Key Takeaways
- Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth 1 cent each at baseline, but 1.25-1.5 cents through the Chase travel portal (with Sapphire cards) and potentially 2+ cents through transfer partners.
- Points transfer to airline and hotel partners including Hyatt, United, Southwest, and British Airways — this is where the real value lives. Most partners transfer at 1:1, though ratios vary.
- Hyatt transfers consistently deliver the best value: 2-3 cents per point for premium hotel stays that would cost $200-$500+ per night in cash.
- You can pool points between Chase cards on the same account, moving category bonus points to a Sapphire card for transfer partner access.
Chase Ultimate Rewards® by the Numbers
If you’re new to earning credit card rewards, you may not have a complete understanding of the ins and outs of rewards points. Today, we’re going to focus on one of the most valuable rewards programs, Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
While Chase may have the most valuable rewards currency, it’s gotten a lot harder to earn bonuses from Chase. This is in part due to some new rules, including:
The Chase 5/24 rule. If you have more than five personal credit accounts opened over the past 24 months, it is highly unlikely that Chase will approve you for a new card.
With these rules, it is important to be intentional with your Chase Ultimate Rewards®. That way, you can get the most value out of them.
How To Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points
Not all Chase credit cards earn Chase Ultimate Rewards®points. If you want to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, you’ll need to use one of the credit cards listed below.
Recommended For Everyone:
Recommended For Frequent Travelers:
- Chase Sapphire (only available by downgrading)
Recommended For Business Owners:
For a detailed comparison of all three Chase Ink cards and which is right for your business, check out our Chase Ink Business Cards guide.
In addition to earning points on your everyday purchases, you can earn a sign-up bonus on most of these credit cards if you meet the requirements. You can also earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points by shopping through the Chase online shopping portal.
Maximize Your Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points
A step-by-step strategy to earn, manage, and redeem for maximum value.
Build your Chase card foundation
Start with the (/year) or (/year) for transfer partner access and portal bonus. Add a and to maximize everyday earning. All points pool into one account.
Pro tip: Respect the Chase 5/24 rule: Chase will deny most applications if you have opened 5 or more credit cards (from any issuer) in the past 24 months.
Earn aggressively through sign-up bonuses
Sign-up bonuses are the fastest way to accumulate points. Check current offers for the , , and Ink Business cards — bonuses change periodically but are always the biggest earning opportunity. Meet minimum spend through regular expenses — never spend extra just for points.
Pro tip: Space applications 3 months apart. You can hold both personal and business Chase cards simultaneously.
Maximize category earning on everyday spending
Use the for rotating quarterly bonus categories (groceries, gas, streaming — activate each quarter). Use the for all non-bonus spending. Use the for dining and travel. Route every purchase through the right card.
Pro tip: Set up recurring bills (subscriptions, insurance, utilities) on the for a passive earn rate on everything.
Transfer to partners for premium redemptions
Transfer points to Hyatt for hotels (best consistent value), Southwest or United for domestic flights, or British Airways Avios for short-haul award flights. Most partners transfer at 1:1, though ratios vary — always check the current rate. Compare the cash price against points cost before transferring to ensure you are getting strong value.
Pro tip: Transfers to Hyatt are instant. Airline transfers typically take 1-2 business days. Never transfer speculatively — have a specific booking in mind first.
Use the portal as a backup, not a default
The Chase travel portal gives you a bonus on points redemption with Sapphire cards. This is good but rarely the best value. Use it when transfer partners do not offer better value — for example, booking a budget hotel where the cash rate is already low and no Hyatt alternative exists.
Pro tip: The portal is best for flights where transfer partner pricing is similar to the portal rate.
How Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points Expire
Technically, Chase Ultimate Rewards® points don’t expire as long as you have a credit card open that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. Chase also notes you’ll lose your points if your account is closed due to “program misuse, fraudulent activities, failure to pay, bankruptcy, or other reasons described in the terms of the Rewards Program Agreement.”
The problem comes when you close your last card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. If you still have points remaining, you’ll lose the points if you don’t use them. Rather than give your points away, consider redeeming your points using the redemption options we’ll cover in just a little bit.
If you’re just closing a Chase card you no longer want but still have other Chase Ultimate Rewards® earning cards in your household or business, you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points from one card to another. In order for the transfer to be legitimate, you need to transfer the points to yourself, a household member, or a business co-owner.
Otherwise, Chase may think you’re trying to sell your points, which is against the terms and conditions.
Ways To Maximize Redemptions
There are several ways to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.
- Transfer your URs between your Chase personal and business credit card accounts as often as you’d like.
- Transfer your URs to another person who lives in the same household.
- Redeem your URs at Amazon.
- Transfer your URs to travel partners.
- Cash out your URs.
Let's take a closer look at a few of these strategies
1. Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points Between Cards For Maximum Value
Don’t only consider transferring points because you’re closing a card and want to transfer points to avoid losing them. In fact, transferring points from some Chase Ultimate Rewards® earning credit cards to premium Chase Ultimate Rewards® earning credit cards can increase your redemption value.
If you’re going to book travel using Chase Travel℠, you should definitely transfer points from cards like the to your premium account before booking travel to get maximum value.
2. Redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points at Amazon
Chase’s cards without an annual fee (, , and ) allow you to redeem your points at a value of a penny per point for cash back, travel and gift cards. You can also redeem your points at Amazon for 0.80 cents per point. 
However, if you or someone in your household holds a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards® earning credit card, you can transfer your points to that card to redeem your points using premium options.
3. Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points To Travel Partners
The same premium credit cards mentioned above offer yet another option to redeem Ultimate Rewards® points. Rather than book travel through Chase Travel℠, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards® points to certain travel partner rewards programs at a 1 point to 1 point ratio.
Here are the current travel programs you can transfer points to:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Avios
- Emirates Skywards
- Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG Rewards Club
- Marriott Rewards
- World of Hyatt
- Wyndham Rewards
Keep in mind, sometimes you’ll get a better value by booking through Chase Travel℠ and other times you can find better redemptions through the individual rewards program. Unfortunately, once you transfer points out of Chase Ultimate Rewards®, you can’t transfer them back. Make sure you want to transfer points before you pull the trigger.
4. Cash Out Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points If You Have No Other Use For Them
Finally, if you don’t have a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards® credit card, you can always redeem your points for cash at a value of a penny per point. If you’re going to close a card that still has a remaining points balance, make sure you cash out any points you have remaining so you don’t give them back to Chase.
Redemption Ideas For Great Values
Here are some great ways to use the points:
1. Transferring To Southwest
With the Companion Pass, every Chase UR is doubled in value. Together with the generous cancellation policies for redemptions (cancel up to 10 minutes of departure for full refund of points), plus two free check-in items, and this represents the best value for domestic and regional travel.
2. Transferring To United
One of the best uses of United Mileage Plus miles is by nesting multiple Excursionist Perks within each other. The basic idea is that you get a free regional flight when you redeem. With some planning, I was able to take my homeschooling family of four across Asia for almost five months by nesting three Excursionist Perks.
3. Transferring To The IAG Group Of Airlines
The IAG group of airlines includes British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. Even though all three have their own loyalty programs, they share the same currency--Avios. You can transfer these points between each other. We love Avios for their British Airways redemptions on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, the solid redemptions on Iberia to Madrid and Aer Lingus to Dublin. Avoid actually flying on British Airways, though, as those come with expensive charges.
4. Transferring To Hyatt
Hyatt is our favorite hotel loyalty program because of its reasonable redemptions at attractive properties. It is also known for its generous program rules that reward members with bonus perks just for redeeming nights. Topping it all is the industry’s most customer-focused team.
Keeping Track Of Your Rewards
If you want to use category bonuses to maximize your points, you really need to get organized. Here is one simple way of doing it:
- Put tape on the card and write the category bonus on it. This is especially helpful if you have a reluctant partner who really doesn’t want to work on getting free travel
- Set your phone, Internet, and cable accounts on autopay for a card the yields the highest category bonus.
- Check your account monthly to track how close to the bonus earning limit you have come. You want to stop spending on a card once you no longer qualify for a bonus category.
Some Recommended Tips To Stay Under 5/24:
If you are close to your 5/24 number and want to stay under it, here are some tips:
- The , the , and the do not add to your 5/24 number.
- Avoid applying for any new personal cards and instead, earn the maximum amount of points as you can by focusing on 5x and 3x.
Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points Are Amazing Once You Understand How To Use Them
Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are some of the most valuable credit card rewards points you can earn due to the great flexibility you have to redeem them. If you’re big into travel rewards, you can explore the various points transfer partners to find insane values on a value-per-point basis.
That said, you can still get great value for your points by using Chase Travel℠, too. Just make sure you use your points on the card that gives you the highest value per point for the cards you have. Finally, never let your points expire by closing a card with a points balance. Cash them out or transfer them to a transfer partner before you lose them.
If you really want to maximize your travel rewards check out Ultimate Guide to Credit Card Travel Rewards series.
Frequently Asked Questions
At baseline, 1 point = 1 cent (cash back or statement credit). Through the Chase travel portal, Sapphire cardholders get a bonus on redemption value. Through transfer partners like Hyatt, you can get 2-3+ cents per point. The redemption method you choose determines the value.
World of Hyatt consistently delivers the highest value per point. Hyatt properties that cost $200-$400+ per night in cash can be booked for a fraction of the cost in points, yielding 2-3+ cents per point in value. For flights, Southwest and United offer the most flexible domestic options.
Yes. You can combine points from all your Chase Ultimate Rewards®-earning cards into one pool. Move them to your Sapphire card to unlock transfer partner access and the higher portal redemption rate.
Chase will automatically deny most credit card applications if you have opened 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer in the past 24 months. This includes cards from all banks, not just Chase. Plan your application strategy carefully and prioritize Chase cards while you are under 5/24.
Points do not expire as long as your account is open and in good standing. However, if you close your Sapphire or Ink card without transferring points to another Chase card, you lose them. Always combine points into an active card before closing any account.
The (/year) is better if you want a lower annual fee and solid value. The (/year) makes sense if you use the travel credit, Priority Pass lounge access, and the higher portal rate. Calculate whether the additional benefits justify the fee difference for your spending patterns.
Ready to Start Earning?
The Bottom Line
Chase Ultimate Rewards® is the most versatile points currency in travel rewards. The combination of flexible transfer partners, a solid travel portal, and a family of earning cards makes it the foundation of any points strategy. The playbook is straightforward: earn through sign-up bonuses and category multipliers, pool points into a Sapphire card, and redeem through Hyatt or airline partners for 2x+ the cash value. Done right, a household can cover thousands of dollars in travel each year without spending an extra dollar.
Transfer partners
14+
Best redemption value
2-3¢/pt
Annual points potential (household)
200K+