Chase Freedom Rise

• The $25 welcome bonus is tied to automatic payments, not a spend threshold - you need to enroll in autopay within the first 3 months AND stay enrolled for at least 90 consecutive days, so this is less "spend your way to a bonus" and more "set it, don't forget it, collect $25."
• The 1.5x on everything is the entire earn story here - there are no bonus categories, no rotating quarters to activate, no dining multipliers hiding in the fine print, just a flat 1.5% cash back on every purchase, full stop.
• NO foreign transaction fee waiver - there's a 3% FX fee, so this card stays home when you travel internationally, and building toward a no-FX card in the Chase lineup is the obvious next move as your credit history grows.
• The trip cancellation and interruption insurance ($1,500 per covered traveler, $6,000 per trip) is a genuinely easy-to-overlook benefit on a $0 annual fee starter card - most people assume protection at this tier is cosmetic, and this one is actually worth knowing about before you book non-refundable travel.
• The DashPass perk requires activation before December 31, 2027, and auto-renews at the going monthly rate after the 6-month complimentary window closes - the $10/quarter DoorDash credit for non-restaurant orders is real money if you use the app, but both perks need you to actually opt in.
• NO path to premium earn rates without moving up the Chase ladder - the Freedom Rise is designed as an entry point, and the honest read is that its long-term value lives in building the credit profile that eventually gets you into the cards with actual category multipliers.

The Chase Freedom Rise is the no-annual-fee starter card for credit newbies who want to earn a flat 1.5% cash back on everything without juggling categories. It won't dazzle road warriors, but it's a solid on-ramp to the Chase ecosystem — especially if you already have a Chase checking account.