Chase Freedom Unlimited: Great Counterpart to Chase Sapphire Cards

Ok so I’ve already talked about my favorite travel card – the Chase Sapphire Reserve – and it’s myriad of benefits. I was NOT planning to keep this “luxury” card that came with a hefty $450 annual fee….but once I had it, I realized that the travel benefits of this card quickly recouped the initial annual fee investment.

Make sure to go read that article HERE first.

And NOW I’m about to help you take the next step on your points and travel hacking journey by telling you about the perfect second, supplementary card to the Chase Sapphire Reserve (or even more importantly to you Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders).

Enter the Chase Freedom Unlimited.

This card has ZERO annual fee and earns 3 points per dollar for EVERY dollar you spend (up to 20K per year; after that it earns at 1.5 points per dollar). Sign up HERE!

The reason this card works great in tandem with the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred – is that you can transfer points from your Chase Freedom Unlimited to those accounts to redeem for travel at a higher value thru the Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal.

Remember that the Chase Sapphire Reserve redeems at a rate of 1.5 and Chase Sapphire Preferred at a rate of 1.25. Making any points you earn go further!

How should you disperse your spending between the two cards? Well let’s have a look. It’s slightly different if you hold the Reserve vs Preferred. We’ll look at the Reserve first.

How to Use the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card with the Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3 points per dollar on travel and dining and 1 point per dollar on all other spending.

So you should continue using the Reserve for travel & dining (since it redeems at the same rate as the Freedom Unlimited – 3 points per dollar - and there is NO CAP). This not only allows you to save room on your Chase Freedom Unlimited card (remember there is a cap of 3 points per dollar up to $20K per year) but also gives you strong trip protection benefits when you book travel on it. For example, if the airline loses your luggage – and you booked the flight with your Reserve, you can file a claim to get reimbursed thru Chase Sapphire.

Use the Chase Freedom Unlimited card for all other spending and earn 3 points per dollar (up to $20K per year; then switches to 1.5 points per dollar).

When it comes time to book travel – move your Chase Freedom Unlimited points to your Chase Sapphire Reserve card – it’s super easy to do online and the transfer is instantaneous. You can then redeem at a rate of 1.5.

Let’s look at some numbers to help exemplify how valuable the Chase Freedom Unlimited can be in helping you rack up more points quickly.

Let’s pretend you spend the yearly max - $20,000 - on your Chase Freedom Unlimited (ignoring any spending on the Reserve for the time being).

$20,000 x 3 points per dollar = 60,000 points

60,000 points = $600 dollars cash back thru Chase OR redeem for travel at a rate of 1.5 when transferred to the Reserve

$600 x 1.5 = $900 to spend on travel

That’s more than enough for an international flight!! All earned just from your regular spending.

Now let’s have a look at the Preferred….

How to Use the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card WITH the Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 2 points per dollar on travel and dining and 1 point per dollar on all other spending.

Since the Chase Freedom Unlimited earns at a higher rate (3 points per dollar on all purchases up to $20K per year) – you’ll want to use this for the majority of your spending. Although if you spend way more than $20K per year, you may want to consider still using the Preferred for travel and dining – since it redeems at 2 points vs the Freedom Unlimited’s after max 1.5 points per dollar.

Also in order to take advantage of the Chase Sapphire Preferred travel benefits, you need to book travel on that card. Remember the previous example above, if the airline loses your luggage – and you booked the flight with your Preferred, you can file a claim to get reimbursed thru Chase Sapphire.

When it comes time to book travel – move your Chase Freedom Unlimited points to your Chase Sapphire Preferred card – again, it’s super easy to do online and the transfer is instantaneous. You can then redeem at a rate of 1.25.

Let’s put it in numbers:

Again, let’s say you spend the yearly max - $20,000 - on your Chase Freedom Unlimited (ignoring any spending on the Preferred for the time being).

$20,000 x 3 points per dollar = 60,000 points

60,000 points = $600 dollars cash back thru Chase OR redeem for travel at a rate of 1.25 when transferred to the Reserve

$600 x 1.25 = $750 to spend on travel

Not bad, huh?!

You’ll still want to use your Chase Sapphire card when out of the country however, since the Chase Freedom Unlimited does have foreign transaction fees (while those cards do not).

Well I hope that was simple and straightforward enough! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. And don’t sleep on this, it’s basically free money since there’s ZERO ANNUAL FEE. Sign up HERE!

If you don’t yet have the Chase Sapphire Reserve - read my review and then sign up today! OR sign up for it’s little sister, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, that also has great rewards!!

If you want to get really fancy, you can add the Chase Freedom to your wallet as well. That card earns 5 points per dollar up to $1500 per quarter when spending at a designated category (gas stations, grocery stores, etc). Again transferring all points to your Chase Sapphire card to redeem for higher value when the time comes!

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