Chase Unveils Special Bonus Offers for Freedom, Freedom Unlimited

» This page is out of date

In October 2019, Chase changed the standard bonus offer on the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, so this page is out of date. See our details page for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® for the current offer. 

Chase has introduced special bonus offers for the Chase Freedom® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. The offers are available as of Aug. 27, 2019, at chase.com but not on sites like NerdWallet.

For both cards, cardholders who apply for the special offer can earn a $200 bonus after they spend $500 in the first three months.

• For the Chase Freedom®, the special-offer bonus is $50 higher than the normal offer, for the same spending requirement. Everything else about the card's rewards structure remains the same: It still earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in spending per quarter in rotating bonus categories that you activate (see the current categories here). All other purchases earn 1% back.

• For the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, the special-offer bonus represents a significant change to the rewards structure. Under the card's normal offer, you earn 3% cash back on purchases on up to $20,000 in spending in the first year, and then 1.5% cash back thereafter, but there is no upfront bonus. Under the special offer, you can earn the $200 lump-sum bonus, but there is no 3% promotional rewards rate; you just earn 1.5% on everything from Day One.

When it comes to the Chase Freedom®, the special offer is clearly better — $50 more for the same amount of spending.

For the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, however, which offer is a better deal depends on how much you plan to spend on the card in the first year:

• If you spend more than $13,333 in the first year (about $1,111 a month), you'll come out ahead with the 3% offer, which is available on NerdWallet. (UPDATE: The 3% offer is no longer available as of Oct. 9. 2019.)

• If you spend less than $13,333 in that first year, you'd do better with the special offer at chase.com.