Earn this multiplier when you purchase via Chase Travel℠. If you purchase any other way, you will earn 1.5X points.
Earn this multiplier when you purchase via Chase Travel℠. If you purchase any other way, you will earn 1.5X points.
Earn this multiplier when you purchase via Chase Travel℠. If you purchase any other way, you will earn 1.5X points.
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
This is a staple card in the Chase Trifecta, which includes a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, a Chase Freedom Flex, and this card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
The primary benefit of this card, from a bonus category perspective, is the ability to earn 1.5% on all purchases that don’t have a bonus category. So while you earn 3% on dining and drugstore purchases with the Freedom Unlimited, you’ll earn 1.5% cash back on anything else, like insurance or utilities.
But since the Chase Freedom Unlimited is a pure cash back credit card unless you also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® with which to combine your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, it’s ideally used as a combo.
When you hold one of these premium Ultimate Rewards-earning credit cards, you can transfer points earned on the Freedom Unlimited to the premium card. Once you’ve moved the Ultimate Rewards over to the premium credit card, you can take advantage of points transfers to 12 Chase airline and hotel partners or book travel through the travel portal.
If you book through Chase Travel℠ and have a Sapphire Reserve, your points redeem for 1.5 cents each, meaning that you earn 1.5X points or cash back per dollar and redeem them for 1.5X, giving you an effective 2.25% return on your spend.
If you book through Chase Travel℠ and have a Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred, your points redeem for 1.25 cents each, meaning that you earn 1.5X per dollar and redeem for 1.5X, giving you an effective 1.875% return on your spend.
But our absolute favorite way to redeem is always via airline and hotel transfer partners. The easiest high-value redemption is usually Hyatt. We often get better than 2 cents per World of Hyatt point. Keep in mind that Hyatt doesn’t charge any resort fees when you stay on a free night award. So let’s say you are looking at a hotel with a cash price of $259 and a $25 a night resort fee and 8% tax. That would come to $307 a night. But if that same room costs 8,000 or 12,000 Hyatt points, you could be using your points (which transfer at an even 1:1 ratio to all airline and hotel partners) with a rate of return of 3 – 4 cents.
That said, even without a card combo, it’s still a solid card to earn 1.5% cash back (plus 3% on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services, and drugstores) since it has no annual fee. Best of all, you can accrue cash back on this card and decide to add a Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® later on – if you suddenly decide that you’d like to delve into the world of credit card rewards that transfer to frequent flyer and hotel programs to book free award flights and hotel nights.
It comes with a solid range of benefits for a card with no annual fee, too. You’ll get Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty on the shopping side and you’ll be taken care of on canceled or shortened pre-paid trips if a covered reason arises. with the included Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance.
Only earns 5% when booked via Capital One Travel; else 1%
Only earns 5% when booked via Capital One Travel; else 1%
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
Unlike the Capital One Savor card (now discontinued for new applicants, anyway), which offers 4% back dining but the same 3% back on dining, at grocery stores, and on entertainment purchases and popular streaming services) but charges a $95 annual fee, the Savor, despite 1% less in cash back, will be a better choice until you reach a high level of spend such that the annual fee is offset.
Plus, don’t forget that you’ll earn cash rewards (8%) on Capital One Entertainment Purchases and 5% cash rewards on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
Early on in this review, I mentioned a “secret” way to convert your Savor cash back into Capital One miles (See our complete guide to Capital One Miles).
If you also have a Capital One Venture X, Venture, VentureOne, or Spark Miles for Business card, you can freely convert your Savor cash back into miles by transferring the cash back to any of those cards. It transfers 1:1, meaning that $10 = 1,000 miles.
Here’s a list of Capital One Miles transfer partners should you transfer your Savor cash rewards over to one of the aforementioned cards (to be clear, you cannot transfer to any of these partners with this card alone; you would need a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, or Capital One Spark Miles for Business card to transfer to):
Capital One Miles | ||
---|---|---|
Transfer Ratio | Expected Transfer Time | |
Air Canada (Aeroplan) | 1:1 | Instant |
Air France / KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | Instant |
Avianca Lifemiles | 1:1 | Instant |
Aeromexico | 1:1 | Instant |
British Airways Avios | 1:1 | TBD |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 | Nearly instant |
Choice Hotels | 1:1 | 1 day |
Emirates Skywards | 1:1 | Instant |
Etihad Guest | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
Finnair | 1:1 | Instant |
Qantas | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
TAP Air Portugal | 1:1 | TBD |
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 1:1 | TBD |
Wyndham Rewards Hotel Program | 1:1 | Instant |
EVA | 2:1.5 | 1-2 days |
Accor Live Limitless (ALL) Hotel Program | 2:1 | 1-2 days |
Virgin Red | 1:1 | TBD |
There’s no denying that 3% cash back on dining, grocery store, streaming services and entertainment purchases is a solid deal for a credit card without an annual fee. In fact, entertainment purchases (which include things like concerts and shows) is one of the rarest bonus categories. If you attend a lot of Broadway shows or concerts, this card can really rack them up. And should you happen to resell any tickets on StubHub, etc, this is an extra 3% in your pocket.
Plus, if you don’t mind booking hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, that’s 5% cash back as well.
Bottom line? If you are interested in cash back rather than points, this would be a good card to have in your wallet, however, I would recommend pairing it with another card for other categories. For many, a second card like a Citi Double Cash, which earns 2% on everything, could be the perfect card combo. Or, scroll down and use our own Card Combo tool to see which card would pair best with a Savor based on your own spending profile.
And remember what I said above… there are ways to convert this cash back into Capital One Miles as well.