The Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Chase Sapphire Preferred® cards are some of the best rewards credit cards on the market. Although both cards share the same rewards program, their rates and redemption options differ.

Which one is right for you depends on how you spend your money and how you want to use your credit card points. You can even use both cards to maximize earning potential on your everyday spending.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited has a $0 annual fee, making it the clear winner over the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s $95 annual fee.

Here are the welcome offers available on both cards:

• Pursue unlimited freedom: Earn 1.5% more on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year), worth up to $300 cash back.

• Favorite Chase Sapphire: Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome offer is better because it’s worth at least $600 (or at least $750 when booking through the Chase Travel portal), compared to the $300 cash back you can get with the Freedom Unlimited offer.

Here are the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Preferred rewards rates:

The best reward rate depends largely on your spending habits. However, Freedom Unlimited may be better for most people because it offers a higher base rewards rate of 1.5% on all other eligible purchases.

With this type of earning rate, you can earn high rewards in any type of spending category.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers the same redemption options as the Freedom Unlimited, and you can also transfer Chase points to other rewards programs. This includes partner loyalty programs like Air Canada Aeroplan, United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt.

This is a huge deal if you’re traveling, because it gives you more flexibility to use your points and potentially get more value from them.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited and the Sapphire Preferred share many of the same travel and purchase protection benefits, but the Sapphire Preferred has more. Specifically, travelers can feel more protected with the Sapphire Preferred’s additional benefits, such as baggage delay insurance, lost baggage reimbursement, and travel delay reimbursement.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred does not offer introductory APR offers on purchases or balance transfers. With the Chase Freedom Unlimited, you get:

• Introductory APR offer on purchases: 0% introductory APR on purchases for 15 months (then 19.74% to 28.49% variable APR).

• Introductory APR offer on balance transfers: 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for 15 months (then 19.74% to 28.49% variable APR).

Freedom Unlimited is the best option if you have large purchases coming up or want to transfer a balance without having to pay interest for a period of time.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited doesn’t offer much in the way of additional benefits, other than several redemption options. However, the Sapphire Preferred offers the same exchange options (plus transfer partners) and several additional benefits.

Additional Sapphire Preferred benefits include:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 25% more when redeemed for airline tickets, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel.

• Earn up to $50 in annual statement credits for hotel stays purchased through the Chase Travel portal

• On each account anniversary, earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made in the previous year

• No foreign transaction fees

The Sapphire Preferred is the clear winner here.

• You don’t want an annual fee

• You prefer to earn money

• You want introductory APR offers

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is an everyday cash back credit card for people who don’t want to pay an annual fee. It has an above-average base win rate of 1.5% and some useful bonus categories. You also have several redemption options to choose from.

• You prefer to earn travel rewards

• You want travel benefits and protections

• You want to transfer points to travel partners

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great travel rewards card suitable for any traveler, whether you’re new to travel credit cards or have been using them for years.

The low $95 annual fee won’t break the bank, and there are plenty of benefits (besides earning rewards) that can help offset the cost.

Yes, we recommend having both Chase credit cards in your wallet if you enjoy using Chase Ultimate Rewards points and want to maximize your earning potential.

Here’s a look at your combined rewards rate with both cards:

• 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel

• 3x points on restaurants, select streaming services and online grocery shopping

• 3% cash back on pharmacy purchases

• 2x points on all other travel purchases

• 1.5% cash back on all other eligible purchases

Note that any cash rewards you earn with Freedom Unlimited can be moved to Sapphire Preferred, where you can transfer them to travel partners or redeem them for an additional 25% bonus through the Chase Travel portal.

Why we love it: Capital One Venture Rewards makes it easy to earn travel rewards without worrying about different spending categories. If you only want to carry one card in your wallet, this might be the one for you.

Why we love it: Wells Fargo Active Cash has a higher base cash back rate than Freedom Unlimited and no bonus categories. This makes it a simple card to earn rewards on your everyday purchases, regardless of category.

Why we love it: The Amex Gold is one of our favorite cards for earning travel rewards on your everyday purchases, especially if you dine out frequently. With its high reward rate and multiple gastronomic benefits, it is a great choice for foodies.

This article was edited by Alicia Hahn

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