Chase Freedom Unlimited: Double Your Cash Back With An Extra 1.5% for Your First 12 Months

The card_name first-year welcome bonus for new customers is changing again. Here’s what you’ll get if you sign up now. The caveat is that you’ll have to wait a year before you earn it.

This no-annual-fee-credit card now offers an additional 1.5% cash back on $20,000 of spending during your first year—worth up to $300 cash back, depending on the categories where you spend. This can translate into $100 more than the card’s previous bonus of $200 after meeting minimum spending requirements. (Though less than its previous welcome bonus—which doubled your cash back on an unlimited amount of spending for that first year—it is still a generous offer.)

Here’s everything you need to know about the new terms.

Understanding Chase Freedom Unlimited’s latest bonus offer

The card_name was already an excellent no-annual-fee rewards credit card with solid benefits and an above-average earning potential (read our Chase Freedom Unlimited review for the full details). This new bonus gives you an additional 1.5% cash back up to $20,000 of spending during the first year of card membership. Here’s what you’ll get for that first year:

• 6.5% back for travel purchases through the Chase Travel Portal (normally 5%).
• 4.5% back on dining and at drugstores (normally 3%).
• 3% back for all other eligible purchases(normally 1.5%).

Keep in mind that your earnings won’t be matched until after the first 12 months. For example, let’s say you spend an average of $300 per month on travel, $350 per month on dining, and $1,000 per month on all other expenses. That totals up to $19,800, just under the maximum bonus level. Your standard cash back for these expenditures (based on rates below) would be $46.97/month—$563.64/year. With the bonus welcome reward, you’d earn $783 for that first year, an additional $219.36.

You’d earn $43.50 per month, followed by a whopping $522 bonus at the end of 12 months.

After the first year (or $20,000 of spending) you’ll continue to earn rewards at the regular rates:

• 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• 3% back on dining and at drugstores including takeout and eligible delivery service.
• 1.5% back for all other purchases.

You can receive your rewards as a statement credit or a direct deposit into most U.S checking and savings accounts. There’s no minimum spending to receive rewards and, as long as your account is active, the rewards don’t expire.

Pair the Chase Freedom Unlimited with other Chase cards to unlock your rewards potential

It’s worth noting that, while Chase advertises the card_name as a cash back credit card, it actually earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, not cash. You can redeem these points in myriad ways, such as for cash at a rate of 1 cent each, for gift cards at a rate of 1 cent each (usually), or on your Amazon cart at a rate of 0.8 cents each.

However, you can also transfer the points you earn with the card_name to airline and hotel loyalty programs for free travel if you’ve also got one of the following Ultimate Rewards–earning cards:

• card_name
• card_name
• card_name

For example, you could transfer 25,000 Chase points to Hyatt for five nights at a low-level Hyatt hotel, which often costs more than $100 per night. This would net you more than $500 for your points—twice the value you’d receive if you had simply redeemed those 25,000 points for cash.

Do you qualify?

This cash-back match is only available for new applicants. If you’ve already got the card, the rewards you earn won’t be doubled. However, it’s possible to apply for the card again by “product changing” your current card_name to another card, such as the Chase Freedom Flex℠ or the card_name. Then, after waiting a few days, you can apply for a new card_name to access this current bonus.

Additionally, Chase enforces an application restriction known as the “5/24 rule.” If you’ve opened five or more credit cards from any bank in the past 24 months (excluding most small business credit cards), you won’t be eligible to open the card_name.

Alternative cards

If you don’t qualify for the card_name—or if the card just doesn’t sound like your cup of tea—you still have other options.

The no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Flex earns 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories (up to $1,500 in spending each quarter, then 1%) after you activate. Currently, the card’s bonus categories are PayPal, wholesale clubs, and select charities. You’ll also earn:

• 5% back on travel purchased through the Chase Travel Portal.
• 3% back on dining and at drugstores.
• 1% back for all other eligible purchases.

The card also comes with a $200 welcome bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.

Even better, the Chase Freedom Flex earns the same rewards currency as the Chase Freedom Unlimited: Chase Ultimate Rewards points. So if you hold an eligible Ultimate Rewards–earning card (such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred), you can convert your spoils into airline miles and hotel points for huge value. Freedom Flex also offers a $200 welcome bonus after spending $500 in the first three months.

TIME Stamp: Lift your reward points for a year with Chase Freedom Unlimited’s welcome bonus

The card_name latest bonus now offers an additional 1.5% cash back on $20,000 of spending during your first year—worth up to $300 cash back. Learning how to convert these bonus points through an Ultimate Rewards-earning card can result in even more rewards—if you know the best ways to use the points.