Chase Ultimate Rewards

The Highlights

Chase Ultimate Rewards is our most valued point system.

• These points are the most flexible of any credit card points. You can transfer points to their partners (the most valuable way to redeem)
• Or you can book travel directly through the Chase portal, including cruise, car rental, or specialty hotels.
• The quality of their transfer partners (Hyatt, United & Southwest) is unmatched. As is the value you can get when you transfer.
• You can get a “multiplier effect” on your Chase Ultimate Rewards points when you have either of Chase’s Sapphire cards by taking advantage of Points Boost.
• We view Ultimate Rewards as the points “savings account” to top off a partner reward system for a flight or hotel. Or to book travel items directly through the Chase travel portal.

What to Know About This Point System

Chase Ultimate Rewards are aptly named -- as they are the “gold standard” of points. But most people barely scratch the surface in redeeming these points. Here’s what makes them so valuable:

1. Accumulating points is relatively easy with the variety of cards Chase offers, especially their business cards.
2. The points are worth a lot... if you have the Reserve Card (why you should). Your points are worth a minimum of 1.5 cents each, and often more with transfer partners.
3. Chase has the best values in transfer partners, with Hyatt, United, and Southwest being the top three.
4. Chase points are easy to use. The Ultimate Rewards portal is intuitively built for booking travel directly through their portal with points. Or easily transferring those points to partners.
5. You can transfer your points with your partner, so long as you share the same address.

The key to maximizing value, though, is how you use those points. Think of Chase Ultimate Rewards as your most easily convertible points. And all other point systems are great, but not nearly as flexible.

How does that affect you in practical terms? If Chase is your hub, you and your partner should also get the Hyatt card, United card, and Southwest card(s) over a year. Let’s say you and your partner have two Chase cards, plus one of each of the other cards. Here is an example of how you can use them:

• Trip One:
  • On Hyatt’s site, use 60,000 Hyatt points topped off with a 20,000 Chase point transfer for 4 nights at the all-inclusive at Zilarra Cancun.
  • On Southwest’s site, book two flights to Cancun free using your Southwest Points (topped of with a Chase points transfer as needed)
• Trip Two:
  • On United’s site, book two round trip tickets to any European city for 60,000 United miles each, top off with Chase Points as needed
  • Book hotels on Hyatt’s site using additional Chase transfers as needed. Since you can transfer between Partners, they can be either person’s account to start.

That is just a pair of examples, but it’s a very real scenario. Most people are happy to just use the points to book a free flight or two through the portal. The reality is you can make entire vacations nearly free.

Amex and Citi have similar systems, but the points are more limited in how many you can earn. Also, the value of the transfer partners and the quality of their portals isn’t as good. That’s not to say you shouldn’t be happy when you find those points. We’re just saying all else being equal, we’ll take (or save on using) Chase Ultimate Rewards Points over any other point system.

It’s also worth noting you can’t transfer points back from partners, so never transfer until the actual time of booking. The transfers are usually instantaneous (you might have to log out and log back in to the partner site).

How to Redeem

Chase is the most popular rewards system in the hobby because of its high-value transfer partners. You’ll get the best value by transferring points to an airline or hotel partner, especially when taking advantage of the sweet spots mentioned at the top of the page. There’s a learning curve to using travel partners, but the payoff is worth it.

If that time commitment is not for you, you can still find strong value by redeeming through the Chase Travel Portal, especially if you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Chase Travel Portal

Use Points Boost to get up to 2¢ per point with the Chase Sapphire Reserve or up to 1.5¢ per point with the Chase Sapphire Preferred (or 1.75¢ per point on premium class airfare bookings) when booking travel through the Chase portal.* Points Boost applies only to select airfare and hotel bookings. When no Points Boost is available — or if you hold a no-annual-fee card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited — redemptions are worth 1¢ per point.

*If you owned a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred before June 23, 2025, points earned before October 26, 2025 are eligible for 1.5¢/point redemptions with the Reserve and 1.25¢/point redemptions with the Preferred through the Chase Portal until October 26, 2027.

The Edit

The following applies only if you have on of the Chase Sapphire Reserve cards. You can use the Chase Travel Portal to book stays through The Edit, Chase’s collection of luxury hotels. All The Edit hotels are Points Boost redemptions with a Reserve card, where you get 2¢ per point.

If you pay with your Reserve card (personal or business) through the portal on a booking with The Edit, you’ll earn 8x points and can use one of your biannual $250 travel credits. You can also combine cash and points by paying up to $250 in cash to trigger your travel credit, then redeem points for the balance at 2¢ per point.

You'll also receive the following benefits on every stay with The Edit through the Chase Portal, whether you redeem points or pay with your Reserve card.

• Breakfast for two
• $100 property credit
• Room upgrade when available
• Early check-in and late check-out when available

Pay Yourself Back

Pay Yourself Back allows cardholders to redeem points at an elevated rate on select, rotating categories.

• Categories change quarterly and vary by card.
• The maximum redemption rate is 1.5¢ per point.
• Less value than transferring to partners, but better than the standard 1¢ per point rate.

What You Shouldn’t Do

Some redemptions give far less value for your Chase Ultimate Rewards points and are best avoided:

• Gift cards: Redeem at only 1¢ per point
• PayPal: Apply points at checkout for just 0.8¢ per point
• Amazon: Apply points at checkout for just 0.8¢ per point
• Experiences and dining: Redeem for events or meals, but you’ll get 1¢ per point at best

Visit Chase Ultimate Rewards