when it comes to credit cards with no annual feeThere’s nothing better than the Chase duo Chase Unlimited Freedom® (see rates and fees) and the Chase Freedom Flex® (see rates and fees). Both also come with valuable welcome offers, with the potential to take home tons of cash back.
And right now, Chase Freedom Unlimited offers its highest bonus since march. (The Freedom Flex offers its standard bonus.)
Both Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited are great rewards credit cards with no annual fee. Even better, they offer the flexibility to earn cash back or be fully transferable. Pursue ultimate rewards points when combined with select chase cardslike him Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees).
Let’s dive into these offerings and see how they compare.
Chase Freedom Unlimited Welcome Offer
Right now, new Pursue unlimited freedom Cardholders can earn $300 cash back after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months. This offer ends January 15, 2026 at 9am EST.
Profit rates
- 5% cash back on trips booked through Chase Travel℠
- 3% cash back meal
- 3% cash back at pharmacies
- 1.5% cash back on everything else
These are valuable earning rates, but you have to crunch the numbers to see if another card (like the Freedom Flex) makes more sense.
Apply: Pursue unlimited freedom
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Chase Freedom Flex Welcome Offer
New Flexible Freedom Pursuit Cardholders can earn $200 cash back after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months.
This is the usual welcome offer offered by the card. While it offers solid value, you may want to wait until it offers this amount of cash back plus a 5% bonus category, which we’ve seen in the past for grocery purchases and gas station purchases.
Profit rates
- 5% cash back on the first $1,500 spent on rotating categories every quarter (activation required)
- 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Travel
- 3% cash back on meals
- 3% cash back at pharmacies
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
That’s an impressive range of income categories for any card, let alone a no-annual-fee credit card.
Apply: Flexible Freedom Pursuit
How to Convert Your Cash to Chase Points
What really makes these two cards powerful is how well they play with each other.
If you have another Chase card that earns transferable Ultimate Rewards points, such as the Favorite Sapphire Chasehe Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Cardyou can combine the points of your Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex.
I have Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex and pair them with my Sapphire Reserve to convert cash back to Ultimate Rewards points.
Ink Business Preferred information has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
This unlocks the ability to transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to Ultimate Rewards partner airlines and hotelsincluding valuable programs like Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Club and Hyatt World.
In this scenario, December 2025 from TPG ratings Consider that Chase points are worth 2.05 cents each, so your rewards have significantly more flexibility when used this way.
Related: The Power of the Chase Trifecta: Maximize Your Earnings with 3 Cards
Key considerations
It’s worth noting that both Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex impose foreign transaction fees, so they’re not ideal for use outside the US. Rather, you should use a card with no fees for foreign transactions.
Additionally, you’ll want to make sure you comply with Chase’s 24/5 Rule and the other from the issuer application restrictions before applying. You would hate to waste a hard research on your credit report only to not be approved.
In a nutshell
If you’re currently a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve holder and don’t have a Chase Freedom card, now might be a good time to apply for one. Both Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex are worth a look to increase your daily spending.
For more information, read our reviews of the Unlimited freedom and the Freedom Flex.
Apply here: Pursue unlimited freedom
Apply here: Flexible Freedom Pursuit
