How Do You Maximize Your Points with the Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners?
by Krish Patel
Chase Ultimate Rewards are one of the most valuable transferable points currencies that gives you access to a variety of hotel and airline transfer partners. There are several credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points. With a variety of transfer partners, you have many companies to consider when booking your next trip using your points. In addition to transferring your points, Ultimate Rewards also give you access to use the Chase Travel Portal, where you can book flights, hotels, rental cars, and even tours and activities on your vacation.
How Do You Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards?
To earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you’re going to need to spend on a credit card that earns points. The following three credit cards earn fully-transferable points:
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
However, if you have a card that earns points, as well as a cash-back credit card (Chase Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Cash, etc.), you can convert cash-back rewards into Ultimate Rewards points.
How Do You Redeem Your Chase Ultimate Rewards?
Chase offers three main ways to redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for travel. Cash back offers the lowest value because your points are only worth one cent per point, so 100,000 Ultimate Rewards is equivalent to $1,000 spent on travel.
Another option is to book through the Chase Travel Portal, where you can book flights, cruises, hotels, and rental cars via Chase Travel. The amount your points are worth varies. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, your points are worth 1.25 cents each, while your points are worth a fixed rate of 1.5 cents apiece if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
For maximum value, it's usually best to transfer your points to one of the 13 airline or hotel partners. Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer to all of their partners at a 1:1 ratio and must be transferred in increments of 1,000. Here are the loyalty programs you can transfer Chase points to:
Aer Lingus AerClub
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
British Airways Executive Club
Emirates Skywards
Iberia Plus
IHG One Rewards
JetBlue TrueBlue
Marriott Bonvoy
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
World of Hyatt
Which Redemptions Offer Maximum Value for Your Points?
Transferring your points to a transfer partner is the best way to get maximum value out of your points. However, some redemptions offer a better value than others. Listed below are some of the most valuable ways to redeem points.
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
Flying Blue typically prices its awards dynamically, but has standardized saver-level pricing. Air France and KLM maintain the following prices for one-way award travel at its minimum cost:
20,000 miles for Economy Class
35,000 miles for Premium Economy Class
50,000 miles for Business Class
Booking Business Class one-way from the U.S. to Europe for just 50,000 miles is a fantastic deal you can get. Between October of 2024 and January of 2025, Air France is selling discounted award availability for flights to Paris from various U.S. cities. If you’re headed to Paris soon, this is a deal that might be worth considering.
United Airlines MileagePlus
United Airlines MileagePlus miles are valuable if you’re looking to redeem them for a flight in United Polaris Business Class or if you want to fly on a Star Alliance partner. For each way in Polaris Business Class, prices usually start at around 80,000 miles, which is normally expected on off-peak days. If you have flexible dates to travel, you can end up spending less miles. Chase Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to United at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000.
United Airlines Boeing 777-300ER Polaris Business Class
British Airways Executive Club
Booking short haul flights on OneWorld airlines such as American or Alaska using British Airways Avios can save you a lot of points. The flight prices for Economy are significantly cheaper when you book with Avios than if you were to use AAdvantage miles, even though BA has increased domestic Economy awards for American and Alaska Airlines flights.
World of Hyatt
World of Hyatt is often viewed as one of the most valuable Chase transfer partners, as Chase points transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. Plus, Hyatt is still one of the few hotel brands out there to still use an award chart rather than dynamic pricing for award stays. Prices range from 3,500 to 90,000 points per night at Hyatt properties across category one through eight hotels.
In particular, category one through five properties often have some fantastic awards. One of these properties is the Grand Hyatt Athens, with prices ranging from 9,000 points to 15,000 points per night.
Even the category seven and eight properties have some fantastic awards, one of which is for the Park Hyatt New York. Prices for this hotel can sometimes cost around $900 per night, however, you can pay 35,000 points to 90,000 points per night at this hotel.
Conclusion
Some of the redemption options listed above are great ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards for maximum value. Just make sure to spend on a credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or the Ink Business Preferred. Once you’ve spent enough and have a lot of points, your next vacation will be closer than you think!