Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the most popular credit card programs for Americans who want to use their points for travel.
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Chase’s program is flexible and adaptable for most travelers, while also offering benefits like no expiration and a solid range of redemption options.
Those redemption options are particularly important, as Chase offers a variety of ways to use them—and that’s doubly true when it comes to travel.
Along with cash back, gift cards, Amazon purchases, and Apple purchases, Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be applied to a fantastic range of travel offers.
If you’ve slowly been accruing Chase Rewards points and want to use them for an upcoming trip, you need to know about your options.
The most straightforward is using the Chase Travel PortalSM to book hotels, flights, car rentals, and more. Or, alternatively, you can also transfer your points to partners to book directly.
Want to learn more about how to use and redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards for travel? Let’s dive in.
Which cards earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
Before trying to redeem points, verify which credit cards offer points that can be used to access the Chase Travel PortalSM or used to book directly with travel partners. Remember, not all cards let you use rewards points for travel.
These cards let you accrue Ultimate Rewards points that can be used for travel:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
- Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card
- Ink Business Cash Credit Card
- Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Chase Freedom Flex
Does the welcome bonus matter?
Some of the cards listed above come with a high-value welcome that puts Chase Ultimate Rewards points straight into your pocket. Here are programs with noteworthy welcome bonuses:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card’s welcome bonus hands you 60,000 points if you spend $4,000 in the first three months of opening up your credit card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve’s welcome bonus is worth another 60,000 points if you spend $4,000 in the first three months of opening up the account—but this card’s points are worth slightly more when booking travel rewards (more on this below)
- Ink Business Preferred Credit Card’s welcome bonus gives you 90,000 points for spending $8,000 in the first three months of the account’s opening
Are Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth differing amounts?
As outlined in the section above, points from Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth differing amounts depending on the card you use and how you redeem your points.
The most important factor for you to think about is point redemption value. In other words, how much is each point worth when you actually start redeeming them?
Here’s what you need to know about point redemption value:
- Cash-back cards like Chase Freedom Flex are worth 1 cent
- Preferred cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card are worth 1.25 cents
- Reserve cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve are worth 1.5 cents
How to book using the Chase Travel PortalSM
The Chase Travel PortalSM makes it easy to book travel deals using your points—no transfers needed. Simply log into the portal, then start shopping around for deals.
Because the offers are through the portal, you won’t see any deals that you can’t book—assuming you have enough points, that is.
Here, you can find, book, and then purchase everything you’ll need for a great vacation. That includes flights, car rentals, hotels, and even tours.
The main reason that some members would choose to book through the portal versus via partners is to combine points from various cards and earn even more on bookings—up to ten times, in some cases.
How to book by transferring points to partners
If you’d rather book directly with a travel provider, then you need to redeem your rewards. When you redeem your awards, you’ll be prompted to transfer them.
You then need to transfer those points to eligible travel partners from Chase’s network. From there, you book your travel like you normally would. Just make sure that the name on the Chase account matches the name on the account you want to transfer to.
