Cash Back
Earn a cash back bonus of up to $200 with the Chase Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited cards
If youâre looking for a way to get a large influx of Ultimate Rewards points, there is great news for Chase members: Both the Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited cards offer a high cash bonus for a low spend threshold.
Currently, both cards are offering a $200 bonus if you spend $500 in the first three months.
Which Chase Freedom card is better in the first year?
That depends largely on your spending habits. While the two cards share certain earning categories, they still have different rewards earning structures.
The Freedom Unlimited offers the same flat rate of 1.5% cash back on purchases outside of bonus categories, and the Freedom Flex card offers 5% cash back in rotating bonus categories that you must activate each quarter (on up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1% cash back).
Comparing the Chase Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited cards
For many cardholders, the Chase Freedom Flex card should offer greater value, assuming you are able to maximize your spending in its quarterly bonus categories.
That said, if youâre not able to maximize the Freedom bonus categories, the Freedom Unlimited card might be a better choice thanks to its higher rewards rate on general purchases.
 Chase Freedom Flex |
 Chase Freedom Unlimited |
|
| Rewards rate |
|
|
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 |
| Introductory offer | $200 if you spend $500 in first 3 months | $200 if you spend $500 in first 3 months |
| Estimated earnings in first year (Assumes maxed-out bonus categories and a $15,900 annual spend) | $666 | $526 |
Of course, thereâs nothing to stop you from applying for both cards and potentially earning both cardsâ sign-up bonuses. The Chase Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited cards go nicely together â you can use the Chase Freedom Flex card to earn 5% cash back on its quarterly bonus categories and the Chase Freedom Unlimited card to earn 1.5% cash back on everything else. Then, use either card at drug stores, restaurants and on travel purchases in the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Recent changes to the Chase Freedom cardsâ sign-up bonus
While some rewards cards frequently update their sign-up bonuses, the offers on the Chase Freedom cards are fairly consistent. Recently, however, we have seen increased welcome offers, with both cards offering a $200 bonus. For a limited time, both cards also offered a higher rate on grocery store purchases in the first year of card membership, but that offer has expired.
| Chase Freedom Flex card recent changes | |
| Current | $200 if you spend $500 in first 3 months |
| Previous | $200 if you spend $500 in first 3 months, plus 5% cash back on grocery store purchases in first year (on up to $12,000 in spending, not including Target® or Walmart® purchases) |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited card recent changes | |
| Current | $200 if you spend $500 in first 3 months |
| Previous | $200 if you spend $500 in first 3 months, plus 5% cash back on grocery store purchases in first year (on up to $12,000 in spending, not including Target® or Walmart® purchases) |
| Previous | $150 if you spend $500 in first 3 months |
Who is eligible to apply for the sign-up bonus?
New cardholders who have not received a sign-up bonus for the same card within the past 24 months are eligible to earn the bonus with the Chase Freedom cards. Of course, you have to qualify for the cards first, which means you’ll need a credit score in the good to excellent range (at least 680).
Chase doesnât appear to have a hard limit on how many cards you own, though they may deny your application if you have too large of a credit limit across your other Chase cards. Also, while there is no strict rule on how many Chase cards you can apply for within a certain timeframe, many applicants report a limit of one to two new cards per month.
Chase has recently cracked down on applicants who have opened several credit cards at once. Though itâs not an official policy, Chase appears to be enforcing a â5/24â rule on new credit card applications. What this means is â if you have opened at least five credit card accounts in the past 24 months with any issuer (not just Chase) â your application will likely be denied. The rule seems to apply to any credit card account that shows up on your credit report, including co-branded store cards and authorized user accounts. (On the plus side, business credit cards that donât appear on your personal credit report do not affect your chances of being approved.)
How to earn and use Ultimate Rewards points
As cash back cards, the Chase Freedom cards offer a flat 1 cent value on most redemption options. However, there are a few options that you want to avoid. Our table below shows that Amazon.com and Chase Pay purchases are valued at only 0.8 cents per point:
Redemption options for Chase Freedom cards
| Redemption option | Point value (cents) | Value of 20,000 points |
| Statement credit | 1 | $200 |
| Direct deposit | 1 | $200 |
| Gift cards | 1 | $200 |
| Ultimate Rewards portal travel | 1 | $200 |
| Amazon.com purchases | 0.8 | $160 |
| Chase Pay purchases | 0.8 | $160 |
You can also transfer points from the Chase Freedom cards to certain Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card* and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards. As you can see from the table below, transferring your points to one of these cards will allow you to get more value out of your sign-up bonus. You get a 25% to 50% bonus on your points if you redeem for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, depending on which card you own.
Also, both the Sapphire cards allow you to transfer your points at 1:1 value to one of Chaseâs many travel partners to get even higher values on your points. For instance, we value Southwest Airlines points at 1.6 cents on average (note the value can vary widely on the ticket that you purchase), which means the 20,000-point bonus can net you $320 of value on average when used for Southwest airfare:
Redemption options for Chase Sapphire cards
| Redemption option | Point value (cents) | Value of 20,000 points |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve â 50% redemption bonus | 1.5 | $300 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred â 25% redemption bonus | 1.25 | $250 |
| Singapore Airlines transfer | 2.36 | $472 |
| British Airways transfer | 1.4 | $280 |
| Southwest Airlines transfer | 1.6 | $320 |
| JetBlue transfer | 1.53 | $306 |
| United Airlines transfer | 1.52 | $304 |
| World of Hyatt | 1.43 | $286 |
| Air France transfer | 1 | $200 |
| Virgin Atlantic transfer | 0.8 | $150 |
| Marriott Rewards transfer | 0.8 | $160 |
| IHG transfer | 0.65 | $130 |
An extra $500 per year
In addition to a sign-up bonus, the Chase Freedom cards offer a referral bonus worth up to $500 each year. Chaseâs âRefer-a-Friendâ program gives Freedom cardholders $100 cash back for each person they refer who is approved for the Freedom card â up to five people per year.
To take part in the promotion, enter your last name, zip code and last four digits of your credit card on Chaseâs Refer-a-Friend page. On the following page, enter the first name and email address of each person you wish to invite. You also have the option to post an invitation link to Facebook or Twitter or refer friends through the Chase app.
*All information about the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has been collected independently by CreditCards.com and has not been reviewed by the issuer. This card is no longer available through CreditCards.com.
Source: creditcards.com