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Chase credit cards are very popular, partly because Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are valuable and can be used in many ways. When it comes to Chase cards, two cards make the perfect spending pair: the Chase Freedom Unlimited® is great for its low-effort cash-back earning power, and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers stacked travel rewards potential.

  • Chase Freedom Unlimited: This card excels at earning cash back on everyday expenses, especially dining and drugstore purchases, and the rewards rates are boosted your first year up to $20,000 in spending. Rewards redemption is pretty flexible and earning doesn’t take a lot of extra effort.
  • Chase Saphire Preferred: A popular travel credit card for travel enthusiasts, this card’s points are worth 25% more when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. You’ll also have access to other travel perks like a $50 statement credit toward hotel stays, travel protections and anniversary bonus points.

If you’re looking to earn cash back on everyday expenses and travel, and then ice the cake with the increased redemption strength of the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, read on to learn why the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited make the perfect duo to help you maximize your rewards.

Overview of the Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Preferred®

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  • Our Rating 5/5 How our ratings work
  • APR20.99% - 27.99% (Variable)
  • Annual Fee$95
  • Sign Up Bonus 60,000Chase Ultimate Rewards Points More Info

    Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Dollar Equivalent: $1,320 (60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points * 0.022 base)

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the gold standards for earning travel rewards. It has a generous sign-up bonus and you can earn points on travel and dining expenses. The card does have an annual fee, but you can continue earning points through bonus categories and an anniversary points boost.

Overview

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is pretty flexible as it lets you transfer rewards points into miles or points several airlines and hotel programs. You can take advantage of strong transfer partners such as United, Southwest, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Hyatt. Similarly, you can book any reservation you want through the Chase Travel℠ portal. Although the card might not be ideal for the most frequent travelers, it has a built-in upgrade path, so when it’s time to level up your travel rewards game, you won’t have to start from scratch.

Pros

  • Points are easily transferable to airlines and hotel partners
  • Accelerated earnings on dining, travel & household purchases
  • Excellent travel and purchase protections
  • No foreign transaction fees

Cons

  • Not ideal for the highest spenders
  • $95 annual fee

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the gold standards for earning travel rewards. This travel credit card helps users earn points quickly with accelerated rewards in everyday spending categories like travel and dining.

Cardholders enjoy perks like a $50 annual hotel credit, 10% anniversary point boost and access to the Ultimate Rewards Travel portal.

New cardmembers can earn 60,000 bonus points after using their credit card to spend $4,000 within three months of account opening. This bonus is worth $750 in travel reservations booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, but potentially more when transferred to airline and hotel partners. Read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

Now let's look at the Chase Freedom Unlimited’s features and see how these two cards complement one another. 

Overview of the Chase Freedom Unlimited

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

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  • Our Rating 4.5/5 How our ratings work
  • APR19.99% - 28.74% (Variable)
  • Annual Fee$0
  • Bonus Offer 1.5%Extra Cash Back More Info

    Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.

We like that the card offers a high flat rewards rate but also provides accelerated rewards on some common everyday spending categories. You’ll also get access to the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal, which allows you to use your cash-back earnings for travel rewards, gift cards and more. If you make this your primary card for most purchases you can quickly rack up a lot of rewards.

Overview

The Chase Freedom Unlimited card is unique for a couple of reasons. First, it comes with purchase protection and extended warranty protection you don’t see with some other cash-back cards. Second, you earn cash back in the form of points (Chase Ultimate Rewards) and when paired with another annual-fee earning Chase product, you can get even more value if you love to travel by transferring to partners.

That’s because while the Freedom cards are marketed as cash-back credit cards, they actually offer points. You can use those points to book travel through Chase at a rate of 1 cent per point. But if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you’ll get 25% and 50% more value on those travel redemptions, respectively. (Plus, the ability to transfer your points, too.)

Pros

  • No category bonuses to remember; earn at least 1.5% back on everything
  • No annual fee
  • Generous travel and purchase protection benefits

Cons

  • Can't transfer Chase points unless paired with another annual-fee Chase product

What makes the Chase Freedom Unlimited stand out as an enticing card is that the cash back you earn can be converted into travel rewards—at a ratio of 1 cent per point—if you have an Ultimate Rewards earning card—like the Chase Sapphire Preferred. 

The ability to convert cash back to Ultimate Rewards points has the potential for immense value as you can redeem these points for big travel purchases, rather than simply receiving cash back at a fixed rate.

Aside from the card’s bountiful earning rates and welcome offer, cardholders are treated to an abundance of perks in exchange for its moderate $95 annual fee. Regular travelers will appreciate cardmember perks such as primary auto rental insurance, baggage delay reimbursement, trip delay reimbursement, purchase protection and more.

Why the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Sapphire Preferred Cards Make a Great Combo

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Combining these cards not only accelerates the rate at which you earn valuable travel rewards in a variety of spend categories you can use later for free flights and hotels, but you end up paying only one annual fee since the Chase Freedom Unlimited does not carry one.

Here are three good reasons why you should have both a Chase Freedom Unlimited and a Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

1. You’ll Earn More Bonus Points in More Categories

One big reason why the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Sapphire Preferred cards make a good match is that they complement one another in offering distinctive bonus categories.

With a broad list of everyday bonus categories, cardholders are guaranteed a minimum earning rate of 1.5x points per dollar on every purchase. And since Chase Ultimate Rewards points are by and large worth around 2 cents each, the 1.5% cash back on all non-bonus spending results in a value of 1.5x points per dollar spent, which is a minimum of 3% return on your spending with these two cards.

2. You Can Increase the Value of Your Points

When you pair a cash back card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited or Chase Freedom FlexSM with a Chase card that earns Ultimate Rewards points, the cash back earned from a Chase Freedom card can be converted and combined to form valuable points that can be redeemed for travel. Once the points have been combined, you can then redeem them by transferring them to one of Chase’s numerous transfer partners—such as United, Hyatt or British Airways—and book your travel.

By transferring cash back earned from the Chase Freedom Unlimited to your Chase Sapphire Preferred account, your points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase, a 25% increase. You can get even more value out of your points by transferring them at a 1:1 ratio to transfer partners for a potentially higher gain. 

3. You’ll Pay Only One Annual Fee

These two cards aren’t just strong earners together; they're compatible in other ways. Both deliver excellent bonus categories and many complementary ways to use your points, but best of all—you’re only on the hook for one annual fee of $95. 

There are several no-annual-fee credit cards that earn more than 1.5% cash back on all purchases. But being able to convert cash back into valuable Ultimate Rewards points for outstanding travel redemptions is why these two cards make an ideal pair when teamed up.

Before You Apply: Chase's 5/24 Rule

Before jumping into an application for the Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, be aware of Chase’s 5/24 rule. Chase has stringent application guidelines on who can or can't be approved for one of their cards.

To put it simply, Chase has an unpublicized rule that states you can't have applied for five credit card accounts (or more) in the last 24 months, or your application for new credit will almost certainly be denied (with a few exceptions). Keep this rule in mind when timing your application.

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When to Use the Chase Freedom Unlimited vs. the Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Chase Sapphire Preferred complement one another to amass Ultimate Rewards points and maximize your earning potential. 

Here’s a look at some of the best times to use the Chase Freedom Unlimited vs. the Chase Sapphire Preferred:

  • For everyday cash-back earning: You can’t go wrong with either card, but the Chase Freedom Unlimited earns 3% on dining and drugstores and 1.5% on other purchases. Plus, you can earn an extra 1.5%% the first year (up to $20,000). 
  • For maximizing travel redemptions: The Chase Sapphire Preferred nets you a little extra on points when you book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
  • For taking advantage of an interest-free period: The Chase Freedom Unlimited has 0% Intro APR for 15 months followed by 19.99% - 28.74% (Variable) that can help you pay down a bigger bill without getting hit with interest charges.
  • For shopping overseas: The Chase Sapphire Preferred has no foreign transaction fees.

On top of all that, the Chase Sapphire Preferred's generous sign-up bonus can help you hit the ground running in accruing Ultimate Rewards points. Plus, the Ultimate Rewards program provides the flexibility to convert cash back earned from the Chase Freedom Unlimited into valuable travel rewards points—when combined with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred—making this the ultimate credit card pair.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

  • $0 Annual Fee
  • $300 Editor's
    Bonus Estimate     More Info

    Learn more about how we evaluate points and miles in our monthly evaluation guide.
  • Bonus Offer 1.5%Extra Cash Back More Info

    Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.
  • 19.99% - 28.74% (Variable) APR
Apply Now

Secure application on issuer’s website

Chase Sapphire Preferred®

  • $95 Annual Fee
  • $1,320 Editor's
    Bonus Estimate     More Info

    Learn more about how we evaluate points and miles in our monthly evaluation guide.
  • Sign Up Bonus 60,000Chase Ultimate Rewards Points More Info

    Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Dollar Equivalent: $1,320 (60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points * 0.022 base)
  • 20.99% - 27.99% (Variable) APR
Apply Now

Secure application on issuer’s website

JR

Juan Ruiz

Juan has been writing and editing stories involving credit cards, loyalty programs, travel, and personal finance topics for more than 10 years. In addition to working and contributing to a number of outlets including The Points Guy, Forbes, and Business Insider, Juan was recently the editor-in-chief at Money Under 30, where he led a team of personal finance journalists. He is also an adjunct professor at Florida International University and a licensed real estate professional.