Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited Card [Detailed Comparison]

Building a relationship with Chase as a financial institution can deliver tremendous value over the long term. Chase offers a variety of financial products, including banking accounts, mortgages, personal/business loans, savings vehicles, and investment solutions, that can be utilized over your lifetime.

Chase credit cards add additional value with the ability to manage your spending while earning rewards, receive a great value at redemption time, and enjoy benefits/protections that can save you money or provide protection when you need it.

Today, we’ll look at 2 of the most popular Chase cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited^®, both of which are fine examples of the value provided by Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning cards.

While we believe either of these cards is an excellent choice, even for your first travel rewards card, we’re prepared to back up this statement with all the information you’ll need to decide for yourself as to which card is a better fit for you.

Let’s review the key features and benefits you can expect to realize as a cardholder with either of our featured cards.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Freedom Unlimited Card — Overview

Let’s take a topline view of both cards with a side-by-side comparison that makes it easier to review the features and benefits of both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Freedom Unlimited card.

Here’s how the cards compare in each category:

Note that we haven’t listed every benefit of our featured cards and descriptions are abbreviated. You’ll want to check each card’s Guide to Benefits before applying to see expanded coverage descriptions, terms, conditions, rates, and fees.

The Value of a Welcome Bonus

The best travel rewards cards offer a welcome bonus that allows you to earn a large number of rewards in the first few months after card approval when meeting minimum spending requirements.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Freedom Unlimited card each offer such a bonus. The value of these welcome bonuses will vary, however, due to the different redemption options offered on each card. We’ll expand more on that shortly.

But first, let’s take a look at the current welcome bonuses that come with our featured cards.

Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers a welcome bonus that’s worth far more than the Freedom Unlimited card. Even with the $95 annual fee, the welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card can provide tremendous value. 

Earning Potential

Both of our featured cards earn valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The Freedom Unlimited card, however, functions as a cash-back card, initially earning rewards in the form of points that can be redeemed for cash-back.

Here’s how both of these cards earn rewards, along with which bonus-category spending results in the best earning potential.

Bottom Line: While both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Freedom Unlimited card have robust earning structures, the Freedom Unlimited card does charge a 3% foreign transaction fee, making it a poor choice for international travel and foreign purchases. 

Redemption Options

While both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Freedom Unlimited card earn the same Ultimate Rewards points, your options at redemption time will differ with each card.

Here are your options, and the values you can expect to receive, for Ultimate Rewards points earned on each card.

Bottom Line: The most significant difference in redemption options for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Freedom Unlimited card is that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card allows you to redeem points for travel via the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal for 25% more value and has the ability to receive even greater potential value when transferring points to airline or hotel partners. 

Travel Benefits and Protections

Travel benefits can save you money or provide protection that can give you peace of mind during your travels.

Here are some of the key travel benefits and protections you’ll find on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Freedom Unlimited card:

• Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver — Pay for your car rental with your card, decline the rental agency’s CDW/LDW coverage and receive coverage for damage or theft of the rental car. Coverage is primary on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and secondary on the Freedom Unlimited card. Secondary means that you must first file a claim with any other insurance that applies before card coverage kicks in.
• Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance — If your trip is canceled or disrupted due to a covered reason, the Freedom Unlimited card could pay up to $1,500 per person, $6,000 per trip. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card could pay up to $10,000 per person, $20,000 per trip.
• Roadside Dispatch — Pay 1 predetermined service fee to receive jumpstart or lockout services, towing up to 5 miles, fuel delivery (up to 5 gallons), standard winching, and spare tire changing.
• Travel and Emergency Services — Make 1 call to receive assistance 24/7 while traveling. Receive translation services, medical/legal referrals, assistance with emergency transportation, and more. Cardholders are responsible for actual services received.

Additional Benefits and Protections

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

• $50 Hotel Credit via Ultimate Rewards — Book your hotel via the Chase Travel portal and receive a statement credit of up to $50 each card anniversary year.
• Trip Delay Reimbursement — Receive up to $500 in reimbursement for eligible expenses due to a covered trip delay of more than 12 hours or overnight.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees — Use your card abroad, or for any foreign purchase, as the card does not charge foreign transaction fees.
• Baggage Delay — If your bags are delayed more than 6 hours, you could receive up to $100 per day for up to 5 days for eligible incidentals, including clothing, toiletries, and cell phone charging cables.
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement — Receive up to $3,000 if your luggage is lost or stolen.
• Roadside Dispatch — If you are stranded on the side of the road, 1 call 24/7 can provide assistance. Cardholders are responsible for actual services received.

Shopping Benefits and Protections

When you shop with either the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Freedom Unlimited card, you’ll want to understand the additional benefits available. For example, you may earn more rewards by taking advantage of card offers or have coverage if something goes wrong with your purchase.

Here’s a sampling of some of the best shopping benefits and protections that come with both of our featured cards:

• Chase Offers — Log in to your Chase account and view your available Chase Offers. Add the offer to your card, make the required purchase, and receive cash-back as a statement credit.
• Chase Shopping Portal — Earn up to 25 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent via the shopping portal. In your online account, select Ways to Earn, then Shop Through Chase to view available retailers and offers.
• Monthly GoPuff Credit — Receive up to $10 each month when shopping via the GoPuff app, for up to 12 months. Offer expires December 31, 2023.
• Purchase Protection — Purchase an eligible item with your card and receive coverage for theft, accidental damage, or “involuntary or accidental parting” for 120 days from the date of purchase. Coverage is limited to $500 per item, $50,000 per account.
• Extended Warranty — Eligible items with manufacturer’s warranties of 3 years or less that you purchase with your card will have the warranty extended by 1 additional year. Coverage is limited to $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per account.

Additional Shopping Benefits and Protections

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

• DoorDash DashPass — Receive a complimentary DashPass subscription. If activated by December 31, 2023,  the subscription is active through December 31, 2024. If activated during the 2024 calendar year, the subscription will be valid for 1 year from the date of activation.
• Instacart Benefits — Cardholders are eligible for a free 6-month Instacart+ membership plus a $15 quarterly credit. Activate by July 31, 2024.

Freedom Unlimited Card

• Introductory 0% APR on Purchases — Enjoy no interest charges on purchases for up to 15 months from card approval. After that, normal interest rates as indicated in the card table above apply.
• DoorDash DashPass — Enjoy a complimentary 3-month DashPass subscription. Activate by December 31, 2024.
• Instacart Benefits — Cardholders are eligible for a free 3-month Instacart+ membership plus a $10 quarterly credit. Activate by July 31, 2024.

Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card — with key benefits such as primary car rental coverage and trip cancellation, interruption, and delay insurance — is hard to beat when it comes to benefits and protections, but the no-annual-fee Freedom Unlimited card offers several benefits and protections that can also make it a good value. 

Annual Fees and Adding Authorized Users

Annual fees are important, as you’ll want to make sure you’re receiving sufficient value from a card to offset that fee. Authorized users can help you earn rewards faster, and users may benefit from the opportunity to establish a credit history.

Annual Fees

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card charges an annual fee of $95, which is a modest fee considering its generous welcome bonus, flexible redemption options, and its valuable travel insurance benefits. The Freedom Unlimited card does not charge an annual fee.

Adding Authorized Users

Neither of our featured cards charge for adding authorized users. Note that the primary cardholder is responsible for all card purchases made by the additional user.

Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a modest $95 annual fee while the Freedom Unlimited card does not charge an annual fee. There is no charge to add authorized users to either card. 

Everything Else You Need To Know

Both of our featured cards fall under Chase’s 5/24 rule that dictates whether you’ll be approved for a Chase credit card. If you’ve had 5 (or more) credit cards issued from any financial institution in the last 24 months, you won’t be approved for a Chase card.

It’s recommended that you have “Good to Excellent credit” of 570 to 840 to qualify for either of these Chase cards.

Both of our cards utilize the Visa payment processing network. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a Visa Signature card, and the Freedom Unlimited card can be issued as either a Visa Platinum (for credit limits under $5,000) or as a Visa Signature card.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers some of the best travel insurance available on a credit card. This coverage, however, does not take the place of a comprehensive travel insurance policy, especially if your trip is expensive, complicated, or you need medical coverage during your travels.

Final Thoughts

Both of our featured cards offer great value and are appropriate choices for your first-time travel rewards card.

Although both cards offer excellent earning potential, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has an edge over the Freedom Unlimited card thanks to its generous welcome bonus and the opportunity to receive better value for your points at redemption time. The card also offers better travel insurance benefits.

To maximize the value received on your Chase cards, however, it can be productive to pair a no-annual-fee card, such as the Freedom Unlimited card or Chase Freedom Flex℠, with a premium Chase credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve^®. This card combination will allow you to maximize earnings and receive up to 50% more value at redemption time.

Whichever Chase card (or cards) you select, if you manage your usage well, you’ll certainly reap the rewards that come along with being a Chase cardholder.

The information regarding the Chase Freedom Unlimited^® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.