The best way to use Chase points is to book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Chase Sapphire and Ink points are worth up to 1.5 cents each when used to book Chase Ultimate Rewards travel, while the standard Chase points value is 1 cent per point.
Unlike some credit card companies, Chase doesn’t discourage certain types of redemption, such as cash back or gift cards, by making points worth less when you choose them (e.g. half a cent instead of 1 cent). Rather, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are always worth at least 1 cent apiece when redeemed through Chase, and certain cards offer extra value when used for travel.
6 Best Ways to Use Chase Points
- Travel Booked Through Chase
- Gift Cards
- Shop with Points on Amazon
- Cash Back
- Travel Partners
- Unique Experiences
Best Way to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points by Card
Chase Ultimate Rewards Card | Point Value for Travel Redemption | Point Value for Other Redemption Options |
---|---|---|
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | $0.0125 | $0.01 |
Chase Sapphire Reserve® | $0.0150 | $0.01 |
All Other Chase Cards | $0.0100 | $0.01 |
Chase Ultimate Rewards is best known for its travel choices, but it also has quite a few other options for redemption, from plain old cash to unique experiences exclusive to cardholders. And while you’ll typically get a value of 1 cent per point, there can be slight variations. Below, you can learn more about all the different redemption choices available from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
6 Best Ways to Use Chase Points
Travel Booked Through Chase: 1 cent per point for most cards, 1 cent per point for Chase Sapphire Preferred, and 1 cent per point for Chase Sapphire Reserve and J.P. Morgan Reserve.
A $200 flight a hotel room, for example, would cost 20,000 points on most Chase cards but only 16,000 with Preferred and 13,333 with Reserve. This category also includes things like cruises and car rentals.
The only drawbacks are that you need to book your travel through Chase and can’t redeem them for travel purchases after the fact. In other words, you have to book with points, rather than using points to pay for a travel purchase when it appears on your monthly statement. The value of your points does not differ by travel provider, though, and you should be able to book trips with pretty much any company through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Gift Cards: 1 cent per point.
A $100 gift card costs 10,000 points, no matter which merchant you choose. You can redeem your points for cards for most major retailers. Gift card increments may vary by retailer.
Shop with Points on Amazon: 1 cent per point.
Amazon has partnered with a number of credit card companies, including Chase, to let customers spend their rewards points directly on Amazon.com without having to convert them into cash back or gift cards. So a $50 purchase at Amazon will cost you 5,000 points. In order to do this, you’ll need to connect your Chase account to your Amazon account.
Cash Back: 1 cent per point.
10,000 points will get you a $100 check in the mail or a statement credit from Chase. This is the preferred option for many Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited cardholders, as those cards are designed to work like cash back cards and don’t provide bonuses for travel redemption. You need at least 2,000 points to redeem for cash.
Travel Partners: 1:1 point transfer.
For all 13 of the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel partners, 1 Chase Ultimate Rewards point is worth 1 partner point. This means that the value of your points may stay the same, go up or go down depending on how each program values its points.
One thing to keep in mind is that you must transfer points in increments of 1,000 and can’t reverse any transfers. In addition, if you have Chase Freedom or Chase Freedom Unlimited, you are unable to use this redemption option.
Chase’s current partners are: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, Flying Blue Air France KLM, Emirates Skywards, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy, and World of Hyatt.
Unique Experiences: 1 cent per point.
Chase offers its cardholders the opportunity to get exclusive or VIP tickets to certain events. For example, some of their 2020 events included private dining with top chefs, Charity Buzz and movie premiers.