Chase Freedom Unlimited® vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Welcome Bonus

Chase Freedom Unlimited® is not offering a welcome cash bonus at this time. But you can get an extra 1.5% cash back on purchases in your first year that’s worth up to $300. We’ll tell you more about that below.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. This bonus is worth about $600 as a statement credit, but if you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, it’s worth about $750.

Cash Back Rewards

Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers an extra 1.5% cash back on purchases for the first year, up to $20,000. This is worth up to $300 cash back. So, instead of the usual 5% cash back you earn on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, you’ll earn 6.5% cash back for the first year. You’ll also earn 3% (4.5% in your first year) cash back on drugstore purchases, 3% (4.5% in your first year) on dining, and 1.5% (3% in your first year) on everything else.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card rewards you with points instead of cash back. You’ll earn 5x on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x on dining, and 2x on all other travel purchases. Also, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card gives you 25% more value for your points when you redeem them through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

Since the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a travel rewards card, you also get some other travel benefits, such as trip cancellation/interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, and trip delay reimbursement.

One card isn’t really better than the other. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a better choice if you’re after travel rewards, and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a cash back credit card that rewards you for travel, but you also get cash back on dining and drugstore purchases.

Here are the details for each card.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Rewards:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 

Rewards:

Rates and Fees

Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months. After that, your rate will be 19.24% - 27.99% variable, depending on your creditworthiness.

Chase Freedom Unlimited® does not have an annual fee, but it does have a foreign transaction fee of 3% of the amount of each transaction in U.S. dollars.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is not offering a 0% introductory rate at this time. Your rate will be 20.24% - 27.24% variable, depending on creditworthiness.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a $95 annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. The travel benefits and the lack of a foreign transaction fee make this card the one you’d want to take on an international trip.

Who the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is Best For

Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a great card for those who don’t want to pay an annual fee and want some cash back rewards. You also get that 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, which is great if you’re planning a major purchase or want to transfer other debt. 1.5% cash back on purchases that fall into the “other purchases” category is a step-up from most other cards that only pay 1%. If you don’t travel a ton, this card is a fantastic choice.

Who the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is Best For

This card is a great option for those who want an excellent travel rewards card. You that 25% bonus value for your points when you purchase travel through Chase, and if you transfer them to Chase’s travel partners, your points can be worth even more. You get some valuable travel perks and there’s no foreign transaction fees to slow you down. There is an annual fee, but it’s a fairly low fee, and the welcome bonus more than makes up for it.

Does it make sense to get both cards?

Yes, these cards complement each other very well. You can transfer the points you earn from the Chase Freedom Unlimited® to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to get the boost in travel points. Or, transfer points to Chase’s travel partners to possibly reap more value.

You can get excellent cash back rewards on almost all of your everyday purchases between both credit cards. Gas is the only category that neither card offers elevated rewards for. However, you can get 3% on gasoline purchases on your Chase Freedom Unlimited card during your first year since it falls under the “other purchases” category. After that, you can still get 1.5% cash back on those purchases which is still better than 1% cash back that other cards offer for the “other purchases” category.

There is a caveat, though. Chase has an unwritten rule called the 5/24 rule. This means they won’t (generally) approve anyone for a credit card if you’ve opened five accounts or more within the past 24 months–any credit card, not just Chase cards. So, if you’ve opened four accounts in the last 24 months, you’ll need to think carefully about which card to apply for first. Then you might need to wait until you’re under the 5/24 guideline to get the other card.

Approval Odds

The credit score data provided for some of the cards listed below comes from publicly available information in several forums. The accuracy of the information cannot be verified. Keep in mind that credit card issuers consider more than an applicant’s credit score and that underwriting standards change over time.

Chase Freedom Unlimited® 

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 

Given that both cards are issued by the same lender, you’ll need excellent credit to be approved for either card. Credit score data is pretty similar, just keep the 5/24 rule in mind, and you’ll be good to go.