Chase Ultimate Rewards points are among the most useful around for travel rewards, but with so many options they can be confusing to figure out. From transfer partners to sharing points, and the best ways to use your points, here’s a guide to everything you need to know regarding Ultimate Rewards points if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or other Ultimate Rewards card from Chase.
Using Points
How to use points for travel
Which airline and hotel programs can you transfer points to?
What are pros and cons for each point transfer partner?
How long do point transfers take?
How does the Chase travel portal work?
Can you use points for any airline?
Do you earn miles for flights with the Chase travel site?
Should you transfer points or book via Chase?
What are the best ways to use points?
Can you get cash, gift cards, or merchandise with points?
Earning / Managing Points
What are Ultimate Rewards points worth?
Can you buy Ultimate Rewards points?
Can you combine points across multiple accounts?
Can you transfer points to other people?
What other ways can you earn Ultimate Rewards points?
Do Ultimate Rewards points expire?
What credit cards earn Ultimate Rewards?
How to use Ultimate Rewards points for travel
There are 3 ways to use your Ultimate Rewards points for travel:
Transfer points to real airline miles and hotel points with partner programs. This is available if you have Chase Ultimate Rewards card with an annual fee like the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve. Taking advantage of this can often be the cheapest way to book, but you’re also then subject to the rules and limitations of regular airline miles, so you may need to be flexible with your plans. It’s usually best for expensive trips you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford with cash, like first class flights, or adding to miles you might already have.
Use the Chase travel center to book flights, hotels, car rentals, and cruises. You can search for travel on UltimateRewards.com or by calling Chase, and this lets you use your points like cash to cover the cost of paying for travel, so you don’t have to think about award program rules and restrictions. You’ll find this most useful for trips that are already reasonably cheap in cash. A downside is some airlines like Easyjet and Ryanair aren’t bookable this way.
Request cash back as statement credit. If you can’t book a flight the other two ways, you can always pay for it with your card using any website you’d like. Then you can request cash back via a statement credit. The downside is your points have the least value this way – with every 1,000 points worth $10 in cash back.
Which airlines and hotels can you transfer Ultimate Rewards to?
Chase has 11 total transfer partners – seven airline partners and four hotel partners. Click on the transfer partner names to see detailed guides for how to use each program and get the most out of it.
Airlines
British Airways Avios
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
Korean Airlines Skypass
Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hotels
Hyatt Gold Passport
IHG Rewards
Marriott Rewards / Ritz Carlton Rewards
What are some pros and cons for each transfer partner?
Each transfer partner has some pros and cons. We’re going to take a look at those pros and cons as well as some good redemption options for each partner.
British Airways Avios
Best for: Flights to Hawaii from the West Coast for 12,500 points each way on American and Alaska Airlines, American Airlines flights for as few as 7,500 points each way, and short flights outside North America for as few as 4,500 points each way.
Pros
Short flights (<1,150 miles) within North America cost only 7,500 miles each way in economy
Even shorter flights (<650 miles) abroad cost only 4,500 miles each way in economy
Cons
Flights are subject to fuel-surcharges which can really add up on long-haul flights
Because British Airways charges for flights based on distance for each flight segment, sometimes flying direct costs more than flying with a stop or two, but other times the direct flight might cost more miles
Business and first class awards are very much on the expensive side
> Award chart
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
Best for: Business Class to Europe for 62,500 miles one way on Delta Airlines, and flights to Hawaii on Delta and Alaska Airlines for 15,000 miles one way.
Pros
Delta flights with no fuel surcharges
Some sweet spots for SkyTeam flights
Good prices to the Caribbean and Hawaii on Delta and Alaska
Promo awards to Europe starting at 25,000 miles roundtrip in economy
Cons
Sometimes higher award prices than competitors
Fuel-surcharges on non-Delta flights to Europe
> Award chart
Korean Skypass
Best for: Flights to Hawaii on Alaska, Delta, or Hawaiian Airlines for 25,000 points roundtrip, and Business or First Class flights to Asia on Korean Airlines with good availability of award space
Pros
Some great award prices like 25,000 miles roundtrip between the US and Hawaii
Above average premium cabin availability on Korean metal for flights between the US and Asia
Cons
Awards can be a little bit time-consuming to book. Korean requires that you prove that you are related to anyone you are booking an award for by faxing them documentation including birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.
> Award chart
Singapore KrisFlyer
Best for: United Airlines flights for slightly less than what United MileagePlus charges, Singapore Airlines Business and First Class flights
Pros
All transferrable points currencies (Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and SPG Points) transfer to Singapore making it a great option to pool points
One stopover allowed on roundtrip award bookings, up to three additional stopovers can be bought for $100 each
Good award chart with multiple sweet spots
Cons
Miles expire after 36 months regardless of activity
Fuel surcharges are imposed on some airline partners
Routing rules are relatively strict
> Award chart
Southwest Rapid Rewards
Best for: Easy domestic travel and Caribbean / Mexico beach spots with low hassle
Pros
Points can be redeemed for any seat that is available for cash at a rate of about 1.4 cents per point
The Southwest Companion Pass presents an option to double the value of your points.
No penalties for canceling your ticket right up until departure
Cons
Points are (pretty much) fixed value, so there is little to maximize here.
Few international flights
No partners
United MileagePlus
Best for: Long international trips in both Economy and Business Class on United or its Star Alliance partners like Lufthansa, ANA, Avianca, and Air Canada
Pros
Stopovers are allowed on round trip tickets, effectively meaning that you can visit two places for the price of one
Regardless of the partner you redeem your miles on, you don’t need to worry about fuel surcharges
Cons
Premium cabin prices are on the high side, and that’s even more true if you want to (or have to) fly on a United partner airline as United has two separate award prices for travel on their own flights and on partners for premium cabin awards
> Award chart
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Best for: Delta flights to Europe in Business Class for 100,000 miles roundtrip with no fuel surcharges
Pros
Generally lower taxes and miles required for economy redemptions compared with British Airways
Cons
Premium cabin awards are expensive both in terms of miles and dollars (you pay hundreds of dollars in fuel surcharges for Virgin Atlantic award flights)
Small route network
> Award chart
Hyatt Gold Passport
Best for: Stays at upscale urban hotels that often cost $200 – $300 or more a night
Pros
Very nice high-end properties at pretty reasonable points prices like the Park Hyatt Sydney for 30,000 points per night
Can upgrade to a suite starting at 6,000 points
Cons
Not many Hyatt hotels around the world
Points are relatively challenging to earn
> Award chart
IHG Rewards
Best for: Stays in Asia or Europe, and relatively cheap hotels in the U.S.
Pros
PointBreaks hotels can be booked for only 5,000 points per night
Hotels located all over the world
Easy to earn more points through promotions
Cons
Elite status doesn’t mean much even if you have it
Very little brand consistency
> Award chart (no formal chart – use the hotel search)
Marriott / Ritz-Carlton Rewards
Best for: Converting points into Southwest to help earn Companion Pass, or topping off Marriott points you might already have
Pros
Hotel + Air Redemptions present great value to get a hotel stay and some frequent flyer miles
A ton of hotels around the world
A very good selection of nice hotels to redeem at
Cons
Nights at top-tier properties, especially Ritz-Carlton properties, can be very expensive
Not very many low-category hotels in interesting destinations
> Award chart
How long do transfers take?
Points transfers to different partners take different amounts of times, but most Ultimate Rewards transfers are fairly fast, though officially they can take up to 7 days.
Partner
Transfer Time
British Airways
Instant
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
Instant
Hyatt
Instant
IHG
1 Day
Korean Air
Instant
Marriott
2 Days
Ritz-Carlton
2 Days
Singapore
Same Day
Southwest
Instant
United
Instant
Virgin Atlantic
Instant
What are the best ways to use your points?
The best way to use points is for a trip that makes you happy, but here are some ways that will stretch your points the furthest.
For small balances…
Adding to United or Southwest miles you already have. There’s a good chance you’ve flown United or Southwest and have some miles. Topping them up with a transfer from Ultimate Rewards to reach an award is a great way to get value out of your points.
Flights to Hawaii for 12,500 points. You can transfer your points to British Airways Avios and use them to score flights from the West Coast to Hawaii on American or Alaska Airlines for just 12,500 points each way. The catch is the flight needs to be 2,500 miles in distance or less, which is basically the distance from most West Coast cities to Hawaii. An alternative if you don’t live on the West Coast is to transfer to Air France Flying Blue and book Delta or Alaska flights for 15,000 points one way, with no distance requirement.
Short international flights for 4,500 points. With British Airways Avios, you can book short flights that are 650 miles in distance or less for 4,500 points one way. The catch is you can only do this for flights outside North America, but it’s great for hopping around Europe.
International flights on United or its partners. Getting to Europe or Asia can be expensive, often $1,500 or more in cash. But United miles are easy to use for long international flights. And you can for example get to anywhere in Europe for just 30,000 miles one way when you transfer your points to United MileagePlus.
For big balances…
Business Class to Europe for 57,500 miles. United MileagePlus lets you fly United Airlines flights to Europe for just 57,500 miles each way in Business Class, which is a great deal for seats that can cost you thousands of dollars.
First Class to Asia for 80,000 miles. You can fly Korean Airlines in true First Class or 80,000 miles one way to China, Japan, and Korea. Southeast Asia clocks in at 95,000 miles.
Singapore Airlines First Class for 57,375 miles. It’s hard to beat the luxury of Singapore Airlines First Class, and you can fly it from New York to Frankfurt or Houston – Manchester or just 57,375 miles one way.
Southwest Companion Pass for 270,000 points. You can transfer your points to Marriott Rewards, and 250,000 is enough to get you a special ‘Air and Hotel’ package which includes 120,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points, which are more than the 110,000 Southwest points you need to earn Companion Pass status, which lets you bring a companion along on all your Southwest flights for over a year for no additional airfare. You can also use the 120,000 Southwest points to book flights, potentially getting you over $1,500 in airfare value.
Can you get cash, gift cards, or merchandise?
Yes, Ultimate Rewards also lets you use points for cash, gift cards, and merchandise.
Cash comes in the form of statement credit, and every 1,000 points is worth $10 in cash. You can choose to redeem for cash anytime, using some or all of your points.
The value you get for gift cards varies, but usually it’s not much better, or sometimes a worse value than cash.
Merchandise is also available on UltimateRewards.com but you’re usually better off redeeming the points for cash and buying the merchandise somewhere else.
What are Ultimate Rewards points worth?
We value Ultimate Rewards at about 1.9 cents each, if you take advantage of transfer partners for flights.
The value of Ultimate Rewards varies depending on how you use them. At a very base level, Ultimate Rewards can be redeemed for one cent each as statement credit.
If you transfer Ultimate Rewards to airline or hotel transfer partners and use them at luxury hotels and for business and first class flights, you could easily get three or four cents per point of value compared to the retail cost of those hotel rooms or flights. In reality, few people would pay cash out of pocket for thousand dollar a night hotel rooms and international first class flights, so the value of Ultimate Rewards for most is going to fall somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 cents per point.
Can you buy Ultimate Rewards points?
Unfortunately, no, you can’t buy additional Ultimate Rewards points, though some of the airline and hotel transfer partners let you buy their points.
What credit cards earn Ultimate Rewards?
Quite a few different credit cards earn Ultimate Rewards Points. They are:
Card
Points Earning
Transfers Allowed On Own
Freedom
5X Quarterly Rotating Categories
1X on Everything Else
No (Need Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Plus)
Freedom Unlimited
1.5X on Everything
No (Need Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink Plus)
Sapphire Preferred
2X on Dining and Travel
1X on Everything Else
Yes
Sapphire Reserve
3x on Dining and Travel
1X on Everything Else
Yes
Ink Plus
5X Office Supplies, Cable, Internet, Phone
2X Gas and Hotels
1X on Everything Else
Yes
Ink Cash
5X Office Supplies, Cable, Internet, Phone
2X Gas and Dining
1X on Everything Else
No (Need Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve or Ink Plus)
Each card has it’s own earning structure and additional benefits, so consider which card or cards make the most sense for you. Note that only premium Chase cards unlock the ability to transfer miles to airline and hotel partners. Premium cards have an annual fee and are the Sapphire Preferred and Ink Plus. Without one of these cards, you are unable to transfer Ultimate Rewards to partners.
What other ways can you earn Ultimate Rewards?
The easiest way to earn Ultimate Rewards in addition to the use of credit cards is by shopping through the Ultimate Rewards Shopping Portal.
You do need an Ultimate Rewards earning credit card in order to make use of the Ultimate Rewards Shopping Portal. When you shop through the portal, you can earn an extra 1 – 5 Ultimate Rewards per dollar spent on most of your online shopping.
Just click the link from the portal to your favorite shopping site, and you’ll earn extra points on your purchases in your Ultimate Rewards account. You don’t have to shop on a special site – the links on the shopping portal take you directly to the normal site you’d use.
For example, if you’re shopping at Macy’s, the link will take you straight to the same site you’d see if you went to Macy’s.com directly. All the prices are the same, and you can take advantage of all the promo codes and shipping benefits you’re used to.
And you don’t have to pay with your Ultimate Rewards credit card to earn the points.
How does the Chase travel portal work?
The Chase travel portal allows you to treat your points like cash and pay for flights, hotels, and other travel related activities. If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Plus credit card, you will receive a 20% discount when paying with points. This means that each point is worth 1.25 cents versus the one cent if you redeem your points for cash. If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll receive a 50% bonus, so each point is worth 1.5 cents if you redeem for cash.
Just login to UltimateRewards.com and select ‘Explore & Book Travel’ to start searching (here’s a rundown of how to use it).
The site works like Expedia or Travelocity, and the price you pay in points is based on what the flight would cost in cash. You can choose to use part cash, and part points, charge it all to your card, or all points when you book this way.
This is a good way to redeem points for travel if you can’t be flexible and there is no award space with transfer partners that fits your needs. Before deciding, it always makes sense to check what your options are and what each option would cost, that way you know you are getting the best price and value possible.
Tip: Usually it shows the lowest fares available, but sometimes it might not. There’s no rhyme or reason to this, so it’s a good idea to check the airline’s own website to see if there’s a lower fare. If there is, you might want to wait and check later in case the fare hasn’t yet loaded in the Chase travel center system.
Do you earn miles when you book on the Chase travel site?
You can earn miles if the fare you purchase is eligible to earn miles in the frequent flyer program you want to credit.
Unfortunately there’s no 100% reliable way to tell what kind of fare you’re getting until after you book the ticket. Sometimes you will be presented with a ‘bulk’ fare, which in some frequent flyer programs doesn’t earn miles the way normal fares do.
Otherwise, you can eyeball your fare type by searching on the airline’s own website and seeing what fare comes up for a similar price. But there are no guarantees, and you might end up with a fare that doesn’t earn miles or elite status privileges.
Can you book any airline?
You can book most of the big traditional airlines via Chase or its website.
Over the phone, by calling 1-866-951-6592, you can book some airlines that are not available on the website, including Allegiant, Gol, Norwegian, and Southwest. You can also book cruises over the phone.
Some key exceptions that you can’t book over the phone or online with your points include: Easyjet, Ryanair, Volaris, Wowair, WizzAir, Interjet, IndiGo, Cebupacific, Spicejet, IndiGo, Lion Air, flybe, flydubai, and Monarch.
Tip: An alternative for airlines you can’t book via Chase is to buy the ticket with your card and request statement credit with your points. Every point is worth $0.01, so 10,000 points is worth $100 in statement credit.
Should you transfer points or book via Chase?
Before deciding whether transferring or booking via Chase makes the most sense, you should check for award space with the airline transfer partners.
You might find that transferring and booking via a transfer partner might cost you fewer points than booking via the Chase website.
Here’s a rundown of how to decide which way to use your points.
If space is available, now is the time to compare costs when booking through the Chase portal. Keep in mind that if you book through the Chase portal, you might earn miles on your ticket, so even if it costs more points upfront, you might be better in the long run.
Of course if there is no availability with the airlines that is satisfactory to you, this is a great time to book through the portal or save the points for another trip and pay with cash.
Can you combine points across multiple accounts you own?
You can combine points across multiple accounts that you own. This is useful if you earned points on a card that doesn’t allow airline point transfer, like a Chase Freedom, and want to move them to a card that does allow airline point transfer, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
It’s also important if you are planning on closing an account or if you have a non-premium Chase credit card. If you are planning to close an account, you must transfer your miles either to another Ultimate Rewards account or to an airline or hotel transfer partner before you close it or you will lose your points.
Can you transfer points to other people?
Yes, you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards to other people, by going to the Combine Points feature and choosing ‘Add household member / company owner,’ but you do need to work within some rules.
If you have a personal card, you are allowed to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to other members of your household who have Chase Ultimate Rewards cards. They don’t need to be authorized users.
If you want to transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to another person’s airline or hotel loyalty program, they must be a member of your household AND an authorized user of your credit card account.
If you have a small business card like the Ink Plus, the rules are slightly different. If you would like to transfer Ultimate Rewards to another person’s Ultimate Rewards account, they need to be a member of your household or an owner of the business. If you would like to transfer Ultimate Rewards to another person’s airline or hotel loyalty account, they must be an owner of the company who is also an authorized user of the credit card account.
If you have a non-premium Chase card like the Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, or Ink Cash, you cannot transfer points directly to airline and hotel transfer partners. You must first transfer points to a premium card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Plus.
Do Ultimate Rewards expire?
Ultimate Rewards do not expire as long as the attached credit card account is open. If you are going to close an Ultimate Rewards earning credit card, and don’t want to lose your points, you could transfer your points to another Ultimate Rewards earning credit card, or you could transfer your points to an airline or hotel transfer partner.
How to earn the most from your spending?
Earning the most from your spending depends greatly on your spending patterns. Many people are going to find the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Unlimited to be a killer combination. For some, the 5X rotating categories of the Chase Freedom will be more valuable than the 1.5X on everything that the Freedom Unlimited offers.
Those of you that spend a fair amount of money at office supply stores or on cable, internet, and phone bills should definitely consider one of the Chase small-business cards: the Ink Cash or Ink Plus. Both earn five points per dollar spent on those purchases as well as two points per dollar spent in a couple of other categories.
A helpful tip is to look at your spending patterns from the past six to twelve months and calculate how much you could have earned with various options. Choose the options that will net you the most points for the least cost!