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Chase Ultimate Rewards points are easy to earn and offer great redemption opportunities. To get the best value and use your points for maximum value, you’ll certainly want to transfer them to one of Chase’s airline and hotel partners.
Don’t be tempted to use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for cash-back or on merchandise through its own shopping portal, since your return won’t be as high. For the maximum value, stick to travel-related transfer partners!
To take advantage of transferring points to these airline and hotel partners, you need to have a Chase credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards points and charges an annual fee (plus, those cards always offer the best benefits).
Business owner? See our list of the best Chase business credit cards.
Earn points using your Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card on everyday purchases, and try using Shop through Chase to get maximum value in popular online shops.
Hot Tip: A great way to maximize the usage of your credit cards is to use one of Chase’s travel rewards cards for their bonus categories, then use the Chase Freedom Unlimited® for everything else. You’ll get 1.5% cash-back versus just 1% points with the other cards (among other great perks).
You can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal with up to 1.5 cents per point in value, Pay Yourself Back, statement credits, gift cards, charitable donations, gift cards, and merchandise.
However, the most lucrative redemptions are available when transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to a partner loyalty program, which is why these points are highly valuable. Ultimate Rewards transfer out to hotel and airline programs at a 1:1 ratio (see below).
You don’t have to be a frequent flyer to earn airline miles; just earn a sign-up bonus, do some everyday spending, then transfer those points to miles.
| Chase Airline Transfer Partner | Min Transfer | Transfer Ratio (Chase > Airline) | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1 hour |
| British Airways Executive Club | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Emirates Skywards | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost instant |
| Iberia Plus | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| JetBlue | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| United Airlines MileagePlus | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
Transfer points to the Ultimate Rewards travel partners in 1,000-point increments.
You don’t have to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points just for airlines; there are hotel partners as well. Trade in your points for IHG rewards nights or stay at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton.
Our favorite hotel partner, though, is World of Hyatt, because you can book some incredible luxury properties for a fraction of the points you’d need with Marriott Bonvoy, for example.
Chase hotel partners are as follows:
| Chase Hotel Transfer Partner | Min Transfer | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| IHG One Rewards | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1 day |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1,000 | 1:1 | 2 days |
| World of Hyatt | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
What does this mean for you? With a 1:1 transfer ratio, if you earn 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer those to a partner to get 50,000 points with that partner.
In this post, you’ll find the best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for travel redemptions with many of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program partners. These travel partners will maximize the value you can obtain when redeeming for flights and overnight stays at hotels.
You have the option of using your points in the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, but partner transfers will generally be much more valuable.
Great award redemptions emerge and disappear all the time. At the time of this post, these are the best-known redemptions out there for Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Most people transfer points to the Singapore KrisFlyer miles program because they want to experience Singapore Suites — Singapore Airlines’ first class luxury double bed in the sky. You won’t experience a product like this on any other airline.
The least expensive way to experience Singapore Suites is on its New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA) route. A one-way Suites Class ticket will only cost 97,000 points. Note that Singapore Suites Class is only available on the A380 aircraft.
Generally, awards for Suites Class will cost you 148,500 miles one way when you are departing from New York and flying to Singapore (SIN).
When you save up enough Chase Ultimate Rewards points and find availability for Singapore Suites class, definitely book a ticket or 2!
Another highlight of Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program is that it is a transfer partner of all of the major transferable points currencies, including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
If you are short on your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, there are other opportunities to earn the additional KrisFlyer miles you need to book a ticket with Singapore Airlines.
Hot Tip: It’s tough to find 2+ seats on the same flight for Singapore Suites class. You have 2 options if you’re looking to book travel on more than 1 ticket: book a second ticket for more miles or waitlist for a second seat at the same price.
Need help booking? See our step-by-step guide for booking Singapore Suites or first class.
Perhaps the best way to book a first class award ticket to Tokyo is by using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points to fly with All Nippon Airways (ANA). You can book a one-way first class award for 55,000 Virgin Points from the West Coast, and 60,000 from the East Coast or the central U.S.
It’s important to remember that these bookings must end in Tokyo or originate in Tokyo. There are several U.S. airports from which ANA operates first class-equipped aircraft, including:
Hot Tip: If you’re interested in jetting off to Tokyo, check out our ultimate Tokyo travel guide for the best things to see, do, eat, etc.!
You can also use your United miles to get some great deals on United flights, especially for business and first class flights within the U.S.
United charges at least 25,000 miles one-way for business class flights, which is the lowest price United generally charges. Realistically, though, United usually charges at least 50,000 miles one-way, especially for transcontinental flights or for flights to Hawaii.
Singapore Airlines also offers good pricing to fly between the continental U.S. and Hawaii in all classes of service. One-way prices are 19,500 miles in economy and 39,000 miles in business.
For our purposes, a domestic first class flight on United falls under business class pricing.
Again, United would charge you more miles to book the same flights: 22,500 miles in economy, 40,000 miles in business, and 50,000 miles in first.
Hot Tip: Apply for a Chase credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card to earn the points you need to make this trip. This card comes with an elevated sign-up bonus, so make sure to earn it!
In addition to offering good pricing for flights within the U.S., Singapore Airlines offers a relatively low price to get to Europe in economy: book travel for only 25,000 miles in each direction.
The major U.S. carriers (United, American, and Delta) charge 30,000 miles at the lowest regularly available price.
Hot Tip:Enjoy your trip home from Europe even more with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. This card gets you access to the Priority Pass program, which allows you to use over 1,300 lounges around the world.
If you’re looking to get a little bit off the beaten path, consider using your Singapore Airlines miles to fly to the Middle East or North Africa.
You can redeem your miles for travel on Star Alliance member airlines like United, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, SWISS, Turkish, and Lufthansa to get to the Middle East or North Africa for only 52,000 miles, 88,000 miles, or 114,000 miles in economy, business, and first class, respectively.
Need help booking? Check out our step-by-step guide to booking first class on Lufthansa.
You can head a little bit further south in Africa for not too many more miles than flying to North Africa. Business class redemptions to the region with KrisFlyer miles now cost 111,000 miles each way.
Hot Tip:Singapore Airlines does pass on fuel surcharges when booking award tickets. To estimate what the fuel surcharge will be, head to the ITA Matrix and find the flights you are looking to book. In the itemized list of the fare and taxes, look for the line item labeled YQ or YR. Sometimes it’s worth paying more miles to save on fuel surcharges.
Virgin Atlantic isn’t part of the same alliance as Singapore Airlines, so you might not realize that it is possible to redeem KrisFlyer miles to fly Virgin Atlantic Upper Class!
Singapore Airlines only charges 58,500 KrisFlyer miles to fly one-way from the U.S. to Europe in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class. If you wanted to fly Star Alliance airlines instead, you would have to pay 81,000 KrisFlyer miles to fly in business class one-way — meaning that you can save a bunch of miles by flying Virgin Atlantic.
Need help booking? Check out our step-by-step guide to booking Virgin Atlantic Upper Class!
Hot Tip: Chase rewards credit cards are great for trips on Singapore Airlines, but you can also earn additional KrisFlyer miles using American Express travel rewards credit cards like the American Express® Gold Card!
Another great use of your Chase points is to access amazing first class products like Lufthansa’s.
You can fly Lufthansa first class for as few as 90,000 Aeroplan points one-way (flights less than 4,000 miles in distance). For flights between 4,001 and 6,000 miles in distance, you can redeem 100,000 Aeroplan points one-way. Taxes and fees will be around $60.
In comparison, United MileagePlus charges at least 121,000 miles one-way.
To ensure you’re getting the best of the best, book a flight on Lufthansa’s 747-8.
Need help booking? Check out our step-by-step guide to booking first class on Lufthansa.
There are a few restrictions on the Excursionist Perk, but conceptually, the Excursionist Perk is United’s stopover allowance.
With the Excursionist Perk, your stopovers are not allowed to be in the zone that your travel originates in, and round-trip travel must end in the same zone where it started.
The origin and destination of the Excursionist Perk must also be in the same zone.
United charges a pretty reasonable price for flights within Oceania.
These flights tend to be expensive if you pay cash, but United charges as few as 8,000 miles each direction to book travel in economy class for these short-haul flights.
United charges a Saver-level price of around 70,000 miles to fly round-trip between the U.S. and Europe. This isn’t the cheapest price you’ll be able to find between these 2 regions, but you won’t need to worry about trying to avoid paying fuel surcharges with United.
Check out the sleek United Polaris class product on numerous routes to Europe, including the following:
Keep in mind these routes are just a portion of United’s route network, so you may find this product on other routes.
Partner awards cost 7,000 miles more, at around 77,000 miles one-way.
Here are a few great routes you can take on partner flights; there are many cases where it is worth a few thousand extra miles to avoid fuel surcharges with these partners:
United splits South America up into 2 different regions in its award chart: Northern and Southern.
Northern South America consists of:
If you’re looking to fly in economy class, United only charges approximately 40,000 miles round-trip for flights on its own product (or with any of its Star Alliance partners).
You’re going to pay more miles in business class, but it could be worth it depending on how necessary comfort is on this trip. For around 80,000 miles, you will get a round-trip business class ticket on United or a Star Alliance partner, like Avianca.
United prices round-trip flights between the U.S. and the Caribbean starting from 35,000 miles. With current Excursionist Perk rules, you can visit 2 Caribbean islands for the price of 1.
It is possible to find cheaper redemptions to the Caribbean depending on where you live, but if you want to make a stopover, United miles aren’t a bad way to go.
Domestic travel can be as valuable as international travel when it comes to using your United miles. Round-trip flights at the Saver level within the lower 48 states cost around 25,000 United miles in economy.
If you want to go to Alaska, you can pay around 35,000 miles in economy for a round-trip flight.
Hot Tip: There is no single best travel reward credit card for United trips, but Chase cards are a fantastic start. Check out our guide to the best Chase United credit cards and the best credit cards for United flyers.
Flights to Oceania are usually on the expensive side, but you can fly to gorgeous Pacific islands like Fiji with United miles for only approximately 70,000 miles round-trip in economy.
Flights to Australia and New Zealand cost a few more United miles than flying to Oceania, but can still be a great deal. If you want to fly round-trip in economy, flights to Australia and New Zealand are going to set you back around 90,000 miles.
Business class one-way will cost 90,000 miles at the Saver level for United-operated flights, while Saver-level partner flights cost 99,000 miles one-way.
Here are a few route ideas you can take:
If you want to visit Fiji but don’t have the miles to do it from the U.S, pick up a cheap fare to China instead and then use around 35,000 miles to fly round-trip between China and Fiji. This redemption is great for putting together a cool trip to multiple destinations.
Hot Tip: Want to locate United’s best award flight deals? Check out United’s featured awards page!
British Airways reward travel has always been best booked on short-haul flights. Although there have been changes over the past few years, it is still one of the best programs for booking short-haul flights on Oneworld member airlines, and there are a few good medium-haul deals, too.
Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express both transfer to British Airways Avios at a 1:1 ratio.
The British Airways Visa Signature® Card earns 5x Avios on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL within your first 12 months, thereafter earning 3 Avios. We believe that the best way to earn Avios is with Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning credit cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. You will then be able to transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways.
A great use of your British Airways Avios is for short-haul flights that are 650 miles or shorter. This will only cost 6,000 Avios on partner airlines for flights outside North America, and 7,500 Avios for flights in North America.
Hot Tip: You might find some flights with high fees when using your Avios. Instead of flying British Airways, look for American reward travel or flights on Alaska Airlines.
One of the best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points is to book Qatar Airways Qsuites flights through transfer partner British Airways Executive Club. Thanks to this strategic partnership, you can redeem Chase points for one of the best business class products in the world on an ultra-long-haul flight between the U.S. and the Middle East.
For just 70,000 points transferred to British Airways (plus ~$102 in taxes and fees), you can fly one-way in Qatar Airways Qsuites to Doha (DOH) from several U.S. cities, including Atlanta (ATL), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), and Philadelphia (PHL).
Flying one-way direct from the West Coast on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines is one of the least expensive ways to get to Hawaii. Flights only cost 13,000 Avios each way in economy; this is the standard for American reward travel.
Here are some routes you can fly on:
Hot Tip: Learn about the best times to visit Hawaii (by seasons and islands) in our detailed guide!
Medium-haul routes available for redemption with your Avios for good value aren’t plentiful, but they do exist. Fly from U.S. East Coast to Dublin (DUB) on Aer Lingus for only 13,000 Avios each way in economy off-peak, with low fuel surcharges.
You can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways and then to Iberia, where you’ll save on fuel surcharges. If you want to transfer your miles from BA to Iberia, your account must be at least 90 days old and must have had points activity.
A couple of good one-way business class redemptions on Iberia are Boston (BOS) or New York (JFK) to Madrid (MAD) for 34,000 miles, and Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles, (LAX), or Miami (MIA) to Madrid (MAD) for 42,500 miles.
Hot Tip: Earn additional Avios by earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points and then transferring them to British Airways or Iberia. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the perfect card for this. You can also transfer in additional points from Membership Rewards, which could be earned with cards like the Amex Gold card.
If you want to use your Avios to get somewhere other than Europe, consider Lima, Peru. A flight from Miami only costs 13,000 British Airways Avios + $20.60 in each direction for an economy seat. That’s the same number of miles it would cost you to book a domestic flight with United Airlines!
If you’re booking a last-minute flight, don’t forget to check availability for booking with Avios. British Airways doesn’t charge a fee for booking at the last minute as many other airlines do.
British Airways also has reasonable cancellation fees, at just $55 per person per ticket.
In the U.S., taxes are only $5.60 on a one-way ticket, so if you’re not sure about a trip, booking with Avios might be the way to go.
Getting to Easter Island is usually pretty expensive; the least expensive round-trip flights are around $850. Considering this redemption would only cost 13,000 Avios + $8.94 in taxes and fees each way for economy tickets, you can get some great value out of your miles on this route!
Generally, Avios are not the least expensive currency to use for long flights, but Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo (NRT or HND) is a pretty good value. This flight puts you in the 25,750 Avios distance bracket for economy flights. Don’t forget to always check taxes on these tickets; this one should run you around $160 each way.
You can fly this same route in business class for 77,250 Avios, or first class for 103,000 Avios. These aren’t the best premium cabin redemptions out there, especially if you are looking to connect to a further destination (since British Airways charges separately for all flights).
However, it’s still not a bad option if you want to experience Japan Airlines business or first class.
Hot Tip: Need help booking? See our step-by-step guides for booking Japan Airlines first class and business class. We’ve also covered at length the best ways to fly to Japan using points and miles!
Fuel surcharges are going to be significant if you want to fly British Airways in first class, but using your miles is still a great way to access a ticket that would otherwise cost $5,000 or more one-way — especially if you can pair your redemption with a Travel Together Ticket earned by spending on British Airways’ co-branded credit card.
A one-way award ticket to London (LHR) from Chicago (ORD) will cost between 68,000 and 80,000 British Airways Avios (depending on whether you’re flying during peak or off-peak season). You can expect the fuel surcharges and taxes to be somewhere just over $700 to $1,000 in each direction.
Now about that Travel Together Ticket. You’ll first need to get the British Airways Visa card and spend $30,000 in a year on it to earn the Travel Together Ticket.
This Travel Together Ticket will let you take a companion on a British Airways mainline flight originating in and returning to the U.S. that you’ve booked with miles. The companion will be booked in the same class as the original ticket (yes, even first!) and will only need to pay taxes, fees, and carrier charges. Lastly, the pass is good for 2 years!
Need help booking? Read our guide to help you book British Airways first class using points.
Finding Delta Air Lines award travel with Chase Ultimate Rewards points is perhaps a little more difficult than other options, but it’s possible. Air France and KLM have a shared loyalty program called Flying Blue that can be used to book on Delta.
A great redemption using Flying Blue miles is for a flight from the continental U.S. to Hawaii. A round-trip in economy will only cost 37,000 Flying Blue miles and about $10 in fees. Flights from the East Coast U.S. can easily cost over $500 round-trip, so this is a great value redemption that doesn’t require a bunch of miles!
Flying Blue also partners with the other big rewards programs: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
If business class or first class is more your style, you can also book Delta One flights with Flying Blue miles.
Need help booking Delta One? Check out our easy-to-follow booking guide for Delta One.
Flying Blue offers amazing pricing on certain routes through its Promo Rewards. Promo Rewards refresh every month and offer 25% or 50% off economy and business class redemptions from Europe to certain destinations around the world.
Most U.S.-based flyers will find the award between Europe and North American cities to be the most useful. When Promo Rewards are offered at 50% off for the Europe/North America routes, you’ll only pay as few as 12,500 miles each way in economy and 26,500 miles each way in business class … a seriously great deal!
Surcharges are on the higher side when using Flying Blue miles, but when you consider how many miles you’ll be saving, it’s usually worth it.
You can get a great deal on awards to certain locations because Flying Blue classifies a few countries in slightly strange regions. It considers Algeria, Israel, Libya, Morocco, and the Canary Islands to be part of Europe.
Right away this means you can take advantage of Flying Blue’s regular 50,000-mile round-trips in economy and 106,000-mile round-trips in business class. These destinations also qualify for Promo Rewards (see above) between Europe and North American cities, which can save you 25% to 50% more.
Mexico is part of the Caribbean/Central America Award Zone for many programs, but Flying Blue has Mexico in the same zone as the U.S. This means you can fly to Mexico for the same price as flying domestically: only 18,500 miles in each direction.
Flying Blue’s Caribbean prices are pretty good, too. Round-trip flights in economy only cost 30,000 miles. This is a savings of 5,000 miles per round-trip flight over what the major U.S.-based airlines will charge.
Flying Blue charges just 35,000 miles + ~$100 each way to fly in economy between the U.S. and Tahiti!
One-way tickets in economy usually cost at least $668 per person, which gets you a great value of at least 1.6 cents each.
Hot Tip: Check out Air France’s Flying Blue miles price estimator to find out the cost of your award.
Southwest offers some very inexpensive fares between certain city pairs. The number of Rapid Rewards points needed for Southwest flights usually depends on how much the flight costs, though Southwest has become a little bit less transparent about exactly how much points are worth over the past couple of years.
You’ll frequently be able to find one-way Southwest flights on sale for 6,000 Rapid Rewards points or less. And you can get even more out of your points by qualifying for the Southwest Companion Pass which lets a companion fly with you for only the cost of additional taxes.
Hot Tip: The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card can earn you additional Rapid Rewards Points, along with getting you closer to earning a Companion Pass to double your redemption value!
If you’re not completely sure about your travel plans, Southwest is a great airline to consider. Southwest does not charge a fee to cancel your ticket, right up until the time a flight is set to leave.
The points you use will be returned to your Southwest account, and you’ll receive a voucher with the value of the taxes for use on a future flight.
Other airlines generally require you to purchase a much more expensive ticket if you want to be able to cancel it and will charge a fee to cancel award tickets unless you have status with that airline.
See Southwest’s route map for inspiration.
Hot Tip: Check out our great tips on earning Rapid Rewards points without even flying!
As with British Airways, you can use Avios to book award flights through the Aer Lingus AerClub program — you can also use Avios to book through Iberia Plus. This is because all 3 of these carriers are owned by the holding company, International Airlines Group (IAG).
However, each frequent flyer program is different and has some sweet spots. With Aer Lingus AerClub, you can use 26,000 Avios to book a round-trip economy class award ticket. This is off-peak pricing; peak pricing is 40,000 Avios round-trip.
Since this is a distance-based award chart, you can book at this rate from cities like Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), and Newark (EWR).
Here are some other routes you can book for 26,000 Avios during off-peak days:
If interested in flying from other places, you can spend 32,500 Avios round-trip in economy from cities like Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA). Peak pricing is 50,000 Avios round-trip in economy.
Another fun way to use Avios is through the Iberia Plus program to fly from New York (JFK) to Casablanca (CMN) in Morocco. As we discussed earlier, getting cheap flights (including award tickets) to Africa is not always easy, but this is a great option if you want to fly to the northern part of the continent.
For 46,000 Avios, you can book a one-way business class award ticket on Iberia’s partner Royal Air Maroc. Round-trip will cost 100,000 Avios.
If you want to book the same award flight in economy class, it will only be 23,000 Avios for a one-way award booking. Regardless of your preferred class of service, it’s going to be tough to beat these redemption rates.
The award chart for World of Hyatt is one of the best out there for hotel stays. You can use your World of Hyatt points to stay at a standard room in a Category 1 Hyatt hotel for as few as 3,500 points.
These low-category hotels are not usually expensive, so even if it is good value to use your points, it might be worth it to save them for a luxury redemption.
For example, you can redeem your Hyatt points for luxury hotels like the Park Hyatt Maldives for 25,000 to 35,000 points per night, or stay at the Park Hyatt Tokyo for 25,000 to 35,000 points per night; these hotels can easily be $1,000+ per night otherwise. Or, you could stay at the Andaz 5th Avenue in New York City for 25,000 to 35,000 points per night.
Hyatt also has a handful of all-inclusive brands (such as Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara) where you can use your points. Depending on the hotel, a standard room with double occupancy will cost anywhere from 15,000 to 50,000 points per night during standard dates. A night in a suite at an all-inclusive property will cost 24,000 to 80,000 points during standard dates for double occupancy.
You can add extra people (up to 4 total) for 8,500 to 14,500 points per night during standard dates. You’ll have all of your meals and drinks included at these hotels with your room, so while the cost is quite high, consider the whole package value.
In addition, you can redeem World of Hyatt points for stays at AMResorts properties, including Secrets, Zoetry, Dreams, and more! Note that all of Hyatt’s all-inclusive properties follow their own award chart.
Hyatt’s upgrade chart is reasonable and can present some great value. An upgrade to a Club Room costs 3,000 points per night. This will give you access to the lounge, which will probably mean some free snacks and drinks. What an easy way to save yourself some money at the bar.
It’s also possible to use your World of Hyatt points to upgrade your room to a suite. The cost is only 6,000 points per night, and you’ll also have access to the hotel lounge if your hotel has one.
In addition to having a great all-points award chart, Hyatt also gives you the option to redeem points and cash for a stay. The points cost is half of what the cost would be in full points, and there is a cash portion to make up the difference.
The cash price you pay is 50% to 70% of the standard rate.
| Hotel Category | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak |
| 1 | 1,750 + Cash | 2,500 + Cash | 3,250 + Cash |
| 2 | 3,250 + Cash | 4,000 + Cash | 4,750 + Cash |
| 3 | 4,500 + Cash | 6,000 + Cash | 7,500 + Cash |
| 4 | 6,000 + Cash | 7,500 + Cash | 9,000 + Cash |
| 5 | 8,500 + Cash | 10,000 + Cash | 11,500 + Cash |
| 6 | 10,500 + Cash | 12,500 + Cash | 14,500 + Cash |
| 7 | 12,500 + Cash | 15,000 + Cash | 17,500 + Cash |
| 8 | 17,500 + Cash | 20,000 + Cash | 22,500 + Cash |
There are a couple of great reasons to redeem your World Hyatt points this way. First, the value per point is often higher. Second, these nights count toward qualifying for elite status, and you can also use benefits of elite status like Globalist Suite Upgrade Awards on your booking.
You can use Globalist Suite Upgrade Awards on points rates, but not free night certificate rates.
Using your points with Marriott Bonvoy is likely going to make it difficult to find good value when compared to all of Chase’s other transfer partners.
You might find that Points + Cash stays have some value, and you might want to upgrade your room starting at 5,000 points per night. Generally, you’ll get much better upgrades with Hyatt, though, and its upgrades don’t cost as many points.
Generally, these rooms are not going to cost very much, so make sure to check the value you are getting from your points before you book.
Virgin Atlantic doesn’t always have the best award redemption charts for flights. With the exception of using Virgin Atlantic for Delta and ANA redemptions, Virgin Atlantic redemptions are often expensive and not worth it.
However, one of the better redemptions you can make with Virgin Points has nothing to do with flying. Virgin Atlantic has partnered with Hilton Honors and offers a 2:3 transfer ratio between the programs.
This means you can transfer 10,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to 10,000 Virgin Points, and then transfer those 10,000 Virgin Points to 15,000 Hilton points. With Hilton, 15,000 points are enough for a 3-night stay at hotels charging 5,000 points per night. These hotels are lightly sprinkled around the world, but there are many of them in Egypt and China.
1. Navigate to Chase’s website and log in to your account.
2. Select Go to Ultimate Rewards on the bottom-left side of your account screen.
3. Select the account with the points you would like to use.
4. At the top of the screen, hover over the Use Points drop-down menu and select Transfer to Travel Partners.
5. Select the program you would like to transfer points to. In this case, we will select Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
6. Add your member ID and select Continue.
7. Enter the number of miles you would like to transfer and select Continue.
8. Review your transfer details. Remember that once you initiate the transfer, you will not be able to have your miles returned to your Chase account. Click Confirm and Submit when you are ready to complete your transfer.
Hopefully, you now know plenty more about the best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points!
While you could use one of the many online travel portals to find cheap cash flights, use points for statement credit, or redeem for gift cards, transferring points to partners using a Chase card offers the amazing travel opportunities outlined above.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points will get you domestic and international flight travel and hotel stays across the world for maximum value when transferring to partners — but only if applied strategically.
With a little planning, you’ll be flying to Australia and Fiji for dirt cheap, or enjoying a trip across the U.S. with your family for far fewer points than you would expect.
If you need more of these points for your next award, you can utilize an Ultimate Rewards card, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, Freedom Unlimited card, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Unlimited® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
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Caroline Lupini always enjoyed traveling, but it became her goal to do as much as possible after a 3-week trip around Europe in 2011. In March 2014, Caroline left her job and embarked on nearly full-time travels.
As a frequent traveler, frequent flyer miles have played a large role in planning her trips. Caroline has enjoyed discovering the ins and outs of how to maximize different types of miles, hotel points, and transferable points currencies.
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56 comments
Arthur Szczepkowski
September 21, 2017
Any advice on flying from US (Houston) to New Zealand From late December to mid-January? I’ve tried searching all of the main partner websites and nothing seems remotely worth the points.
Spencer
September 21, 2017
Finding award space a few months before departure to Australia/New Zealand during the holiday season is difficult as it’s a very popular time to travel. Returning mid-January should be easier. If you’re looking for premium cabin award space, that’s going to be really tough.
United miles will be your best bet if you can find award space. Using British Airways Avios to book AA is possible but I’m only seeing economy space prior to 12/14.
If you can position to LAX, China Eastern has economy space in late December which can be booked for 50k Flying Blue miles. i’d definitely consider other airport options if you are okay positioning to them – Southwest can be useful with this.
Steve
May 18, 2018
#11 – Can you explain how to find award flights for Oceania flights for 12,500 united mileage plus points? Example from USA to Fiji. Could not find anything close to that.
Michael McHugh
May 19, 2018
Hi Steve
If you are wanting to fly from the North America (USA) region to Oceania (Fiji, French Polynesia, etc.), United requires 35,000 miles one-way in economy. If you are wanting to fly intra Oceania, United requires 8,000 miles one-way for an economy flight less than 800 miles, and 12,500 miles for an economy flight more than 800 miles. Here’s the interactive award chart if you want to check it out.
Froide
July 16, 2018
Would you please confirm or disconfirm my understanding that redeeming Ultimate Rewards miles requires one to make the following choice:
…EITHER
Redeem via Chase Travel (which is actually Expedia, a 3rd party vendor) to get 1.5 points/$1 but lose elite status because most vendors don’t honor status booked via 3rd party vendors,
…OR
Transfer Ultimate Rewards points to travel partners to retain elite status but at a 1:1 rate.
Christine Krzyszton
July 16, 2018
You have the option to redeem your Ultimate Rewards Points for travel on the Chase travel portal but it is the same as purchasing a ticket with cash. If the fare class qualifies, you earn elite miles. I purchase most of my tickets with Ultimate Rewards Points and have earned elite miles on every ticket.
You also have the option to transfer Ultimate Rewards Points to airline travel partners and receive miles with that partner airline which you can use towards award flights. Award flights, however, do not earn miles that count towards elite status.
Joel
July 20, 2018
What is the difference between United Business and United First when flying domestically? I thought it was all Economy, Economy Plus, or First?
Is it recliner vs. lie-flat?
Michael McHugh
July 30, 2018
Hi Joel
You’re correct. United has United First (recliner seat) on most domestic routes and United Premium Service Business (lie-flat) on domestic transcon routes. I’d recommend using seatguru.com to see what United is offering on the route you are looking at.
J. L. Sprole
August 24, 2018
I now have 57,136 points on my Visa card – other than travel, how can I convert them to something useful to me ?
Alex Miller
August 24, 2018
What type of points specifically do you have? Are they Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
Kerry Andersen
September 18, 2018
hello, I have 110,000 Chase ultimate rewards points in addition to another 17,000 points on a capital one credit card. I would love to take my son to South Africa to visit family over the Christmas holidays. Is this feasible? Is it better to buy one ticket and use the points to purchase the second or buy two tickets for cash and use the points to upgrade both of us?. or should I try to book points travel to North Africa and then fly domestically when I get there? New to all of this. I’m also considering signing up for the new citi rewards card with a 60,000 Point bonus to pad my miles even more . Thank you so much.
Stephen Au
September 18, 2018
Hi Kerry,
Your best bet is to purchase a paid United ticket (applicable fare codes apply) and upgrade for 50,000 miles each. Keep in mind these fares on one-way. So you’ll have to upgrade only one leg of the trip.
Here’s the award chart http://mileageplusupdates.com/images/United-Award-Chart.pdf
(please refer to Page 6)
Here’s the list of “upgrade-able” flights:
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/mileageplus/awards/upgrade/star-alliance-upgrade-awards.html
Currently, you likely don’t have enough points, as South Africa is not a cheap destination to fly to.
Ki
December 27, 2018
Hello!
I have 120,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and my wife and I are looking to do a domestic trip where we fly from NY to LAX, fly out of SFO to TYS (Knoxville) and from Knoxville back to NY. We’re not picky on the airport we fly out of/into in NY. We’ve already booked the leg from Knoxville back to NY on Delta business through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards reservation portal, but for the other legs, we were wondering what might be the most efficient way to use points to get the most comfortable trip. For the NY to LAX leg, we were looking into JetBlue mint – it would probably make sense to transfer my Chase points to JetBlue directly, and book there for the most efficient use of points, yes?
Thank you so much for your help!
Alex Miller
December 28, 2018
Hi Ki,
That sounds like a fun trip! JetBlue Mint is a solid option and a fun product, so yes you could transfer your Chase points > JetBlue directly. I’d also check what it would cost in points via Chase’s travel portal, especially if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve where points are worth more.
Steve Waibel
January 22, 2019
In Tip 12 it states “United charges 60,000 miles to fly round-trip between the U.S. and Europe”. United actually charges 60,000 EACH WAY.
Christine Krzyszton
January 22, 2019
Hi Steve and thanks for your comment. United does charge just 60,000 miles to book a round-trip economy saver award ticket between the mainland U.S. and Europe according to their published award charts. You would need to spend 60,000 miles each way to book a business class saver award ticket for the same route. Thanks for the opportunity to make this clarification. https://www.united.com/web/en-us/apps/mileageplus/awards/travel/awardTravel.aspx?POS=US
Rodney Brosher
March 20, 2019
Currently, I will be acquiring 60,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points from a sign up bonus plus 10-20k more points just from spending. I also currently have 30K+ Delta SkyMiles. Is there a smart way to use these in unison for an east coast to Europe flight? Probably just need to fly Economy but if there is a loophole in this combination I am all ears. Everything I have seen so far seems as though I will not be able to use these two awards in tandem. Hopefully that is not the case.
On a side note, I also have roughly 140k AAdvantage miles but I was hoping to save those for a later date to take a trip to Europe for just my wife and I. But if there is a smart way to utilize those instead let me know. I would prefer to use the Delta now and maintain at least 120k AAdvantage.
Stephen Au
March 21, 2019
Hey Rodney,
Thanks for reading. Unfortunately, there’s no way to easily combine these miles and points together. You should look into British Airways Avios for economy flights to Europe. British Airways is transfer partners with Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Additionally, you can pay 45,000-50,000 AAdvantage miles per person for round-trip travel in economy on their partners.
BonnieB
March 31, 2019
I have booked a cruise through a local travel agency. If I pay with my Chase Sapphire Card, will I still get 2X points for this purchase? Also, will I still receive my loyalty points from designated airlines that is included in the package? (Travel agency put in our loyalty numbers and said we would get miles for the trip.)
Stephen Au
March 31, 2019
Hey Bonnie,
It depends on your travel agency. If they are coded as a travel-related merchant, you should actually get 3x points. However, this is not guaranteed, as this is an agreement made at a Visa-Chase level. Thanks for reading
BonnieB
March 31, 2019
Thanks. I will check with the agency and/or Ultimate Rewards to see.
Lisa
April 18, 2019
I have 300,000 chase points and would like to know what is the best way to use these points for a trip to Paris for my husband and I. We would really like to fly Business Class, but am willing to fly Premium Economy from SF. Is it better to use the points for just airfare or hotel only or will these points be able to cover both airfare and hotel? We do have miles on Alaska and Delta Airlines, too. Thank you
Stephen Au
April 26, 2019
Hey Lisa,
If you plan well, you can get business class flights by transferring to Air France/KLM Flying Blue.
You can also book Hyatt hotels by transferring to World of Hyatt. Thanks for reading.
Nicki Nikula
May 01, 2019
We have 225,000 Ultimate Chase Rewards. We are going on a Rhine river cruise in September, so we are flying into Amsterdam from SFO and returning from Basel in Mid October. We would ideally like to fly business if it is affordable. Doing all this research gets so overwhelming.
Any suggestions?
Thank You.
Stephen Au
May 04, 2019
Hey Nicki,
Unfortunately, it takes a lot of work to book premium cabin flights due to the simple fact that these are tickets that would cost $10,000+ otherwise. We suggest navigating through the guides and articles on our website to learn more about points. Thanks for reading.
Constance McDonnell
July 22, 2019
Is it possible to use Chase Preferred points for domestic train travel?
Stephen Au
July 22, 2019
Yes, it’s possible. The way you’d do that is simply to redeem your points for cash back and pay for your train ticket normally. That way, it cancels out your train ticket cost.
Mary V. Ruane
August 19, 2019
How do I transfer my points to be used as a credit against my account? I’ve read on your site that this can be done and I’ve done this with several other cards. The points were credited against my account balance once a year on those cards which is what I would like to do with this account. My credit card account is called the “Chase Freedom”. As I am a senior who is partially disabled, I will never fly or go to a hotel again. Please let me know how I can get credit for my accumulated points to be used as a credit against my current account. Thank you.
Andrew Kunesh
August 20, 2019
Hi Mary, you can do this on the Chase Ultimate Rewards dashboard in your Chase account. Just login to your Chase account and click on your points balance at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Then, click the “Earn/Use” button at the top of the screen and click “Cash Back” from the drop-down menu. Here, you can choose how many points you’d like to redeem. Hope this helps—thanks!
Madison Moyd
August 25, 2019
I’m at a standstill. The cash price for my flight SFO -> Tokyo is the same as the cash price listen in Chase UR. This means that using my UR points on this flight wouldn’t be a deal, is that right? I’m struggling with understanding if it’d be smarter to pay the $1,000 or redeem my points.
Stephen Au
August 26, 2019
Ultimately, it depends on your own valuation of Chase points. Generally, you can get the most value when using them for first and business class. However, you might be able to get better deals by transferring points instead of spending it on the Chase Travel Portal.
riffindus
February 20, 2020
What will be the best way to book a flight from Los Angeles to Buffalo and return from Washington DC to Los Angeles? I am still gathering my first 60000 points from chase preferred.
Jarrod West
February 21, 2020
Hi Riffindus,
If you’re planning to use your Ultimate Reward points then, depending on the cash cost of the fare, your best option would either be a United saver fare (if available) or using your points through the Chase travel portal where you will receive a 25% bonus.
Ann Bowen
March 10, 2020
I have 119,017 ultimate rewards points. I am going on a road trip out west this summer. Is there a way to use points to pay for motels along the way?
Jarrod West
March 11, 2020
Hi Ann,
Yes, you can use your points to book motels through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.
Thanks for reading!
Ri Do
April 03, 2020
I have 260,500 on my Chase Ink Cash Business no Annual fee and 205,000 on my Chase Freedom consumer Cards, so some 465,000 combined. I usually pay off my cards every month but due to the current Corona Situation, I carry a balance of $5500 at 11.29%, so pay about $55 interest a month maybe. I was wondering if I should apply the points as a statement credit to pay off or down the card balance avoiding the interest or draw on my business cash to pay off, risking to have less money in the bank not knowing when this situation resolves or when and if my business will be back on track. Travel this year is cut down as is. Is it worth getting more in points for flights than points to cash 1:1? I read all these examples and I dont see or missed the above 1:1 value of points to cash. How much would a Las Vegas to Austria trip be cash card vs points, what savings would I see?
I dont think I will try or need to fly in luxury. US west coast to Central Europe may be up next year again for family of 4.
Any input appreciated.
Jarrod West
April 06, 2020
Hi Ri Do,
We never want to tell anyone how they should or should not use their points. Ultimately, you have to do what is best for your situation. With that said, we generally do not recommend people carry a balance on their cards. Furthermore, if you’re planning to fly economy for your future trips, it often makes more sense to use cash for those as they tend to be pretty cheap.
Whichever you decide, if you feel it’s the best choice for you, then you can’t go wrong!
Ri Do
April 08, 2020
Thanks. I think you answered it with that. Cash it is. Luxury for another day, or another year, however long it may take to save up again. Cheers!
Daniel
March 19, 2021
This article and the transfer Calculator are both so helpful!
My wife and I are trying to figure out the best way to fly to Korea to see my in-laws this summer, provided things open up of course. It’s been over a year since we’ve seen them!
We currently have around 165,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points between the two of us, and somewhat flexible travel dates at the end of June/early July. I have done some research around how maximize those points, but it’s all been a little confusing and overwhelming to be honest! What would be the best way to maximize those points? And would it be possible to score business class on an airline?
We’re also open to opening a new card to maximize some rewards if that would help, since we have some necessary upcoming expenses and the points would essentially be free.
Thanks in advance!
Jarrod West
March 22, 2021
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for the kind words!
If you’re hoping to fly to Korea using Chase Ultimate Rewards, your best option would be to transfer them to United. However, to fly round-trip in business class will cost 160k with United or 176k with one of their partners – so for two tickets, you’d need 320k-352k. So, if round-trip business to Korea is your goal, you’ll definitely need to rack up some more Chase points first. Uness you have any other large point balances at your disposal?
ricardo
November 28, 2021
Consider flying from the US to TYO on ANA then onto ICN. 160K UR will get you two round-trips in biz USA-TYO. Then just buy two cheapo air tix TYO-ICN they can be found for a few hundred bucks.
Do this by transferring Chase UR to Virgin Atlantic for ANA round-trip business tickets.
Daniel
March 22, 2021
Thanks for the reply! That’s super helpful. And we may be able to rack up some more points.
If we flew economy would you still recommend United using those Ultimate Rewards points?
Another scenario we had considered was using the AmEx Platinum, but we were a little put off by the annual fee.
Jarrod West
March 22, 2021
Hi Daniel,
Yes, if you went with economy then United would still be your best option but you’d be looking at 70k-77k points per person instead.
Amex points would definitely be a great option, as you could use their transfer partner ANA to fly round-trip in business for about 95k Membership Rewards points per person. The Amex Gold card is another fantastic option for earning Membership Rewards points and has a much more palatable annual fee.
Let me know if there is anything else I can answer for you! 🙂
Richard Woo
April 14, 2021
Jarrod, any suggestions on how to transfer Chase points to Asiana (or via united) to fly business from LAX to ICN? I have Chase points and saw that flying Asiana business was more cost effective than United business.
Jarrod West
April 14, 2021
Hi Richard,
While Asiana awards are more cost-effective, unfortunately, Chase Ultimate Rewards points do not transfer to Asiana, you would need to use Marriott Bonovy points for an Asiana transfer.
Asandra
September 30, 2021
I usually redeem rewards for gift cards. Why now when I want to use points for gift cards only physical gift cards appear, not digital, are the others the same?
Jarrod West
October 01, 2021
Hi Asandra,
Yes, physical and digital gift cards should be exactly the same in how you redeem them.
Linda Luna
January 23, 2022
We are seniors and planning a trip to Italy in October 2022. Through research and websites like yours, we now have a Chase Preferred and a Freedom card to accumulate points. Currently, we have 120,829 + 63,500 on Chase Amazon. We know that Chase Amazon points cannot be combined with our Preferred points. You suggested paying for economy seats and using points for upgrades. We are thinking of Lufthansa and want to treat ourselves to a Business class flight. My question is what if Business class is full when it’s time to upgrade? Should we book a Premium class seat in case this happens? If we use all our points + $ to book a premium economy seat for 2, can we use our Chase Amazon points to upgrade or should we transfer these points to Lufthansa? We are confused and need some guidance to maximize our hard-earned points. Thank you
Stephen Au
January 30, 2022
Hi Linda,
Chase Amazon points are best redeemed for cash-back. Usually, you would try to confirm your upgrade in advance before the flight departs. I would recommend reading all of our articles like our “Best Ways to Book Lufthansa Business Class Using Points” to read up more on this, as this is a complex topic:
/travel/airlines/best-ways-to-book-lufthansa-business-class/
Robert
April 29, 2022
Singapore Airlines travel from JFK -> FRA in suites is listed as 80k something points while on the website everything is currently at waitlist for 140k points
Jarrod West
April 29, 2022
Hi Robert,
The 86k point price is the saver availability rate, but that availability can get booked up quick as it is a highly desired flight for points travelers.
Robin Rodriguez
May 12, 2022
I know this is an article about Chase cards, but I am new to this and have the Capital One Venture.
Robin Rodriguez
May 12, 2022
Can I do the same things with the card I have?
Katie Seemann
May 13, 2022
Hi Robin,
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great one to start with. This article may be helpful so you know how to use your card: /credit-cards/reviews/capital-one-venture-rewards-credit-card/faqs/
Jeff
January 07, 2023
Hi, I have some Chase UR points, I am wondering would it be possible to transfer to World of Hyatt which under my wife’s name. Thanks for advice in advance.
Jarrod West
January 09, 2023
Hi Jeff,
You cannot transfer your Chase points to someone else’s World of Hyatt account. However, you can transfer the points to your Hyatt account and then transfer them to your wife’s account. Thanks for reading!
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