Last week I reviewed my favorite super-premium card – the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Today, I’m going to cover one of my favorite companions to that card in my Chase Freedom Unlimited 2023 Review.
One of the great things about the Chase Sapphire Reserve (or the Preferred) is that you can boost your points earnings with other Chase cards. As you know, for me, those two cards are the Chase Freedom Flex and the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Today, I’ll be covering the latter in my Chase Freedom Unlimited 2023 Review.
Chase Freedom Unlimited 2023 Review
For most of its life, the Chase Freedom Unlimited was a 1.5% cash back card that earned that cash back as Chase Ultimate Reward points. However, to better compete with cards like the Citi Double Cash, Chase changed things up by giving the card new earning categories, including:
- 5% cash back on travel booked via Chase Travel
- 5% cash back with Lyft thru March 2025
- 3% cash back at restaurants and drug stores
- 1.5% cash back on everything else
- Earn additional bonus points via Chase Shopping
The Freedom Unlimited still has no annual fee, and it still accrues its cashback as Ultimate Rewards points. In addition to earning points, the card also comes with the following benefits:
- Three months of complimentary Dash Pass membership when you register by December 31, 2024
- Three months complimentary Instacart+ membership when you register by December 31, 2024
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance: up to $1,500 in non-refundable charges per passenger, per trip, with a per-trip limit of $6,000. Coverage extends to the primary cardholder and family traveling with them for bodily injury, loss of life, illness, strikes, severe weather, terrorist actions, or change in military orders
- Purchase Protection for up to 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account
- Extended Warranty – extends the original manufacturer warranty by one year for eligible warranties of up to three years when you use your card to make the purchase, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per account
- Roadside Dispatch, including towing of up to five miles, five gallons of gas, etc.
- Travel and Emergency Assistance – Chase will provide referrals, but you’re on the hook for expenses, unlike with Sapphire cards
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, which is secondary to your own insurance
- Visa Signature Concierge Service
Those are a TON of benefits for a card with no annual fees – especially when you consider that Citi did away with virtually all of their cards’ ancillary benefits, including extended warranty.
Use Strategy
For my Chase Freedom Unlimited 2023 review, I’d like to go over how I use this card on a regular basis since that changed drastically after Chase enhanced its earning power. Specifically, I continue to use the card for all transactions that aren’t bonused on another card. However, now I use the card whenever I’m not sure if a merchant will code as a restaurant or something else. After all, the Freedom Unlimited earns at the same rate as the Sapphire Reserve for dining.
Final Thoughts
Last year, I earned 15,858 Ultimate Rewards points with my Freedom Unlimited, which I could’ve redeemed for $158.58. However, I transferred those points to my Sapphire Reserve account and used them to bulk up the number of transferrable Ultimate Rewards points I have. That’s why this card is so great to have – it seriously boosts the number of Ultimate Rewards points you can earn! And that’s why, even all these years later, I still give this card a recommend rating in my Chase Freedom Unlimited 2023 review. It really is a no-brainer to have in your wallet.