Chase Ultimate Rewards or Direct Booking

You might wonder whether booking directly with travel providers or using Chase Ultimate Rewards makes more sense for your next trip. Both  have their own advantages but knowing which provides preferred benefits can save you substantial amounts of money and effort. We will look through the key rewards of every and answer commonly asked questions about Chase Ultimate Rewards in this guide to help you continue your travel.

Does it make sense to book with Chase Ultimate Rewards?

Absolutely, booking with the Chase portal has many benefits, one being being able to redeem your points at a higher value for travel bookings. So, if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, your points are worth 25% more when redeemed through the Ultimate Rewards portal, among other pathways. In the same way, Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders experience a 50% point value increase.

However, Chase often has special promotions (e.g. bonus points on travel booked through their portal) so this is also a good option, even if it may not always be the best option.

Trip Booking: In What Ways Can I Maximize the Panther Ultimate Advantages?

This helps you to get the most out of your Chase Ultimate Rewards:

Transfer Points to Travel Partners: Chase has tons of travel partners, including airlines and hotels. Invite Others to Share a Custom Link to This Page Direct points redemption in the portal is often worth less than transferring points to partners like Hyatt or United Airlines.

Use Redemption Boosts: As indicated above, several Chase cards provide additional value per point when travelling through the Ultimate Rewards portal.

Maximize Bonus Categories: Make sure to use your chase card on the categories the earn a bonus, such as dining or travel.

A Guide to Getting the Most Value from Chase Points

How you can smartest spend Chase points pertaining to what you would like to do with Northern California If you are a frequent traveler, transferring to airline or hotel loyalty programs can provide awesome value — especially when it comes to business/first class flights. However, booking through the Ultimate Rewards portal directly can ease that process, and still features pretty solid redemption rates.

How to get the most value out of your Chase points

When it comes to maximizing the value points for the sake of keeping costs down, transferring points to high-value travel partners can be the most lucrative option. For instance, redemptions for Hyatt hotels or flights with Singapore Airlines can often exceed 2 cents per point, while a redemption in the Chase portal usually yields 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point.

Question: Will you earn additional points if you book through Chase Travel?

Correct, you can book through the Chase Travel portal and earn additional points. Get up to 10X points on travel purchases, depending on your card. As an example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card offers 10X points on hotels and car rentals booked using the portal.

Do Chase Points Have More Value When Used for Travel?

Generally, yes. Chase Ultimate Rewards points are valued higher for travel if redeemed through the portal or transferred to travel partners. Specifically, with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, you can redeem 10,000 points and it will actually posted as a credit of $150 on your travel purchases, whereas only $100 if redeeming those same points as cash back.

What is the Value of 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points?

How much are 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth? It depend on the redemption type:

Points in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, where 100,000 points earned with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card are worth $1,500 in travel.

Moved To Partners: If you move it to a partner, then you might be able to get even more value from your points, especially for premium cabin flight redemptions.

Cashout:  If used in cash, points are worth $1,000

So, Do Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Expire?

As long as your account is open and in good standing, Chase Ultimate Rewards points will never expire. But if you cancel your account, those unused points will disappear.

Which Hotels Are Chase Partners With?

Chase works with a number of the major hotel chains, including:

Hyatt

Marriott Bonvoy

IHG Hotels & Resorts

With these partnerships, you can transfer points to hotel loyalty programs — generally at a 1:1 ratio.

How to Earn 10X Points on Chase Travel?

Earn 10X points when you book hotels or car rentals through the Chase Travel portal with an eligible card, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. And make sure to go through the portal to get those high earning rates.

Should You Cash Out Chase Points?

Cashing out points is possible but rarely the most optimum use of Chase Ultimate Rewards. When they are cashed out, points are usually worth 1 cent per point at best, compared to 1.25 to 1.5 cents when redeemed through the portal for travel, or much more when transferred to travel partners.

So, via prudent utilization of Chase Ultimate Rewards and juxtaposing them with the value of perks from booking directly, you can ensure that you are extracting the maximum value from your travel dollar. There is a way to do both — the flexibility of booking through Chase hotel portal, or go the traditional way by booking directly with exclusive benefits.