June 14th, 2020 (Updated: April 18th, 2024) | Posted by: Grace Kim
The Chase Freedom Unlimited Card offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases. When applying directly through Chase, earn $200 cash back after spending $500 on purchases in your first 3-months from opening your account.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card
Whether you’re new to the credit game or not, the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card is one of the best cash back credit cards to circle in your credit Leatherman.
Highlighting the benefits, get ready to discover if this is the right card for you.
Who likes paying annual fees?
Nobody does. And what’s great is that you won’t experience a financial burden while being in possession of this card. This card provides solid rewards with no annual fees and as long your account is open, your cash back rewards never expire. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
If you’re looking for your first starter credit card but you’re still a college student, you’ve come to the right place. When I was in college, I wasn’t aware of credit card benefits. And if you’re reading this as a college student, it’s not too late to start. Start building up your credit before entering the real world, and you’ll be in good hands.
Great Starter Credit Card
Nervous about applying for your first credit card? Perhaps, you opened this card after you’ve had the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card for some time now? I did. And after having the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card for a few months, I wonder why I haven’t opened the card any sooner.
Not only will you receive 1.5% on all purchases, but you will also receive $200 after spending $500 within three months of opening the account. If you don’t think you can reach spending $500 per month, ask your parents if you could take some bills such as groceries, phone, and utilities bills. And you’ll reach minimum spend sooner than you know.
If you live independently away from your family, there are other ways that you could put bigger bills on your card. Think about how much each meal costs? One thing I like to do is when I go out to and eat with my friends is to make it a statement that I’m putting the bill on my card. Then, I ask everyone to Venmo me their portion of the meal. This way, not only am I working my way up to reach minimum spend, but I’m also receiving 1.5% points on the entire order.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Card Benefits
What’s great about this card is that it comes with a lot of exciting benefits. Especially if you’re still a college student whose never received free money before, you’ll easily earn a few extra dollars if you play the game correctly.
Note that before ordering the card, keep in mind of these benefits to ensure that you’re getting the most out of the card.
- $200 initial bonus after spending $500 on purchases in your first 3 months of opening your account. A way I like to look at it is a 40% discount on all my purchases leading up to the $500 spend.
- 1.5% cash back on everything you buy. There are no limits or caps to how much you choose to spend.
- 0% intro APR for the first 15 months on purchases, then a variable APR of 14.99% – 23.74% after that. If you’re new to the credit card game, the Chase Freedom Unlimited grace period allows you to practice paying off your bills on time, and hopefully this skill will translate over when your APR starts kicking in.
- No annual fee which takes off the big financial burden that we don’t like paying. Take this as an ease of mind of not being surprised of a fee that you might’ve forgotten about.
- Cash back rewards do not expire as long as your account in open. Plus, there’s no minimum needed to redeem for cash back.
- 5% cash back on Lyft rides which results in a 3.5% cash back in addition to the 1.5% cash back already earned. Just remember to redeem through your Chase Freedom Card through March 2022.
- $0 delivery fee on DoorDash orders over $12 for 3 months. After that, you are then automatically enrolled in DashPass, DoorDash’s subscription service, at 50% off for the next 8 months. Remember to activate this perk by December 31st, 2021.
- Zero Liability Protection in case there are unauthorized charges made with your card or account information. Phew, just don’t lose your card now.
- Purchase Protection that covers purchases for 120 days against damage or theft of up to $500 per claim, and $50,000 per account.
- Extended Warranty Protection that prolongs the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty of an additional year of eligible warranties of three years or less.
- Roadside assistance unfortunately doesn’t cover roadside service fees. However, if you were stuck in the middle of the road and an issue arose with your car, call roadside assistance and dispatch will come and help. These roadside assistance services range from a tow, tire change, lockout service, gas delivery, jump-start, and winching.
The Lows
As great as the benefits for this card may be, let’s also consider the lows.
- 3% Foreign Transaction Fee isn’t the best card if you travel often, or shop internationally. But if you do, you’ll end up paying 3% more than you normally should, from a market average of 1.44%. On the flip side, there are a handful of other travel credit cards that avoid the foreign transaction fee that you could potentially choose from.
- 5% Balance-Transfer Fee ($5 minimum) of whichever amount is greater. Before completing your transfer, do the math and calculate which feae cost you less. Chase doesn’t allow you to transfer balances from one Chase credit card to the other. But, you are allowed to transfer credit card debt with each other.
What Credit Score do you Need?
Chase doesn’t provide the exact credit score needed in order to apply for the Unlimited card. However, because the card doesn’t charge an annual fee, it’s considered an entry-level card. And for this reason, you still want to consider having good credit before applying.
There have been cases where people in the low to mid-600’s have been accepted for the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. There are factors that help dictate your approval result or not, such as income, relationship with the bank, and the age of other credit accounts.
Generally, a healthy credit score is definitely important to maintain. But if you have other Chase credit cards in good standing, that should be a supporting factor for your approval decision. Plus, if all the boxes check off, call Chase customer service and see if they could do anything to approve your request over the phone. That’s what I did with a few of my Chase credit cards.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Limit
Many factors are gauged when determining your credit limit. Some of these factors consider length of employment, income, and credit score. Other facts also include student loans, mortgages, and personal and auto loans.
With the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card, the credit limit is at least $500 for everyone approved. Applicants can even start off with a credit limit of $5,000 or higher. Chase doesn’t explicitly disclose a maximum credit limit for the card, but there have even been cases where customers have received credit limits of $20,000 or higher.
Keep in mind that your credit limits are not permanent. If your spending doesn’t even come close to your limit, you can call Chase and ask them to either lower or transfer a portion of your credit limit to another Chase credit card. But, I’d recommend waiting a few months with on time bill payments before calling Chase customer service.
Redeeming Cash Back
After receiving the $200 bonus, you can redeem the cash back earned as a statement credit and deposit directly into a checking or savings accounts. Or, you can use the points to shop at Amazon.com, or buy gift cards.
But if you want to get the most value, maximize your points by combining your Chase Freedom Unlimited cash back points with other Chase credit cards. These cards include the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.
Perhaps you have both the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. To maximize points, combine points from your Chase Freedom Unlimited Card with your Reserve Card in the Chase travel portal and receive maximum points.
Through the Chase travel portal, you can earn up to a 2.25% return, combining the Chase Freedom Unlimited with the Chase Reserve Card.
Take the 1.5 points per dollar x 1.5 cents per point = 2.25 cents per dollar.
Apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card
Now that you’ve decided that the Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card is the right fit for you, now it’s time for the application part.
As long as you fit the criteria and. take in account of your credit score, income, and credit history, remember to take advantage of all the card benefits.
Don’t forget to spend at least $500 in 3-months in order to receive $200 cash back. You’ll have an ease of mind since there is no annual fee. Plus, you’ll receive 1.5% cash back on all your purchases.
Whether the Chase Freedom Unlimited is your first or fifth credit card, it’s a great credit card to have amongst your credit Leatherman. Choose these awesome benefits and get ready to receive cash back on everyday purchases.
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