Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.
There are a few facts of life — never wake a sleeping baby, always say yes to homemade cake and you can never, ever have too many Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
This transferable points currency gives you access to some of the best hotel and airline transfer partners in the business, as well as the easy-to-use Chase Travel portal that allows you to cover a wide variety of different costs for your trip, including car rentals, hotels, flights, tours and activities, as well as some everyday expenses.
Despite increasing competition from American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou points and Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards maintains its place as one of the most valuable points currencies on the planet. Plus, thanks to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card’s current elevated welcome bonus of 80,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, it’s extremely easy to earn a hefty stash of these points right now.
If you’re ready to get serious about traveling more for less, here’s everything you need to know about Chase transfer partners and the best ways to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
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How much are Ultimate Rewards points worth?
TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents each, which is what you should aim for when redeeming them. The actual value you get from these points depends on how you redeem them.
If you redeem your points for cash back or statement credits, each point is typically worth 1 cent. However, if you use your points to book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal or transfer them to a travel partner, you can often get a higher value per point.
You can use your Chase points for virtually any kind of travel booking: Flights, hotels, cruises, tours and rental cars. If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, your points are worth 1.25 cents each, while Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders get a higher valuation of 1.5 cents per point. This is an excellent redemption option for folks who don’t want to deal with complicated award program rules. It’s straightforward and convenient.
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If you want to truly maximize your Ultimate Rewards points, the best option is often to transfer them to one of 14 airline or hotel partners. From there, you can use them for premium travel bookings like first-class flights and luxury hotels. It’s a good idea to compare your options to determine the best value for your points.
Here are some of the best ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value:
Knowing how to make the best points redemption at the best time is easy with the free TPG App! Download it for free today.
Best ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points
When it comes to redeeming Ultimate Rewards points, you have three basic options: Cash back, Ultimate Rewards travel portal bookings and transfers to travel partners. The “best” option comes down to your travel needs. Points are here to save you money and you should use them when it suits you. That being said, you should aim for the highest value whenever possible. Here’s a look at all of your options:
Transfer to travel partners
Transferring Ultimate Rewards to travel partners is, in our opinion, the best way to redeem your hard-earned points. Using Chase transfer partners is certainly your best shot at getting maximum value. You can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to 11 airline programs:
Chase also partners with three hotel programs:
All transfer ratios are 1:1 (though there are occasional transfer bonuses), and you must transfer points in 1,000-point increments.
If you want to learn some tips about redeeming points for the most value possible, you can check out our guide on Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots. We’ll break down some of these options below.
Related: Get more from your points with these 6 transfer bonuses
Book travel via Chase portal
You can book travel through the Chase Travel Portal and redeem points for your plane tickets, hotel stays, rental cars or experiences at a fixed cash value per point.
As a holder of the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, each point is worth 1.25 cents. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, your points are worth 1.5 cents each toward travel redemptions in the portal. If you have a Chase Freedom Flex, Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card, Ink Business Cash Credit Card or Chase Freedom Unlimited, all points are worth one cent each.
To give you an example of how this works with an actual travel booking, here’s a one-night stay at The Ramsey Hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN. The paid rate comes to $269 with taxes and fees. Those with a Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Unlimited or Ink Business Cash card would need 26,900 points for this booking. Sapphire Preferred cardholders would need 21,520 points while Sapphire Reserve cardholders would redeem just 17,915 points.
If you have multiple cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, you can combine your points into the account that gets the highest value for Ultimate Rewards bookings. For example, all of your points earned with the Chase Freedom Flex can be moved to your Sapphire Reserve account, thus increasing their value from 1 to 1.5 cents apiece.
It’s probably worth getting into the habit of combining your points every month or so, just in case Chase decides to change this policy in the future. This is especially important given that Chase has already made it more challenging to combine points with a household member.
Book inexpensive flights with points
If you can find inexpensive airfare in the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, it can make sense to use your points for these flights to save cash. In the eyes of the airline, tickets booked this way are essentially the same as a paid fare. This means you’ll earn elite and redeemable miles. Be careful to avoid basic economy tickets, unless you are okay with the restrictions they entail.
In the below case, spending 2,973 Ultimate Rewards points from a Sapphire Reserve account (1.5 cents each) to fly from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) isn’t too shabby.
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You might also consider the travel portal option if you only have a handful of Ultimate Rewards points left, since Chase lets you redeem points to cover even just a portion of the trip cost. You then pay the remaining balance with cash.
Finally, this is a decent option for car rentals, non-chain lodging or when cash rates make spending points through transfer partners a bad value. The hotel options presented are quite varied, though be aware that if you book a hotel that participates in a major loyalty program through Chase Travel, you likely won’t earn hotel points, nor will you be able to take advantage of any elite perks.
Cash back or gift cards
Theoretically, you can redeem points for a statement credit bank deposit at a flat rate of 1 cent each.
However, with Chase Pay Yourself Back, you can redeem points for cash back at a rate of 1.25-1.5 cents each, depending on the card you have. This redemption rate is valid on statement credits toward rotating purchase categories, such as dining.
You can also redeem points for gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point. But you can do better with the program’s transfer partners and Chase travel portal bookings, assuming you like to travel. However, we know that needs can change, so these non-travel redemptions remain fall-back options when needed.
Top Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners
We’ve mentioned that transferring your Chase points to a travel partner is often your best bet if you want to get the most value out of your points, but now we’re going to show you why that’s true in many situations.
Here are some of the best ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners:
United MileagePlus
United doesn’t publish award charts anymore, which can be good or bad news, depending on your situation. Thankfully, awards on partners still follow unpublished award charts with set redemption levels, and United does not pass along fuel surcharges.
You can book domestic one-way United awards starting at 5,000 miles each way, business-class awards to Europe start at 60,000 – 70,000 miles each way and award flights to Australia and New Zealand in business class for 80,000 – 90,000 miles each way.
If you are booking a trip that transits different regions (like North America to Europe), you can also build in a free flight segment (known as the Excursionist Perk). In a sample booking, we found a round-trip economy itinerary from Newark (EWR) to London (LHR) at 60,000 miles plus taxes.
Adding in a flight from London to Brussels and spending another week in Belgium costs the same number of miles (with fewer taxes) thanks to the Excursionist Perk.
Flexibility, the number of partners United has and the ease of redeeming MileagePlus miles makes United MileagePlus a popular choice among savvy Chase cardholders.
Related: How to get maximum value from the United MileagePlus program
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
TPG values Southwest Rapid Rewards points at 1.5 cents each, which is less than the 2 cents per-point value of Ultimate Rewards. So transferring to Southwest isn’t a great way to use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can use your Chase points to book a “paid” Southwest flight by calling Chase Travel and booking over the phone, as the flights are not listed on the Chase Travel site.
However, there are a couple of scenarios where transferring points to a friendly carrier with no change or baggage fees makes sense. First, for inexpensive fares of $100 or less, Rapid Reward points can be worth as much as 1.7 cents per point, which beats the value you get when booking through the portal. Second, if you have a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass and are really getting two flights for the price of one award, then your points become worth as much as 3.4 cents per point for inexpensive fares.
Remember too that Southwest flights booked with Rapid Rewards points include free changes and cancellations, which gives you a ton of flexibility if the award rate drops after booking.
Related: Booking Southwest flights with Chase points
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Singapore Airlines has a few things going for it as a potential airline transfer destination for your Ultimate Rewards. First, Singapore is one of the best airlines in the sky, with tremendous service and luxurious onboard products and experiences. And the carrier’s own premium-class products are typically only available through the KrisFlyer program, not with its Star Alliance partners.
Second, there is fantastic value in Singapore’s KrisFlyer program, with reasonable award charts, low fuel surcharges, routing rules that allow stopovers and the ability to combine multiple partners in one award.
Finally, the online award booking tool is intuitive and easy to use — though be aware that transfers typically are not instantaneous.
Here are some of our favorite KrisFlyer redemptions when using Chase Ultimate Rewards.
19,500 miles each way from the U.S. to Hawaii in economy
61,000 miles round-trip from the U.S. to Europe in economy on Star Alliance partners
93,500 miles Sydney to Singapore one-way in the A380 First Suites
Saver Suites Class awards between Syndey and Singapore used to cost just 85,000 miles each way. That cost has since increased to 93,500 miles. Saver availability is hard to come by, but if you really want to try this coveted product, you can book an Advantage award for 155,000 miles each way.
107,000 miles Los Angeles to Singapore one-way in business for 17 hours on the A350
Pre-devaluation, a Saver award between Los Angeles and Singapore priced out at just 95,000 miles each way. The award has since increased to 107,000 miles but can be worth it for a whopping 17-hour flight.
Iberia Plus
Spain’s national carrier remains a mystery to many Chase cardholders, despite the significant value Iberia Plus can offer U.S.-based flyers. The carrier offers cheap economy and transatlantic flights on its own metal and routinely has promotions, making Iberia Plus practically irresistible for a quick hop across the Atlantic.
Without promos, transatlantic business class is priced based on a distanced-based award formula. One-way flights from Miami to Madrid on off-peak dates start at just 21,250 Avios in economy and 42,500 Avios in business class, for instance. There can be less than $100 in surcharges, depending on the class of service you book:
Prices get even more attractive, however, for shorter routes (based on distance in miles). For example, off-peak flights from Boston to Madrid require only 17,000 Avios in economy and 34,000 Avios in business each way:
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
There are multiple ways to use Virgin Atlantic’s loyalty program to unlock value. Thanks to its own distance-based formula, you can redeem miles to fly Delta domestic itineraries here in the U.S. starting at 7,500 miles per segment, potentially saving you thousands of miles compared to what Delta is asking for the same flight (though it’s worth noting that these rewards aren’t as valuable as they used to be).
Delta One flights to Europe (excluding the U.K.) are a flat 50,000 miles for nonstop itineraries — though availability tends to be very scant. Instead, consider booking Air France flights in business class. On off-peak dates, flights from the U.S. to most of Europe are just 48,500 points.
Related: How to save thousands of miles on Delta One awards to Europe
Other partners, like ANA, have award charts so attractive they almost seem like a mistake. You can use 145,000 Flying Club miles to fly ANA first class round-trip from the West Coast to Japan and 170,000 miles round-trip from the central and eastern U.S. to Japan. Here is Flying Club’s award chart for ANA-operated flights:
Related: Partner award flights on ANA just got even better: One-way redemptions now possible
Virgin Atlantic also offers attractive fares on flights between the U.S. and UK, though taxes on the return flight are quite high. A one-way economy class flight from the East Coast is just 10,000 miles.
Overall, Flying Club presents a lot of different options to yield significant value from your Ultimate Rewards — even after the Delta devaluation from 2021.
British Airways Executive Club
If you need a short-haul, nonstop flight on a Oneworld partner, British Airways Avios can reward you with tremendous savings. Short-haul flights outside of North America that are less than 650 miles in length will cost you only 4,500 Avios. This is great for exploring Europe on partner Iberia, for instance.
In North America, short-haul flights start at 9,000 Avios for American Airlines-operated itineraries and can give you significant mileage savings over booking the same flight through American AAdvantage. Atlanta to Dallas costs only 9,000 Avios on a day when American may charge between 12,500 and 20,000 miles in its new dynamic pricing model.
BA also lowered the cost of Qatar Airways awards when the Doha-based carrier adopted Avios as its own loyalty currency last year, giving yet another great option for transferring your Chase points for a valuable award ticket.
That said, there are itineraries you don’t want to book with Avios, like long-haul British Airways flights or partner-operated flights that incur significant fuel surcharges. Stick to short hops on partner airlines or fifth-freedom routes in the Caribbean (such as Antigua to St. Kitts) and you’ll get great use of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points with British Airways.
Related: The ultimate guide to British Airways Avios
World of Hyatt
One of the best ways to use Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to World of Hyatt for low or high-category properties. Generally speaking, Hyatt points are worth more than Marriott Bonvoy and IHG points, so Hyatt is often your best hotel transfer partner within Chase Ultimate Rewards.
World of Hyatt also offers an extremely reasonable award chart for free nights, with award nights ranging from 3,500 – 45,000 points. Meanwhile, the World of Hyatt elite status perks are considered the best of any hotel loyalty program.
Related: What is World of Hyatt elite status worth?
If you’re looking at standard award nights, the program has value across the spectrum of properties. Category 1-5 properties, in particular, can offer some fantastic awards.
Examples include the Grand Hyatt Kauai (25,000 – 35,000 points per night), Hyatt Grand Cypress Orlando (12,000 – 18,000 points), Grand Hyatt Washington D.C. (12,000 – 18,000 points), Hyatt Regency Aruba (25,000 – 35,000 points) and Park Hyatt Mendoza (9,000-15,000 points).
Several Category 1 properties sell for over $100 a night (excluding taxes), so redeeming just 3,500 points for these on off-peak dates is usually a good decision. An example is the Hyatt Regency Downtown Tulsa, which is bookable for just 3,500 – 6,500 Hyatt points per night.
Even the higher tiers of the program have substantial value. For example, redeeming 35,000 – 45,000 points per night at the ski-out Park Hyatt Beaver Creek or 25,000 – 35,000 points per night at the Park Hyatt St. Kitts or Park Hyatt Maldives can make sense, since rooms at these luxury properties routinely sell for over $1,000 a night.
The last several years have seen massive growth in Hyatt’s global footprint, thanks to the following new partnerships and integrations:
- Small Luxury Hotels of the World
- The addition of the Thompson, Alila and JdV by Hyatt brands.
- The new all-inclusive brands, mainly in the Caribbean but now in Europe as well.
And the program isn’t done yet, as it just announced plans to acquire another 1,500 luxury properties under the Mr. and Mrs. Smith brand — with the deal expected to close in June 2023.
Related: Getting elite-like perks at Small Luxury Hotels of the World
If you want to use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points and protect your cash, you can book all-inclusive resorts with Hyatt points in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. These resorts start at 12,000 points per night for double occupancy. Using points in this manner gets you a room and food, beverages, and some on-site entertainment (including kids clubs at the family-friendly resorts).
Here’s TPG’s guide to making the most of your Hyatt awards.
Less desirable Ultimate Rewards partners
There are no “bad” redemptions if your points allow you to go where you want to go while keeping your cash safely tucked in your wallet. However, some ways of using Chase points aren’t as mathematically rewarding as others.
The following Chase transfer partners would require a unique circumstance for us to transfer Ultimate Rewards, such as needing to top off an existing account balance or a one-off example of where the program provides value. There are typically better ways to get points in these programs instead of transferring Ultimate Rewards.
Here is a quick synopsis of each:
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
The current version of the program has become too illogical to ever plan on using it consistently.
You can certainly get lucky and find a good redemption. For example, TPG Editor Nick Ewen snagged three one-way, business-class awards from Miami (MIA) to Venice (VCE) for 53,000 miles and ~$235 in taxes and fees back in 2019. However, it’s generally just too variable.
If you did need Flying Blue miles — perhaps to take advantage of the program’s monthly, discounted Promo Rewards or discounted awards for children — you should probably transfer American Express points. Make sure to avoid falling victim to phantom award space. The Flying Blue website often shows award space that isn’t actually available. To avoid this, call and confirm with a phone agent before transferring points.
Related: Transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Flying Blue
Aer Lingus AerClub
There’s another version of an Avios program here, but nothing really enticing that’s worthy of an Ultimate Rewards transfer.
JetBlue TrueBlue
TrueBlue points are redeemed for JetBlue flights at a relatively fixed rate of 1.3 to 1.4 cents per point. With that redemption rate, there are just too many other valuable destinations for your Ultimate Rewards points. So unless you are topping off an award, this might not be your best transfer option.
You can also book JetBlue flights through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal and get a guaranteed 1.5 cents per point if you have the Sapphire Reserve in your wallet.
IHG One Rewards
Top-tier properties in the IHG portfolio typically require 100,000 points per night, but we’ve seen examples of even higher pricing. It simply costs too much to book award nights in this program using Ultimate Rewards points. We generally believe that any other transfer partner is a better destination for your Ultimate Rewards points than IHG, especially since IHG sometimes sells points for just 0.5 cents each.
Note that IHG did just launch some notable updates to its program, but none of these move the needle when it comes to transferring your Chase points.
Related: IHG’s dynamic pricing goes wild, spiking award rates for some hotels
Marriott Bonvoy
On a case-by-case basis, it could make sense to transfer Ultimate Rewards to Marriott to redeem for an award night. However, these awards can be quite pricey, and with the launch of dynamic pricing, it can be even harder to find value.
With many different Marriott cobranded cards, it’s too easy to earn the Marriott points you need without transferring them from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Best cards for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards
How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points
There are many ways to earn Chase points at rates of anywhere from 1 – 10 points per dollar at a time depending on the specific Chase credit card you carry.
The first three cards below earn fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points all by themselves, while the remaining four are technically billed as cash-back credit cards.
However, if you have an Ultimate Reward-earning card, you can convert your Chase cash-back rewards to full Ultimate Rewards points. For this reason, it can make sense to have more than one Chase card in the family to maximize your earning and redeeming potential. For complete details on how this can work, check out TPG’s guide to transferring Chase points between accounts.
With that out of the way, here are the seven cards that allow you to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
(Photo by John Gribben for The Points Guy)
Welcome bonus: 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Why you want it: This is a fantastic all-around travel credit card. It earns:
- 5 points per dollar on Lyft (through March 2025).
- 5 points per dollar on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- 3 points per dollar on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out.
- 3 points per dollar on select streaming services.
- 3 points per dollar on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
- 2 points per dollar on all other travel.
- 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
The Sapphire Preferred has no foreign transaction fees and comes with many travel perks, including delayed baggage insurance, trip interruption/cancellation insurance and primary car rental insurance (find out how that can save you from a surprise last-minute $1,000 hotel bill.) To top it all off, Chase generally offers excellent customer service and reaching an agent is easy when you call the number on the back of the card.
Annual Fee: $95.
Read the full card review.
Official application link: Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Welcome bonus: 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening
Why you want it: Put simply, for its earning power paired with travel perks that can easily cover the annual fee. It now accrues:
- 10 points per dollar on Lyft (through March 2025).
- 10 points per dollar on Chase Dining booked through Ultimate Rewards.
- 10 points per dollar on hotel and car rental purchases through the Ultimate Rewards Travel portal.
- 5 points per dollar on airline travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards Travel portal.
- 3 points per dollar on travel not booked through Chase.
- 3 points per dollar on other dining purchases.
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
Other perks include an easy-to-use $300 annual travel credit, a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (up to $100 once every four years), and Priority Pass Select lounge access. This includes the ability to use your Priority Pass membership for discounted meals in airport restaurants. Cardholders also get primary car rental coverage, trip interruption/cancellation insurance and other protections.
Annual fee: $550.
Read the full card review.
Official application link: Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Welcome bonus: 100,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Why you want it: This is one of the best credit cards for small-business owners, earning 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, advertising made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. You earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases, and points don’t expire as long as your account is open. Points earned on the Ink Preferred can be transferred to multiple airline and hotel partners.
Annual Fee: $95
Read the full card review.
Official application link: Ink Business Preferred.
Now we get to the “cash-back” cards where you can combine your points with those from one of the three we’ve already detailed so that they become transferable as well.
Ink Business Cash Credit Card
Welcome bonus: $750 cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This can be the same as 75,000 points if you have another Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card.
Why you want it: Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year (then 1%). Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year (then 1%). You can convert these earnings to Ultimate Rewards points if you have one of the three cards above.
Annual Fee: $0
Read the full card review.
Official application link: Ink Business Cash.
Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card
Welcome bonus: $750 cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Benefits: Earn unlimited 1.5% cash-back rewards on every purchase. These cash-back earnings can be converted to Ultimate Rewards points if you have one of the three top cards listed above, which means your small business can essentially earn 1.5 points per dollar on all charges made with this card.
Annual Fee: $0.
Read the full card review.
Official application link: Ink Business Unlimited.
Chase Freedom Flex
Welcome bonus: $200 (20,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after you spend $500 in the first three months of account opening.
Benefits: The card earns 5% back on select bonus categories, which rotate every quarter and apply on up to $1,500 in combined spending (activation required). Common past bonus categories include gas stations, supermarkets, restaurants, warehouse stores and department stores. You can convert these rewards to valuable Ultimate Rewards points if you have one of the top three cards listed above. Plus, earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services) and 3% on drugstore purchases. Earn 1% on all other purchases.
Annual Fee: $0.
Read the full card review.
Official application link: Chase Freedom Flex.
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Welcome bonus: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back.
Benefits: The card earns 1.5% cash back (1.5 Ultimate Rewards points) on purchases. These earnings can be converted to valuable Ultimate Rewards points if you have one of the top three cards listed above. Plus, earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services) and 3% on drugstore purchases. Earn 1% on all other purchases. The card also offers 120-day purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
Annual Fee: $0.
Read the full card review.
Official application link: Chase Freedom Unlimited.
FAQ
Is it worth it to use Chase Ultimate Rewards?
It can definitely be worth it to use Chase Ultimate Rewards for travel, especially when you’re able to save money. Generally, the best use of Ultimate Rewards is for travel, including premium cabin flights and luxury hotels. Regardless of how you use your points, it’s a good idea to aim for 2 cents in value per point.
How do I redeem my Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points by logging into your Chase account and navigating to the Ultimate Rewards portal. Chase also has a landing page where you can log in to Ultimate Rewards directly. From there, you can choose whether to redeem points for statement credits, gift cards, travel or transfer partners.
How do you get the most value from Chase Ultimate Rewards?
You will generally get the most value from Chase Ultimate Rewards by transferring your points to one of 14 transfer partners for luxury travel. With the right partners, this can lead to 2 cents (or more) in value.
Is there a benefit to booking through Chase Ultimate Rewards?
There are many benefits to booking through Chase Ultimate Rewards. If you’re paying for travel, you’ll earn elevated rewards through most Chase credit cards. If you’re making point bookings through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you have the flexibility to stay at hotels that don’t participate in a loyalty program. You also can enter your frequent flyer number on flight bookings and earn redeemable and elite-qualifying miles on your flights.
What is the best way to use Chase Ultimate Rewards?
The best way to use Chase Ultimate Rewards is for sweet spot award redemption through transfer partners.
Is it better to redeem points for cash or travel?
It’s better to redeem Ultimate Rewards points for travel rather than cash. Depending on the type of Chase card you have, you’ll typically get a much higher rate of return by redeeming points for travel.
Bottom line
The above strategies are just a sampling of the many redemptions available through the Ultimate Rewards program. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, booking through the travel portal at a rate of 1.25 – 1.5 cents per point will be a solid baseline redemption for many travelers. However, to really get maximum value, look to utilize Chase transfer partners to book the flights and hotel rooms that otherwise would be outside of your means.
In any case, the Ultimate Rewards program provides a wide range of options to maximize your points and save you money — you just have to decide which ways to use Chase points are the most worthwhile to you.
If you’re new to the points and miles game, check out our Beginner’s Guide to learn more.
Additional reporting by Ariana Arghandewal, Benji Stawski and Victoria Walker.
