back though it does have an annual
[929]
fee and a monthly limit and also the
[931]
city double cash
[932]
which gives unlimited two percent cash
[934]
back with no annual fee
[937]
even if you spend twenty thousand
[938]
dollars a year on non-bonus categories
[940]
the difference between
[941]
two point two five percent cash back and
[942]
two percent cash back
[944]
is only fifty bucks right so really the
[946]
name of the game with the chase free
[948]
unlimited is its versatility okay it's a
[951]
good pick
[951]
for those who aren't purists one way or
[953]
the other when it comes to cash back
[955]
versus travel also the chase freedom
[957]
unlimited is probably not
[959]
best for you if you're only interested
[960]
in cash back and you don't travel much
[963]
think about it in this case the chase
[964]
freedom unlimited is five percent back
[966]
on travel purchased through chase
[967]
ultimate rewards
[969]
probably doesn't appeal to you very much
[971]
you don't travel very much anyway
[972]
and it's three percent back at
[974]
restaurants can be easily surpassed by
[976]
another no annual fee card such as the
[977]
us bank altitude go
[979]
which currently offers four percent cash
[980]
back on take out food delivery and
[982]
dining
[982]
the freedom unlimited three percent back
[984]
on drugstore purchases is probably the
[986]
highest cash back rate on drugstore
[987]
purchases i've seen
[989]
but really these days anything you could
[990]
buy at a drugstore you could buy at a
[992]
grocery store especially one with a
[993]
pharmacy right
[995]
for example there's a no annual fee
[997]
american express blue cash every day
[1000]
that gives three percent cash back at
[1001]
u.s supermarkets
[1003]
up to six thousand dollars in purchases
[1004]
per year there's also its sister card
[1006]
the american express blue cash preferred
[1008]
that give six percent cash back at u.s
[1010]
supermarkets up to six thousand dollars
[1012]
in purchases per year
[1013]
so if you're a hardcore cashback chaser
[1016]
you should definitely have one of those
[1017]
amex blue caches
[1019]
in your wallet and finally the chase
[1021]
freedom unlimited is 1.5
[1022]
back on all other purchases can be
[1024]
surpassed by other
[1025]
no annual fee cards like the city double
[1028]
cash
[1028]
last but not least the chase freedom
[1030]
unlimited probably isn't the card for
[1032]
you
[1032]
if you already have the chase freedom
[1035]
flex
[1036]
especially considering the chase 524
[1038]
rule this is because
[1039]
the freedom flex and the freedom
[1041]
unlimited have so many overlapping
[1043]
categories okay they both earn five
[1044]
percent on travel purchased through
[1046]
chase
[1047]
they both give three percent back at
[1048]
restaurants they both give three percent
[1050]
back on drugstore
[1051]
purchases if you're still undecided
[1054]
between the chase freedom flex
[1055]
and the chase freedom unlimited stay
[1057]
tuned
[1058]
because in the next week or so here on
[1060]
the channel i will be publishing a video
[1062]
comparing these two cards side by side
[1066]
all right that's all i have for you in
[1067]
this video the freedom unlimited
[1069]
obviously has a variety of bonus
[1071]
categories like travel drugstores and
[1073]
dining
[1074]
it's 1.5 percent based cashback isn't
[1076]
the best on the market
[1077]
but it's still a decent reward for
[1079]
general purchases as i mentioned you can
[1081]
pair this card with a city double cash
[1082]
or even another card that offers higher
[1084]
levels of cash back
[1086]
for other categories that you know you
[1088]
have a lot of spending in so like i said
[1090]
previously
[1091]
the name of the game the freedom
[1092]
unlimited is its versatility
[1094]
it isn't necessarily you know an
[1096]
outstanding
[1097]
uh cash back card or an outstanding
[1100]
travel card on its own
[1102]
uh it's not outstanding for any other
[1103]
any individual category other than
[1105]
travel and maybe drugstores
[1106]
but it does offer good all-around cash
[1108]
back opportunities as well as the
[1110]
potential to earn more rewards
[1111]
through integration with either the
[1113]
sapphire preferred or the sapphire
[1115]
reserve
[1115]
now if you're still in deciding between
[1116]
the freedom unlimited and freedom flex
[1118]
like i said
[1118]
stay tuned i'll be putting out a
[1120]
comparison video next week
[1122]
for anyone who wants more details on the
[1124]
pros and cons
[1125]
of those two cards again if you're
[1127]
interested in this card there will be a
[1129]
link to you
[1129]
in the description below check it out
[1131]
let me know what you think
[1132]
and i'll see you next time bye
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