Why The Chase Freedom Unlimited Should Be Your First Credit Card
It’s been over eight years now since I got my first credit card. It was an exhilarating feeling knowing that a piece of plastic had unlimited amounts of ‘money’ on it. Luckily for me, I was taught how a credit card works and that anything I spent had to be paid back. What I didn’t understand
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is a great entry card because it allows you to not only build your credit but also gives you a $150 bonus, 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and no annual fee. Additionally, you build up Chase Reward points which never expire. These can be used to book flights, hotels, or just get even more cash back.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited has been a huge part of building my credit score to what it is today. The $500 monthly credit line kept me in check and allowed me to learn how to properly use a credit card. Looking back, it is crazy to think how the lessons from a credit card translated over into other parts of my finances. You aren’t convinced yet? The benefits of this card go far beyond cash back, let me explain.
Credit Card Disclaimer
Before I describe to you all of the benefits of this card, I feel like it is my duty to give you a credit card disclaimer. Credit card debt is a huge problem in this country. Based on the last census, on average a person in America has $5,700 of it. Yes, I understand you may not have any but your neighbor may have tens of thousands of dollars of debt and you don’t even know it. My point is you need to understand how to use a credit card. At minimum know this rule:
Pay off the full amount every single month with no exception.
If you follow that one rule you will be fine. Hopefully, I haven’t totally scared you off yet because there are some great benefits to credit cards. This article isn’t meant to outline all credit card benefits, instead, I’m going to focus just on the Chase Freedom Unlimited. If you want to learn more about that, read my past article It’s Time For You To Get A Credit Card.
Why It’s A Great First Card
To be honest my parents helped me sign up for my Chase Freedom Unlimited, my first credit card. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I was getting something better than a debit card. So why did they choose this card?
It’s simple; I had no credit history which gave me a low credit score which is exactly who the Chase Freedom Unlimited is targeted at. They aren’t expecting someone to come in with a perfect 850 credit score. They understand that they need to help us, the little guys, out and this is the exact card to do it. The starting credit line on this card will be small, probably under $1,000, but that may be just what you need to teach you how to use the card properly.
The Top 3 Benefits Of the Card
Like all credit cards, the Chase Freedom Unlimited has some core benefits that you should know about. All too often people just use their credit card and pay it off. Which is a great way to use it, but they forget all about the
1. Signing Bonus
As mentioned above when you sign up for the card, you do get a $150 cash bonus. There is a catch though because there always is. You only get that bonus if you spend $500 total by the end of the third month of having the card. To be honest this should be quite easy. Compare that to some upper tier cards that require you to spend $3,000-$5,000 in the first three months.
2. Unlimited 1.5% Cash Back
Overall, this is my favorite benefit of this card. Chances are you’re new to this whole credit card thing so you may not understand how rewards work, no problem. Chase automatically will give you cash back on any purchase you make.
If you spend $1,000 then you’ll get 1.5% of that back in cash or $15.
3. 0% Intro APR for 15 Months
It is my job to give you all the information even if I don’t agree with it. This card does offer 0% interest for 15 months. This 15
As a warning, interest rates can be anywhere from 16.99% to 25.74%. While that 0% may be nice for a while, it could come back to bite you.
Other Benefits
These three aren’t the only benefits of this card. Here
- Purchase Protection – If you purchase something using your card and it is lost or stolen within 120 days, you may be eligible for a full refund. This applies to items up to $500 in value.
- Extended Warranty – If you bought something with your card that has a warranty of 3 years or less then you automatically get another year tacked on. This covers claims up to $10,000.
- Car Rental Insurance – This card allows you to decline the rental car insurance and instead covers you for theft and collision. You are covered in the US and abroad up to the actual amount of the car.
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption – As someone who likes to travel, this one is huge. We all have things that come up and Chase will reimburse up to $1,500 in cost for airfare, hotels, and anything in-between. All you have to do is pay for things with your card.
- Roadside Dispatch – Chase offers a 24-hour hotline that you can call for roadside assistance. Instead of paying a crazy fee, you just pay a flat fee. This includes jumpstarting, tire change, gas, locksmith services, and evening towing.
- Free Credit Report – There are a couple places you can check your credit score but one of the benefits of this card is it will do it for you quarterly. Keeping an eye on that is always a smart idea.
How To Apply
Are you ready to take action in building your credit and earn awesome rewards at the same time? If so, then apply by clicking on the button below. It will take you directly to Chase’s secure site.
The Bottom Line
Building your credit takes time and doing so with a credit card is one of the most practical and easiest ways for young people. The Chase Freedom Unlimited offers everything you could want in a first card w
The other benefit is this card is going to teach you how to handle a credit card. I don’t want anyone reading this to be another victim of credit card debt and when starting with such a low limit, acquiring unmanageable debt would be hard to do.
EDIT! This post has been made into a YouTube video so I can give you better clarity on why I LOVE this card so much. Check it out below and don’t forget to subscribe!
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Disclosure: There may be some affiliate links below and I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Any link is something that I’ve personally used and recommend. All proceeds go back into YD&NB to help keep creating content like this.