Chase Ultimate Rewards® is one of the best credit card rewards programs out there.
It has flexible redemption options and multiple hotel and airline travel partners. Your reward points can get you nearly-free airline tickets, hotel stays, and even theme park tickets!
Chase offers multiple credit cards that let you earn Ultimate Rewards® points, but if you’re new to it all, it can seem overwhelming. Here’s how to earn, use and maximize your Ultimate Rewards® points.
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- Chase Ultimate Rewards® can be redeemed for cashback, travel, gift cards, and more
- In most cases, Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth at least one cent per point, but can be worth more when redeeming for travel.
- You can transfer points to loyalty programs with 11 airlines and 3 hotel chains.
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How Chase Ultimate Rewards® Work
To earn Chase Ultimate Rewards®, you need to have a Chase credit card. Points can be used for a variety of purposes, including:
- Travel rewards
- Cashback
- Gift cards
- Apple products
- Experiences
- And more
As you make purchases on your Chase credit card, points are added to your rewards balance. Points will accrue at different rates depending on the card you're using and the spending category.
Your points can be accessed directly through your Chase account online or through the Chase mobile app.
You can redeem your points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal or Chase Travel℠.
How To Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards®
You can earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points by using one of several Chase credit cards, including:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Chase Freedom Flex®
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
These cards earn points for every purchase and some offer category bonuses that earn you additional points on specific purchases.
The best way to earn a lot of points quickly is to make sure you qualify for the welcome offer when you first sign up.
Other ways to earn include targeted bonuses (extra points for specific merchant spending) and points for referring others for a Chase card.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Rewards rate: 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries; 2x on all other travel purchases; 1x on all other purchases
- Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Annual fee: $95
LEARN MORE: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Rewards rate: 10x points on hotel stays and car rentals through Chase Travel℠; 5x points on dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards and on Lyft purchases (through March 2025); 5x points on flights booked through Chase Travel℠ (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually); 3x points on restaurants and travel; 1x points on everything else
- Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Annual fee: $550
LEARN MORE: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Rewards rate: 5% cashback on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3% cashback on drugstore purchases, restaurants, takeout, and eligible delivery services; 1.5% on all other purchases
- Welcome offer: Earn an additional 1.5% cashback on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cashback
- Annual fee: $0
LEARN MORE: Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Chase Freedom Flex®
- Rewards rate: 5% cashback on rotating categories each quarter (up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%; activation required) and travel purchases through Chase Travel℠; 3% on dining and drugstore purchases; 1% on all other spending
- Welcome offer: Earn $200 cashback after spending $500 in the first 3 months
- Annual fee: $0
LEARN MORE: Chase Freedom Flex®
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Rewards rate: 3x points on every dollar spent on shipping, advertising with social media and search engines, internet, cable, phone, and travel — up to the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in these categories; 1x per dollar spent everywhere else
- Welcome offer: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
- Annual fee: $95
LEARN MORE: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
How To Use Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Chase offers one of the most flexible rewards programs, with many ways to use your points.
Cash options
- Cashback: You can redeem your Chase points for cashback, with points worth one cent each. Simply choose the amount you want to redeem and receive a statement credit for that amount on your credit card.
- Pay yourself back: You can get one cent per point by paying yourself back for purchases. Choose from a list of recent purchases and credit your account for that amount using points.
- Pay with points at checkout: Some online retailers (such as Amazon) allow you to use Chase Ultimate Rewards® points when checking out. This redemption option only offers about 0.8 cents per point, the worst value redemption Chase offers.
- Apple products: You can purchase Apple products directly using Chase Ultimate Rewards®, at a value of one cent per point.
Gift cards
You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards® to purchase gift cards at one cent per point.
Chase also runs promotions that offer “discounted” gift cards, meaning you can get up to 1.25 cents per point (or more) on specific gift cards.
Chase Travel℠
You can book flights, hotels, rental cars, and other travel experiences through Chase Travel℠ with your points.
The value of your points when booking through Chase Travel℠ varies, depending on which credit card you use.
Transfer partners
Perhaps the best value from Chase Ultimate Rewards® comes from their transfer partners.
Chase partners with 14 different airline and hotel brands, allowing you to transfer points directly to their loyalty programs.
Here are the airline and hotel partners currently available:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Canada
- Air France KLM
- British Airways
- Emirates
- Hyatt
- Iberia
- IHG Hotels & Resorts
- JetBlue
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Singapore Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
Some of the best redemptions are Southwest Airlines and Hyatt hotels. Depending on your booking, you can earn two or three cents per point, sometimes more. And for international travel, Air France offers great business-class transatlantic flights.
While most programs offer a 1:1 transfer ratio, Chase occasionally offers transfer bonuses, letting you get 25% to 30% more value from your Chase points transfer.
Family points pooling
Chase is one of the few points programs that lets you pool your points together with other members of your household.
There are strict terms for point pooling, though. If it's suspected you've falsely transferred points to another account outside your household, Chase might ban you from its program, revoke all of your points, and cancel your Chase credit cards.
So make sure you only transfer points to another account that shares your home address.
How Much Are Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points Worth?
Ultimate Rewards® points vary in value, depending on how you choose to redeem them.
On the low end, you can get 0.8 cents per point when redeemed at checkout through Amazon or PayPal. On the high end, you can get up to three cents per point (or more) when transferring to travel partners.
Here's a quick breakdown:
- Checkout with Chase: 0.8 cents per point
- Cashback: 1 cent per point
- Gift cards: 1 to 1.25 cents per point
- Chase Travel℠: 1 to 1.5 cents per point (depending on credit card)
- Chase transfer partners: 1 to 4 cents per point (depending on redemption)
FAQs
Do Chase Ultimate Rewards® expire?
Chase Ultimate Rewards® points do not expire as long as you have an open eligible Chase credit card. If you cancel your card or if it is shut down for any reason, you will lose access to any unredeemed points.
How much are 10,000 Chase points worth?
When redeeming for cashback, 10,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth $100. But they could be worth up to $150 when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠, depending on your credit card.
If you transfer your Chase points to a travel partner, you may be able to get $200 in value (or more) for 10,000 points.
Where can I transfer my Chase points to?
You can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to one of 14 travel partners.
- Hotel partners: Hyatt, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Bonvoy
- Airline partners: Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air France KLM, British Airways, Emirates, Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
TL;DR: Chase Ultimate Rewards®
If you have a Chase credit card, odds are you can tap into Chase Ultimate Rewards®. These are points that you earn from spending on the card, and you can redeem them for cashback, gift cards, travel, and more.
Just remember that it’s important to pay off your credit card in full every month, so you’re not paying interest to earn those rewards.
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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
