Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
Editor’s note: Redemption values mentioned in this article are subject to change.
Chase Ultimate Rewards® is one of the most revered credit card rewards programs. Users love these points because of their incredible versatility. Want to redeem points for cash back or a statement credit? No problem. Or, if you prefer to book travel with no blackout dates, you can do that, too. Cardholders can even transfer them into partnering frequent flyer or hotel loyalty programs to top off accounts or build up balances. The sky’s the limit.
Generally speaking, the highest-value redemptions come from moving your Chase Ultimate Rewards into airline programs where rewards can be worth thousands of dollars. Luxury hotels and premium flights can cost a bundle. However, knowing where to look for the best value for your Chase Ultimate Rewards can take some effort.
Credit Cards That Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Three main cards earn transferable Chase Ultimate Rewards points: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. All earn 1 Ultimate Reward point per dollar spent with an opportunity to earn more points in varying bonus categories, plus generous welcome bonuses for new cardholders.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Chase Freedom Flex®, Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card also earn reward points worth 1 cent per dollar on their own. However, when combined with one or more of the cards above, the rewards become full-fledged Ultimate Rewards points with the option to redeem points at an increased rate or transfer them to partner travel programs.
With a welcome bonus, points are easy to earn. Add in the points you earn from your monthly spending and watch your points pile up.
Featured Partner Offer
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
On Chase Bank USA, NA's Website
4.9
Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards.
On Chase Bank USA, NA's Website
Up to 10x Reward Rate
Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel throughRead More
Welcome Bonus
60,000 bonus points
Annual Fee
$550
Regular APR
22.49%-29.49% Variable
Credit Score
Excellent(750 - 850)
Editorial Review
This card offers superior points earning rates if you spend frequently on travel and dining out. The $300 travel credit justifies much of the annual fee, and redeeming points for travel through Chase Travel℠ nets you a 50% bonus.
Pros & Cons
- $300 annual travel credit is incredibly flexible
- Generous welcome bonus
- Get 50% more value when you redeem points for travel through Chase Travel℠
- Points transfer to valuable airline and hotel partners
- High annual fee
- Additional fee for each authorized user
- Excellent credit recommended
Card Details
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursem*nt for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Member FDIC
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
What 80,000 Ultimate Rewards Points Are Worth
Chase complicates things by setting different redemption values based on which points-earning cards you carry and how you redeem your points. At a minimum, points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed as cash back or a statement credit. Therefore, you can expect 80,000 Ultimate Reward points to be worth at least $800.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card increase your potential redemption rate to 1.25 cents per point when redeemed for travel through Chase’s travel booking engine. In this capacity, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 without blackout dates or restrictions. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® upgrades your redemption rate to 1.5 cents per point. At that rate, the same 80,000 points are worth $1,200. For all travel bookings, the website works similarly to other online travel agencies and allows you to make reservations for flights, hotels, rental cars and even select tours or activities.
These three cards also allow you to transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to over a dozen partner airline and hotel programs. Points transfer at a 1-to-1 ratio in 1,000-point increments. As you may expect, the value of 80,000 points depends on which partner you transfer to. Those 80,000 points might only buy you a single night at a high-end Marriott hotel, but could buy you a round-trip business-class ticket on some airlines.
Chase’s airline partners are: Aer Lingus AerClub, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Chase’s hotel partners are: IHG One Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt.
How To Spend Your Ultimate Reward Points for Exceptional Value
Here are some ideas to stretch 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points for more value than you’d get from redeeming points for cash or travel through the Chase Travel booking engine.
Round Trip Business Class from the East Coast to Europe—Estimated Value: $2,500
Business-class flights are likely out of most travelers’ budgets. But with points, it can be a worthwhile splurge, especially since you’ll be treated to a lie-flat bed on overnight flights.
Transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to Iberia Plus to book business-class flights from New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. or Chicago to its hub in Madrid and you could pay as little as 68,000 miles round trip. This low price is available on off-peak dates: typically mid-September through mid-June with a few exceptions for holidays.
If you don’t live near one of those gateways, no problem. Flights are also available from Miami, Los Angeles or San Francisco for as little as 85,000 miles round trip. You can add connections to other cities for a small upcharge in the U.S. or within Europe.
Four Nights at an All-Inclusive Resort—Estimated Value: $1,600
Hyatt has an expansive network of all-inclusive resorts across Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico. The Hyatt Ziva brand focuses on family-friendly resorts while Hyatt Zilara is an adults-only brand, so you can choose the right style resort for your trip. Other brands in the portfolio include Dreams, Zoetry and Secrets.
While many of these resorts start at around 21,000 points per night, like the Dreams Natura Resort & Spa, the Dreams Sapphire Resort & Spa starts at 17,000 a night. On the other end, the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos requires a bit more points, beginning at 35,000 off-peak. But for 70,000 points, you’ll get two nights in a luxurious room including access to fabulous pools, select on-site activities and all you can eat and drink.
Simply transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt and book on the Hyatt website.
Because resorts often offer competitive cash rates while tourism demand is down, you’ll get the most value for Hyatt points by redeeming for high-season travel. In the low season (often fall, coinciding with hurricane season), you might be better off by booking through Chase Travel. As always, compare the math before making any redemptions.
Flights for a Family of Four to the Caribbean—Estimated Value: $1,250
One of the best uses of British Airways Avios is for short, nonstop flights on its partner American Airlines. These flights start at 15,000 miles round trip for flights within the contiguous 48 U.S. states and Canada and require low cash copays for taxes and fees. Moving your Chase Ultimate Rewards into British Airways is an instant transfer and flights are bookable online.
While there are plenty of routes available at this mileage rate, some of the best values are on routes from American Airlines’ hub in Miami to Caribbean cities, which generally start at 10,000 miles each way. Head to destinations like Jamaica or Turks and Caicos and with 80,000 points, you’ll have enough to cover tickets for up to four travelers.
You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to JetBlue or Southwest for flights to the Caribbean via Fort Lauderdale. Redemptions with these two airlines are correlated with the cost of a cash ticket instead of using an award chart, so award prices vary. Because of this, you’ll need to compare the cost of booking through Chase’s online booking system versus transferring points to the airline.
Sapphire Reserve holders may do better by booking through Chase Travel℠ at 1.5 cents per point, especially when you consider you’ll earn points with the airline program as you redeem Ultimate Rewards. Sapphire Preferred cardholders will also do a bit better by redeeming points through Chase Travel since they’re worth 1.25 cents per point in value.
Round-Trip Ticket from the West Coast to Japan (One Way in Business Class)—Estimated Value $3,000
Virgin Atlantic is one of Ultimate Rewards’ strongest partners, assuming you can figure out its sweet spots. After transferring rewards to Virgin Atlantic, you can redeem your points for flights on All Nippon Airways to Japan.
By booking a one-way award in economy and one-way in business, you’ll end up with a round trip for 75,000 points. This price is available from any of ANA’s West Coast gateways, including Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle (SEA). ANA also flies from the East Coast, though awards are more expensive due to the distance flown.
If the idea of flying in economy sounds unbearable when you know you have a taste of the good life in the other direction, you can always splurge and fly both ways in business class for only 90,000 miles round trip. Though that’s generally more than you’ll earn from a single credit card’s welcome bonus, it might be worth it if you’ve earned extra miles.
Five Nights in Mid-Sized Cities—Estimated Value: $1,250
Marriott Bonvoy isn’t often a strong Ultimate Rewards partner, but if you play your cards right, there are some valuable redemptions. For the rest of the time, use your points for 1 to 1.5 cents each through Chase Travel to book hotels.
The program stands out with its off-peak rewards dates, where hotel rooms can be as little as half the cost in points as they normally are. Additionally, if you book five nights as a member, the fifth night will be free. If you can find nights priced at 20,000 points or less, before accounting for one night free, you’ll end up with five nights in many cities for 80,000 Bonvoy points.
One standout property featuring these criteria is the SpringHill Suites Salt Lake City Sugar House. Rooms can cost over $300 per night. Transferring points for a five-night stay could save you $1,250, better than the value offered through Chase Travel using your Sapphire or Ink Business Preferred points.
Two Round-Trip Tickets to Central America in Economy—Estimated Value: $1,400
United is a popular Ultimate Rewards partner because it’s so easy to book awards on its website. Once you have miles in your frequent flyer account, you can instantly search and compare award tickets on United and its partner airlines.
Booking straightforward travel plans might be a better value through Chase ravel. Flights with a stopover and open jaw (flying into one city and out of another) can be better deals by redeeming frequent flyer miles, though. Starting at 40,000 points per person, you can book round-trip economy tickets to your choice of Central American destinations. Head to Costa Rica for a tour of volcanoes, rainforests and beaches.
Round-Trip Business Class from the West Coast to Hawaii—Estimated Value: $1,800
Air Canada’s Aeroplan offers excellent value on award flights to Hawaii, particularly from the West Coast, since its awards are distance-based. On routes under 2,750 miles each way, you can find round-trip business-class tickets for as few as 60,000 miles. For instance, you could fly from Orange County (SNA) to Honolulu (HNL) at that price. While flights from Canadian airports will likely be operated by Air Canada, awards from the U.S. would be operated by United.
If you don’t live on the West Coast, you can still book business-class awards to Hawaii, though at a higher price of 70,000 miles per person. One consideration, though: If you intend to island hop, you may be better off booking with United miles for 70,000 miles per person. Thanks to United’s Excursionist Perk, you can add an extra leg to Hilo, Kona, Kauai or Maui at no additional cost.
Given that this same flight can cost well over $1,800 when you pay in cash, this redemption offers considerable value.
The Best Chase Credit Cards Of 2024
Find the best Chase credit card for your needs.
Learn More
Bottom Line
With Chase Ultimate Rewards, you have incredible flexibility in redeeming your points. Booking through the Chase Travel℠ portal brings access to nearly all travel brands (including independent hotels and vacation rentals) and doesn’t come with blackout dates or tax copays. With strategic redemptions, your points might provide stronger value by transferring to hotel or airline partners.
No matter how you redeem your Ultimate Rewards, one thing is certain—it’s not hard to turn 80,000 points into hundreds or even thousands of dollars of value.
