Best Ways To Use Chase Points

Redeem For Gift Cards

Redeeming points for gift cards is perhaps the simplest use for your points, but also represents the lowest value. The standard redemption rate is 1 cent per point, so barring any temporary promotion, you will need to fork over 10,000 Ultimate Rewards to redeem for a $100 gift card to any of Chase’s retail partners.

To redeem for gift cards, go into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account and click “Redeem for gift cards” under “Shopping & Experiences.” You’ll be presented with a list of merchants you can buy gift cards for. When you select one, you canchoose the denomination and gift card format.

Redeem for Cash Back

Like gift cards, redeeming for cash back is simple. Select the “Convert to cash” drop-down on the top banner of your Ultimate Rewards account and then “Cash back” underneath. There, you can choose the amount of points you’d like to turn into cash back and select whether you’d like to receive it as a statement credit on your credit cards or deposit it into a savings or checking account.

The redemption value is also a straight 1 cent per point, and there are no promotions or sweet spots that make these redemptions worth more.

Redeem Through Chase Travel℠

Booking travel through Chase Travel is just like doing so through any other online travel site. Select “Travel” at the top of your Ultimate Rewards account and you can search for hotels, flights, rental cars, activities and even cruises.

The value of your points will vary depending on the Chase credit card you hold. If you hold the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you will get 1.25 cents per point. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, your points will be worth 1.5 cents each.

Transfer to Chase Travel Partners

Transferring to partners is one of the most sought-after redemptions for all flexible currency points. While the Chase Ultimate Rewards partners list isn’t the longest, it still remains one of the best ways to use Chase points and has a few noteworthy value opportunities.

To take advantage of these transfers, visit your Ultimate Rewards account and click “Transfer points to partners.” You’ll be presented with the full list of travel partners, both airlines and hotels. Clicking each option will show you more information for each program, including how long the point transfer can take.

All programs transfer at a 1:1 ratio, except for any temporary transfer bonus, which normally gets you 25% to 50% bonus.

Note that while many Chase credit cards allow you to earn Ultimate Rewards, not all offer the ability to transfer those points to travel partners. Chase Ultimate Rewards earned through the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve and Ink Business Preferred cards are, in fact, transferable.

Points earned through other cards aren’t transferable from the program. However, if you hold a card in the transferable category and one nontransferable card, you can circumvent this by combining your Ultimate Rewards balances into one and thus unlocking the ability to transfer them into airline and hotel programs.

Transfer to World of Hyatt

One of the best uses for Chase Ultimate Rewards is transfers to World of Hyatt for booking hotel stays. While Chase has three hotel partners, you may find the most value with Hyatt. Category 1 hotels start at 3,500 World of Hyatt points per night, while many popular luxury hotels can be booked for between 21,000 and 45,000 points per night.

For example, if you want to book a night at the Andaz Maui in Wailea, Hawaii, which normally goes for about $1,000 per night, you would need to transfer 35,000 to 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards into World of Hyatt. Contrast that with the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort, where a night will set you back anywhere from 67,000 to 88,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points.

Using your points for Hyatt stays also does away with those pesky resort fees at many resorts, helping you save even more. If you also hold top-tier elite status with Hyatt, parking fees are waived during those point stays.

Transfer to Air France-KLM for Flights to Europe

Flying Blue, the Air France-KLM loyalty program, regularly runs promos where the cost of mileage tickets is discounted up to 25% for select routes that change on the first of every month. If you find a destination currently on offer, you can take advantage of those reduced mileage prices to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to book flights to Europe for fewer points than normal.

While destinations change every month, some have included departures from Boston, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Houston booked for as little as 11,250 points to 16,875 points.

Transfer to British Airways for U.S. Domestic Flights

Take advantage of British Airways’ distance-based award redemption charts for short-haul domestic flights within the U.S. While British Airways doesn’t operate flights within the United States, its partners American Airlines and Alaska Airlines do—and it only takes 16,000 British Airways Avios each way to redeem a flight under 1,151 miles.

For example, flights from Seattle (SEA) to Denver (DEN) on Alaska Airlines or New York (LGA) to Miami (MIA) on American Airlines are less than 1,151 miles. You can transfer 16,000 Ultimate Rewards from Chase to your British Airways Avios account to book those flights, which regularly cost hundreds of dollars. Redeeming those flights using Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles or American Airlines AAdvantage miles would cost more miles overall, and you cannot transfer your Ultimate Rewards into those programs.

Transfer to Iberia for Flights From the East Coast to Europe

Another Chase transfer partner that results in great redemption value is Spain’s flagship carrier Iberia. This Madrid-based airline serves destinations in the United States, and because it prices awards on a distance-based chart, there is a sweet spot for flights in and out of Chicago and Boston, priced starting at 17,000 Iberia Avios each way in economy.

Compare that to a $374 ticket from Boston to Madrid instead of 17,000 Avios, having an option to transfer as few as 17,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards into Iberia Avios is a fantastic use of those points.

You can maximize your earning potential by using the right Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card for categories with bonused earnings. For example, booking travel through Chase with the Chase Sapphire Preferred will earn 5 points per dollar, whereas using your Chase Sapphire Reserve will earn 10 points per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booked through Chase Travel.

You can also maximize the value of your points while redeeming them by choosing options that will get you more than the minimum 1 cent per redeemed point—the lowest value you can get by redeeming for cash back or gift cards.

There are many ways to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards. The easiest and potentially most rewarding way is through one of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards-earning credit cards—many of which are commonly cited among the best Chase credit cards—in both the personal and business versions. All come with significant welcome bonus offers and different earning schemes to accumulate points based on your spending patterns.

Other ways include referring your friends to apply for Chase cards or through targeted offers you receive as a Chase cardholder.

If you want to earn even more miles, you can also leverage Chase’s shopping portal, which allows you to earn additional miles for purchases made through the portal instead of through the retailer’s website.

Given the multiple ways to earn and redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points and the potential to get exceptional value from this program, anyone who may use Chase Ultimate Rewards should familiarize themselves with the program. Once you understand the program and how to strategically use your points, their value can help you get great rewards.