What’s the Chase Freedom Unlimited®'s new limited time bonus offer?

Today, December 11, 2025, Chase announced a limited time offer for its beloved no annual fee card—the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

What’s the introductory offer on the Chase Freedom Unlimited®?

You can currently earn a $300 bonus after spending $500 in the first three months from the account opening.

This is much improved from the previous Chase Freedom Unlimited® offer where you got a $200 bonus after spending $500 in the first three months from the account opening. Chase considers this its "best offer ever."

What are the main features of the Chase Freedom Unlimited®?

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is an excellent semi-beginner credit card for its earn rates, simplicity and welcome bonus.

Here are the noteworthy features on the card:

• 1.5% cashback on all purchases at minimum
• 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
• 3% cashback on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout purchases
• Earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠

If you have a big purchase coming up, the 0% APR for the first 15 months from account opening is very appealing. You get peace of mind knowing that a big expense like a new computer can be paid as late as 15 months out… all while still avoiding interest (just make sure to make the minimum monthly payment).

The 3% cashback on drugstore purchases and at restaurants is probably among the best feature of this card. These are two categories that I frequent. It is an excellent earn rate for a card with no annual fee. Not only does this card have the 3% cashback earn at drugstores and restaurants, but it also boasts 1.5% cashback on all other purchases. For someone who is just starting off in the credit card game, you can be comforted knowing you are getting solid cashback on all purchases.

The earn rate on this card is simple and straightforward which means you don't have to haggle over choosing categories or thinking about when to use it.

And don’t forget about the 5% earned on travel purchased through Chase Travel. Chase has a travel portal you can use to book flights and hotel stays. The prices aren’t usually desirable on the portal but it's good to check as a potential way to book to see if you can snag a deal.

How does this card compare against other beginner cards?

Personally this card has served me well. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® card was my second card after the Discover it® Student Cash Back. It was easy to get because I had my Discover it® Student Cash Back for about a year and had also built up my credit score by paying off student loans (everyone's credit situation is different).

Once I got the card, I made sure to hit the welcome bonus requirements so I could convert the cashback earned into Chase points. The earn rate on drugstores and restaurants was excellent for a few years and I still use the card to this day for purchases outside of select categories.

And I still use the Chase Freedom Unlimited® to this day! Although I have gotten better earning rates for restaurants with the American Express Gold card with 4x membership rewards per dollar spent, I still use the Chase Freedom Unlimited® for everyday purchases as you earn 1.5% cashback on all purchases. For categories that don't typically have higher earn rates, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a good set it and forget it card.

Does this card have an annual fee?

Nope. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has no annual fee so this is a card you can keep in your wallet as long as you’d like.

Does the Chase Freedom Unlimited® have foreign transaction fees?

Yes. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a 3% foreign transaction fee on purchases abroad. If you are looking for a card with no foreign transaction fees, you might want to look into the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. This card also has 1:1 transfers to airline & hotel partners.

Who is the Chase Freedom Unlimited® best for?

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is great for folks who already have a bit of credit and are looking to get into the travel rewards game. The credit could be from being a student and paying off student loans. Or it could be from a more beginner card like the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card, Discover it® Student Cash Back or Capital One Savor card. If you don’t have any previous credit it’s not likely that you will get approved for the card.

The 1.5% cashback earned on all purchases is great as it's higher than the usual 1% on most cards. I find it the best long term value feature on the card.

You don’t have to stress about how much cashback you are going to earn or what card to use to get the best cashback rates. You would just use the Chase Freedom Unlimited® for everything.

Can I earn travel points with the Freedom Unlimited?

Yes, but you need to have the right partner card setup. By itself, the Freedom Unlimited is powerful, but doesn't reach its full potential.

But, when you combine it with the likes of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, its value shoots up tremendously—why? Because you can convert the Freedom Unlimited cashback into fully transferable points.

So, take that limited-time $300 bonus. With a partner card, that turns into a minimum of 30,000 points. And 30,000 points is enough to score you a few free hotel nights as it is!

Chase Freedom Unlimited® vs. Chase Freedom Flex®—what card is better for you?

With the Chase Freedom Unlimited®’s increased welcome offer, I am more apt to suggest the card over the Chase Freedom Flex®. However, the Chase Freedom Flex® is great for those who really want to maximize their credit card rewards. The way to do that would be to take advantage of the Chase Freedom Flex®’s 5% cashback calendar.

Every quarter of the year there are new 5% cashback categories. So for example from October to December, you will earn 5% cashback on purchases at Old Navy and department stores. Chase also added a bonus category where you can earn 5% cashback on PayPal purchases in the month of December. From July to September of this year, you could earn 5% cashback at Instacart, gas stations, EV charging and select live entertainment.

I have found that most of the categories on the 5% cashback calendar are places where you would do your everyday shopping anyways. So essentially you would be earning 3.5% more cashback on these categories than the Chase Freedom Unlimited®’s flat rate of 1.5% cashback on all purchases.

The best way to go about the Chase Freedom Unlimited® vs. Chase Freedom Flex® debate is to get both cards. This is what I decided to do about four years back to get both welcome offers AND have the best earn rates. You could essentially use the Chase Freedom Unlimited® for all purchases not in the Chase Freedom Flex®’s 5% cashback calendar. And also use the Chase Freedom Unlimited® for dining to get 3% cashback.

If you were leaning toward getting the Chase Freedom Flex® before the increased welcome offer on the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, I would be motivated to get both. Or even get the Chase Freedom Unlimited® first to take advantage of the limited time welcome offer before it expires.

What DoorDash benefits do the cards offer?

I wanted to note too that both cards offer complimentary DashPass for 6 months along with $10 off non-restaurant orders on DoorDash every quarter. It’s a neat benefit on two no annual fee cards. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® right now and I have complimentary DashPass along with 2 $10 off non-restaurant order coupons on Doordash every month—I love it.

I wouldn’t use DoorDash without these coupons and DashPass but it helps me save a lot on groceries in particular. For example, I could get $15 worth of groceries delivered to my house for $3-$5 depending on tip—quite nice. You can think of the DoorDash benefits on the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® as a way to trial DoorDash benefits before you get a more premium card with more DoorDash coupons.

Final Remarks

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is an amazing simple cashback card. And with this brand-new welcome offer, it is that much more appealing. The card will help you build credit all while earning cashback that you can convert to Chase points. These Chase points will become particularly valuable when you get a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®. The reason being that you’ll be able to transfer your Chase points to Chase’s numerous hotel & airline partners at a 1:1 conversion rate.

Will you be striking while the iron’s hot for this limited time welcome offer on the Chase Freedom Unlimited®?