I really like this card for beginners because it’s very easy to understand. It’s also a great everyday use card if you are not working on a sign up bonus and there’s no bonus category for what you’re purchasing. It’s also a free card so there’s no annual fee at any time. The sign up bonus is also pretty low. As of May 2023, you’ll earn 20,000 points after spending $500 within the first three months. That should be easy enough.
For bonus categories, it earns 5x on travel purchased through Chase (which I wouldn’t worry about right now) 3x at restaurants, 3x and drug stores and 5x on Lyft rides (through March of 2025). If you apply through the link below, you also get an extra 1.5x on everything (up to $20,000 spent in the first year) so drug stores and restaurants are 4.5x and everything else is 3x. Really good stuff right? So again, if you are not working on meeting a sign up bonus on another card, this should be your primary card for all of your spend (unless you have a 5x bonus category with the Chase Freedom Flex).
This is where you need to really learn to optimize your spending. First, if this is the only points credit card you have, you should never use anything else at a restaurant. If you have apps for places like McDonalds, Dunkin, Starbux, etc you should immediately update your apps to change your credit card so that you use this one. Same goes for your pharmacy. I keep a credit card on file with my pharmacy so if you do too, be sure to update it so that you get 3x on all of your prescriptions.
This is a very simple card to understand and use. When you open the card, you should sign up for a Chase account online to manage this card and others that you’ll be getting. From there, you can view Chase offers (which we’ll discuss later), pay your bill, view your statements and confirm that your cash back rate is being calculated properly. You’ll also see all of your points. Problem is, you can’t do too much with them yet. With just this card, you get 1 cent per point so that’s they they market the 20,000 bonus points as $200. We’ll do better than that though once we pair this with a Sapphire.
Click here to apply for the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. You’ll not only get the best sign up bonus available, you’ll be supporting this website.