The two cards, side by side
Everything below is resolved from each issuer’s current terms at build time. Sort by whichever column is binding for you — bonus value if you are optimizing a single year, net annual cost if you are deciding what to keep.
| Welcome bonusPoints / spend / window | Purchase APR | Apply | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom Unlimitedverified Terms ApplyNo annual fee · 18.24% – 27.74% variable APR | 20,000 / $500 in 3 mo | $200 – $3001.0¢ portal floor to 1.5¢ best partner | $0 | $0Credits exceed the fee | 18.24% – 27.74% variable | 4.6out of 5 | View at Chase for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® at Chase (opens in a new tab) We are not compensated for this card. It is here because it earned its place. |
| Double Cashverified Terms ApplyNo annual fee · 17.49% – 27.49% variable APR | $200 / $1.5K in 6 moawarded as ThankYou® Points, redeemable for cash back as a direct deposit, a statement credit or a check | $200at 1.0¢/pt | $0 | $0Credits exceed the fee | 17.49% – 27.49% variable | 4.1out of 5 | View at Citi for the Citi Double Cash® Card at Citi (opens in a new tab) We are not compensated for this card. It is here because it earned its place. |
Rates, fees and terms for all 2 cards aboveHide rates, fees and terms
Chase Freedom Unlimited® Chase
Terms ApplyNo annual fee · 18.24% – 27.74% variable APR
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- Annual fee
- $0
- Purchase APR
- 18.24% – 27.74% variable
- Intro purchase APR
- 0% for 15 months, then 18.24% – 27.74% variable
- Balance transfer APR
- 0% for 15 months, then 18.24% – 27.74% variable
- Balance transfer fee
- Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. Chase notes this account may not be eligible for balance transfers.
- Balance transfer window
- Transfers must post within 60 days of account opening to receive the intro rate
- Foreign transaction fee
- 3%
- Cash advance APR
- 28.49% variable
- Cash advance fee
- Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
- Penalty APR
- Up to 29.99%. Applies if you fail to make a minimum payment by its due date or make a payment that is returned unpaid, and can remain in effect indefinitely. A minimum payment 60 days late also ends the introductory rate.
- Late payment fee
- Up to $40
- Returned payment fee
- Up to $40
Cards are issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Offers, rates and terms are subject to change without notice.
Rates and fees reconciled against Chase’s published pricing and terms on . Issuers may change offers, rates and terms at any time without notice; confirm current terms on the issuer’s own page before you apply. Chase rates & terms · Chase card page
Citi Double Cash® Card Citi
Terms ApplyNo annual fee · 17.49% – 27.49% variable APR
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- Annual fee
- $0
- Purchase APR
- 17.49% – 27.49% variable
- Balance transfer APR
- 0% for 18 months, then 17.49% – 27.49% variable
- Balance transfer fee
- Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, as an introductory fee for transfers completed within 4 months of account opening; either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, after that. The 0% introductory rate runs 18 months from account opening and applies only to transfers completed within that same first 4 months.
- Foreign transaction fee
- 3%
- Cash advance APR
- 29.74% variable
- Cash advance fee
- Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater.
- Penalty APR
- Up to 29.99%. May apply if you make a late payment or a payment is returned.
- Late payment fee
- Up to $41
- Returned payment fee
- Up to $41
- Minimum interest charge
- $0.50
Cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. Offers, rates, rewards, benefits and terms are subject to change and may vary by applicant. Citi is not responsible for the products or services offered by other companies.
Rates and fees reconciled against Citi’s published pricing and terms on . Issuers may change offers, rates and terms at any time without notice; confirm current terms on the issuer’s own page before you apply. Citi rates & terms · Citi card page
Which welcome offer is worth more?
| Freedom Unlimited | Double Cash | |
|---|---|---|
| The offer | 20,000 points after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening† | $200 after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months from account opening, awarded as ThankYou® Points, redeemable for cash back as a direct deposit, a statement credit or a check† |
| Worth, at our valuation | $380 | $200 |
| Spending required, per month | $167 for 3 mo | $250 for 6 mo |
| First-year value | $380 | $200 |
On first-year value — offer plus the credits we count, minus the year-one fee — the Freedom Unlimited is ahead. That is the right column for a single-year decision and the wrong one for deciding what to keep, which is what the net-cost section below is for.
Both welcome offers are small and both are easy to earn on ordinary spending. Neither should decide the choice.
One planning note on the Double Cash: a balance transfer does not count toward the spending requirement. That is the most common misunderstanding with this product, and it costs people the bonus.
Which card earns faster on real spending?
A multiplier is only half an earn rate. The other half is what the currency is worth, so both columns below convert each rate into cents back per dollar at our published valuations — which is the only basis on which two different currencies can be compared at all.
Freedom Unlimited
- 5×Travel purchased through Chase Travel℠9.5¢ back per dollar
- 3×Dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services5.7¢ back per dollar
- 3×Drugstore purchases5.7¢ back per dollar
- 2×Lyft rides and other qualifying purchases in the Lyft app3.8¢ back per dollar
Double Cash
- 5%Hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal5.0¢ back per dollar
- 2%Every purchase — 1% when you buy, plus another 1% as you pay the balance off2.0¢ back per dollar
The Freedom Unlimited pays a higher flat rate than the Double Cash and adds uncapped elevated rates on dining and drugstores, with no activation.
The Double Cash pays a flat rate in two halves — part on purchase, part on payment — which behaves like an ordinary flat rate if you pay in full each month and worse if you do not.
Priced at our published valuations, and assuming a Chase premium card is in the household, the Freedom Unlimited earns materially more per dollar. Without one, the two are close.
Whose perks survive contact with reality?
Issuers publish a benefits total that assumes you claim every credit, in the right channel, in the right month. We discount each one for how hard it is to claim and publish the discount in each card’s full review. The totals below are what survives that discounting.
| Freedom Unlimited | Double Cash | |
|---|---|---|
| Credits at face value | $0 | $0 |
| What we actually count | $0 | $0 |
| Benefits with no dollar value assigned | 5 | 4 |
Neither card carries meaningful benefits, which is appropriate at no annual fee. The Freedom Unlimited has better protections — trip cancellation and interruption cover, purchase protection and extended warranty — than the Double Cash, which has essentially none.
The Double Cash’s real benefit is its intro window on balance transfers, which is not a perk in the usual sense but is worth more than every perk on both cards combined to the reader who needs it.
Which points are worth more when you redeem?
This is the decisive column. Freedom Unlimited points, pooled with a Sapphire or Ink account, transfer to fourteen partners including the fixed-chart hotel program where Chase points reach their highest value.
Double Cash rewards post as ThankYou Points, which likewise become transferable if you hold a Citi travel card — a path most reviews of this card never mention. Without one, they are cash at face value.
Neither card can transfer on its own. Both are earning engines that need a premium sibling to reach their ceiling.
Which card actually costs less to keep?
Annual fee minus the credits a realistic person claims. It is the number that decides what stays in your wallet after the welcome offer is spent, and it is the column almost no comparison publishes — because it makes premium cards look worse than an issuer’s own benefits arithmetic does. A negative figure means the card pays you to hold it.
| Freedom Unlimited | Double Cash | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 |
| Credits we count | −$0 | −$0 |
| Net annual cost | $0 | $0 |
Neither charges an annual fee, so there is no cost comparison to make. Both are cards you keep indefinitely, and keeping them helps your average account age and total available credit.
The only real cost on either side is the foreign transaction fee, which both charge, and which makes both the wrong card to take overseas.
Which is easier to get approved for?
Being declined costs a hard inquiry and returns nothing, and in almost every case the cause is an unpublished issuer rule rather than a credit score. Both sets are below in full.
Chase 5/24 governs the Freedom Unlimited: five or more personal cards opened at any issuer in 24 months is generally a decline, and this application uses one of those slots.
Citi applies velocity rules across its consumer portfolio — one new personal card in any eight days, two in any 65 — plus a 48-month bonus lockout covering several sibling cash-back products.
Freedom Unlimited
Credit profile expected: Good to Excellent (690+)
- Chase states this product is available to you only if you do not have this card and have not received a new-cardmember bonus for it in the past 24 months.
- Chase says cardmembers who currently have, or have had, a Chase card in the rewards program associated with this offer may not be eligible for a second Chase card in the same program. The widely observed 5/24 policy — generally declining applicants who have opened five or more personal cards from any issuer in 24 months — is not published by Chase and does not appear on the product page.
- Balance transfers cannot come from another account or loan issued by Chase or its affiliates, and the total transferred cannot exceed your available credit or $15,000, whichever is lower.
- The introductory transfer fee applies only to transfers that post within 60 days of account opening.
- Chase ends the introductory APR and applies the penalty rate if any required minimum payment is 60 days late.
- You must be at least 18 years old to qualify — 19 in Alabama and Nebraska, 21 in Puerto Rico.
Double Cash
Credit profile expected: Good to Excellent (690+)
- The welcome bonus is not available if you received a new account bonus for a Citi Double Cash account in the past 48 months, or if you converted another Citi credit card on which you earned a new account bonus into a Citi Double Cash account in the past 48 months.
- The balance transfer must be completed within the first 4 months of account opening to receive both the introductory rate and the introductory transfer fee.
- Citi 8/65 — not published by Citi, but consistently observed: roughly one new personal card approval in any 8-day window and no more than two in any 65-day window.
- Balances cannot be transferred between Citi accounts. Also unpublished in the pricing disclosure; it is applied when the transfer is requested.
So which should you pick?
Read both columns and stop at the first line that describes you. If lines appear on both sides, the tiebreaker is the net annual cost above — a card you keep for five years is worth more than a bonus you earn once.
Pick the Freedom Unlimited if
- You hold, or plan to hold, a Sapphire or Ink card that unlocks transfers.
- You want elevated uncapped earning on dining and drugstores as well as a flat rate.
- You want travel and purchase protections on a card with no annual fee.
- You are still under Chase’s 5/24 threshold and want to build in that ecosystem.
Pick the Double Cash if
- You are carrying credit card debt and need the longest interest-free runway available.
- You want the simplest possible flat rate with nothing to track.
- You hold a Citi travel card that would make the rewards transferable.
- You are already over 5/24 and cannot be approved by Chase.
The bottom line
Freedom Unlimited if you are building a rewards strategy; Double Cash if you are clearing a balance — and clearing the balance comes first every time.
Both cards in full, with their current terms attached. The full reviews carry the per-credit discounting, the transfer partner tables and the application rules in detail: our Freedom Unlimited review and our Double Cash review.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Chase · Visa
- Welcome bonus
- 20,000 points after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Bonus value on this card
- $200 – $300 — 20,000 points, Chase Travel℠, cash back or gift cards at 1.0¢ if you never transfer, Air Canada Aeroplan at 1.5¢ if you do. How we value points
- Annual fee
- $0
- Top earn rates
- 5×Travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3×Dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3×Drugstore purchases
We are not compensated for this card. It is here because it earned its place.
Read our full Freedom Unlimited reviewTerms ApplyNo annual fee · 18.24% – 27.74% variable APR
See full rates & feesHide rates & fees
- Annual fee
- $0
- Purchase APR
- 18.24% – 27.74% variable
- Intro purchase APR
- 0% for 15 months, then 18.24% – 27.74% variable
- Balance transfer APR
- 0% for 15 months, then 18.24% – 27.74% variable
- Balance transfer fee
- Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater. Chase notes this account may not be eligible for balance transfers.
- Balance transfer window
- Transfers must post within 60 days of account opening to receive the intro rate
- Foreign transaction fee
- 3%
- Cash advance APR
- 28.49% variable
- Cash advance fee
- Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
- Penalty APR
- Up to 29.99%. Applies if you fail to make a minimum payment by its due date or make a payment that is returned unpaid, and can remain in effect indefinitely. A minimum payment 60 days late also ends the introductory rate.
- Late payment fee
- Up to $40
- Returned payment fee
- Up to $40
Cards are issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Offers, rates and terms are subject to change without notice.
Rates and fees reconciled against Chase’s published pricing and terms on . Issuers may change offers, rates and terms at any time without notice; confirm current terms on the issuer’s own page before you apply. Chase rates & terms · Chase card page
Citi Double Cash® Card
Citi · Mastercard
- Welcome bonus
- $200 after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months from account opening, awarded as ThankYou® Points, redeemable for cash back as a direct deposit, a statement credit or a check
- Bonus value
- $200
- Annual fee
- $0
- Top earn rates
- 5×Hotels, car rentals and attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal
- 2×Every purchase — 1% when you buy, plus another 1% as you pay the balance off
We are not compensated for this card. It is here because it earned its place.
Read our full Double Cash reviewTerms ApplyNo annual fee · 17.49% – 27.49% variable APR
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- Annual fee
- $0
- Purchase APR
- 17.49% – 27.49% variable
- Balance transfer APR
- 0% for 18 months, then 17.49% – 27.49% variable
- Balance transfer fee
- Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, as an introductory fee for transfers completed within 4 months of account opening; either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, after that. The 0% introductory rate runs 18 months from account opening and applies only to transfers completed within that same first 4 months.
- Foreign transaction fee
- 3%
- Cash advance APR
- 29.74% variable
- Cash advance fee
- Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater.
- Penalty APR
- Up to 29.99%. May apply if you make a late payment or a payment is returned.
- Late payment fee
- Up to $41
- Returned payment fee
- Up to $41
- Minimum interest charge
- $0.50
Cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. Offers, rates, rewards, benefits and terms are subject to change and may vary by applicant. Citi is not responsible for the products or services offered by other companies.
Rates and fees reconciled against Citi’s published pricing and terms on . Issuers may change offers, rates and terms at any time without notice; confirm current terms on the issuer’s own page before you apply. Citi rates & terms · Citi card page
Frequently asked questions
Which no-fee card earns more?
The Freedom Unlimited, on both the flat rate and its uncapped dining and drugstore categories — and by a much wider margin if you hold a Sapphire or Ink card, because pooling the points unlocks 1:1 transfers worth roughly double the cash value. Without a Chase premium card the two are close, and the Double Cash’s pay-as-you-pay structure makes it slightly worse for anyone who revolves a balance.
Is the Double Cash good for paying off debt?
It is one of the better balance-transfer options from a major issuer, with an unusually long intro window. Two conditions apply: the transfer must post inside the window the terms specify, and you cannot transfer from another Citi account. Weigh the transfer fee against the interest you would otherwise pay — for most balances the fee is far smaller, but for a small balance you would clear quickly it may not be worth it.