$200 cash back
People who want simple flat-rate cash back rewards with no annual fee and a low spending requirement.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited punches well above its weight for a no-annual-fee card. The flat 1.5% cash back on everything pairs with category bonuses — 5% on travel through Chase Travel, 3% on dining and drugstores — meaning you rarely leave money on the table. The 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers adds real flexibility for large planned expenses, and the $250 welcome bonus after just $500 in spend is one of the easiest bonus thresholds in the market.
This card is ideal if you want a dependable everyday earner without tracking rotating categories or paying an annual fee. It works especially well as a companion to a Chase Sapphire card: Freedom Unlimited earns Ultimate Rewards points that can be pooled with your Sapphire account and transferred to airline and hotel partners at 1:1, effectively making the "cash back" card a travel points card by proxy.
You should skip this card if you do a meaningful amount of international spending. The 3% foreign transaction fee stings on every overseas purchase, and plenty of no-fee travel cards charge nothing abroad. Frequent international travelers should look at cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred instead. Similarly, if you spend heavily in a single category (say, groceries), a card with a higher category multiplier for that spend may outperform it.
The closest alternative is the Chase Freedom Flex, which shares the same no-annual-fee structure but swaps the flat 1.5% rate for rotating 5% categories (up to $1,500 per quarter) and a fixed 5% on travel, 3% on dining and drugstores. The Freedom Flex can yield more rewards if you activate and max out quarterly categories; the Freedom Unlimited is the better pick if you want simplicity and consistent returns without remembering to activate anything each quarter.
Watch a few fine-print items before applying. Chase's 5/24 rule means you'll be auto-denied if you've opened five or more new cards across any issuers in the past 24 months — this rule catches a lot of applicants off guard. The $250 bonus was an elevated limited-time offer; if that offer has expired, the standard bonus is $200 after the same $500 spend. And while the intro APR is generous, the ongoing rate climbs as high as 27.74% Variable once it ends, so carrying a balance long-term is costly.
Chase 5/24 rule applies — you will likely be denied if you have opened 5 or more new credit cards (from any issuer) in the past 24 months. The $250 welcome bonus was a limited-time elevated offer (standard bonus is $200); confirm current offer before applying. You must spend $500 in the first 3 months from account opening. Cash back is earned as Ultimate Rewards points redeemable for cash.
Cashback Match — all cash back doubled at end of year 1
Annual Fee: $0
175,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual Fee: $895
150,000 bonus points (limited time)
Annual Fee: $795
Cashback Match end of first year
Annual Fee: $0
$150 cash back (15,000 points)
Annual Fee: $0
No welcome bonus
Annual Fee: $0 first year, then $99
Miles Match — all miles doubled at end of year 1
Annual Fee: $0
100,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual Fee: $325
80,000 bonus miles
Annual Fee: $0 intro first year, then $150
70,000 bonus miles
Annual Fee: $0 intro first year, then $150
75,000 American Airlines miles
Annual Fee: $0 intro first year, then $99
80,000 Hilton Honors points
Annual Fee: $0
130,000 Hilton Honors points
Annual Fee: $150
175,000 IHG One Rewards points
Annual Fee: $99
200,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual Fee: $375
Cashback Match at end of first year
Annual Fee: $0
300,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual Fee: $895