Explore America Like Never Before—The Best Domestic Flights You Can Book With 100k Chase Points

Forbes

07-05-2025

The ever-popular Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is currently offering the best welcome bonus we've ever seen: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
There are several ways to redeem those 100,000 points for tremendous value, with some favorite redemptions including transferring points to World of Hyatt for free hotel nights or to airline partners for international flights in business class. One thing you won't hear suggested often is using Chase points to book domestic flights, but that doesn't mean there aren't worthwhile options.
Here are four standout domestic flights offering premium experiences you can book with Chase Ultimate Rewards®, plus tips for finding the cheapest flights when affordability is your main concern.
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account ... More opening. Forbes Advisor
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While upgrading to a premium cabin can make a massive difference in your flight experience on international routes, lie-flat seats and other luxury perks are rarely offered on domestic flights. However, airlines make a few exceptions for long routes that cross the continent or, in the case of Hawaii, cross an ocean.
A coast-to-coast flight or a trip to Hawaii can take nearly as long or longer than a flight to Europe from the East Coast. Using the Ultimate Rewards points from your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card welcome bonus to gain a more comfortable experience during a lengthier domestic flight can be a satisfying redemption. 1. United Airlines Transcontinental Flight in Premium Plus or United Business—Starting at 30K Points
United Premium Plus is an elevated cabin experience available on some international flights that falls between economy and first class. It provides an impressive number of benefits, such as: Free meals, alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, snacks and dessert
Bigger seats, plus extra legroom and footrest
Priority check-in, security lane and boarding
Priority bag handling to get your luggage sooner after your flight
As mentioned, Premium Plus isn't typically offered on domestic flights. In fact, United's own table comparing its seating options expressly says that it's only available on international flights.
Screenshot of United seating options with 'United Premium Plus' listed as 'International only'. Forbes Advisor
But that's not technically true. United actually offers a 'premium transatlantic experience' on two routes: New York (EWR)/Los Angeles (LAX)
New York (JFK)/San Francisco (SFO)
Try to book one of these flights, and you may notice that under the 'Premium Economy' column, you'll see that what you're actually getting is a 'Premium Plus' seat, as shown in the screenshot below.
Screenshot of an EWR to LAX flight from United, showing United Premium Plus as a cabin option. Forbes Advisor
If you really want to splurge, you can even snag a lie-flat seat in United Business on these routes. It will cost you more—in our example, the United Business seat costs 74,400 miles—but it could be worth it if you want to take a nap during your flight without getting a crick in your neck.
Just make sure you confirm that the business-class ticket you're considering includes a lie-flat seat by expanding the 'Seats' box. Lie-flat seats look like a bed on the seating chart rather than the typical square.
Screenshot of an American Airlines seating chart that shows the long, blue rectangle icons ... More representing lie-flat seats. Forbes Advisor 2. American Airlines Premium Economy Ticket to Hawaii—41K Points
Similar to United, American Airlines generally reserves its Premium Economy cabin for international routes, but it makes an exception for some flights to Hawaii and Alaska. Up until now, most eligible flights to Hawaii have been from Dallas (DFW), but American recently added routes from Chicago (ORD). Benefits of Premium Economy include: Chef-inspired meal and complimentary beer, wine and spirits
Priority privileges at security, check-in and boarding
Wider seats
Amenity kit and premium bedding
While American Airlines isn't a direct transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can still book these flights using Chase points by transferring them to American's partner airline, British Airways. That's because British Airways and American are both members of the Oneworld airline alliance. This means you can use Avios (British Airways' points currency) to book eligible American Airlines flights directly on the British Airways website. It's a handy workaround that opens up more flight options when redeeming your Chase points.
Award availability can be limited, especially for these Premium Economy tickets to Hawaii. But with persistence, you can find them. For example, I was able to find two seats on a Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Honolulu (HNL) flight.
Screenshot of British Airways' booking engine showing an American Airlines flight from DFW to HNL ... More with Premium Economy availability. Forbes Advisor
The Premium Economy ticket above costs just 41,250 Avios plus $5.60 in taxes and fees, which is an attractive deal for the extra benefits you'd get on this eight-hour flight.
Screenshot of the selected flight showing a cost of 41,250 Avios + $5.60. Forbes Advisor
Note that American also offers its even more luxurious Flagship Business-cabin experience on these Hawaii routes, which includes lie-flat seats. Unfortunately, it's notoriously difficult to find award availability for these seats 3. Delta Air Lines Premium Select Flight From New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) Through Virgin Atlantic—46K Points
Although Delta isn't a direct Chase transfer partner, you can still book Delta flights using Chase points by transferring them to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Like United and American, Delta typically reserves its premium cabin experience—called Premium Select—for international routes. However, in September 2024, Delta launched Premium Select service on four of its 11 daily peak-day flights between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX).
Premium Select perks include: Additional legroom, an adjustable leg rest and footrest and deeper recline
Sky Priority® service, including accelerated check-in, security and baggage handling
Elevated meal service with complimentary wine, beer and spirits
Premium amenity kit with self-care essentials
Memory-foam pillow, plush blanket and noise-canceling headphones
Virgin Atlantic uses a distance-based award chart for Delta redemptions. Flights from New York to Los Angeles fall into the 2,001 to 3,000-mile range, which costs 46,000 Virgin Points in Premium Select, as you can see in the screenshot from our test search.
Screenshot of Virgin Atlantic's booking engine showing a Delta Air Lines flight from JFK to LAX with ... More Premium Select availability. Forbes Advisor
For comparison, that same seat is currently priced at 63,000 SkyMiles on Delta's site, making booking through Virgin the much better option for booking this Delta seat.
Screenshot of Delta Air Lines' booking engine showing the identical flight and cabin for 63,000 ... More SkyMiles. Forbes Advisor
It's worth noting that Virgin's award chart offers solid value across a range of Delta-operated flights. For instance, shorter Delta flights can be booked for as few as 7,500 Virgin Points in the main cabin.
Screenshot of British Airways' booking engine showing a Delta Air Lines flight from ATL to MCO with ... More a price of 7,500 points. Forbes Advisor
This is a smart way to stretch your Chase points for short and cheap domestic trips. It's worth noting, too, that Virgin's award chart for Delta applies to all routes outside of Europe and the U.K., so you could also find affordable prices for shorter flights to Latin America or the Caribbean. 4. JetBlue Coast-to-Coast Flight in Mint—Starting Around 75K Points
JetBlue Mint is the airline's premium cabin experience, available on select routes. It offers a luxurious flying experience that rivals international business class, making it a standout option for domestic travelers looking to fly in comfort and style. A few of Mint's many benefits include: Lie-flat seats built with Tuft & Needle's T&N Adaptive® Foam cushions
Small-plate dining curated by NYC restaurants
Complimentary cocktails from Delicious Hospitality, shaken on board
Amenity kits and plush bedding
Priority boarding and security access
In addition to all transatlantic flights, Mint is available on select Caribbean and coast-to-coast routes. To see if your destination is eligible, check JetBlue's Mint route map. If you have an upcoming coast-to-coast flight on one of these routes, using your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a JetBlue Mint seat can significantly elevate your experience.
Unfortunately, JetBlue's points system is closer to a fixed-value model, making it tough to find 'sweet spots' for redemptions. Mint tickets aren't cheap either. But we were able to find tickets from JFK to SFO starting at 75,400 points.
Screenshot of JetBlue's booking engine showing a flight from JFK to SFO with Mint availability for ... More 75,400 points. Forbes Advisor
While that's a sizable chunk of Ultimate Rewards to transfer to JetBlue, the 'Mint Experience' is hard to beat for flights between U.S. destinations. And while 75,000 points was the lowest we found, it's not a hard-and-fast floor. You may be able to score an even better deal depending on your route and travel dates.
It's also worth checking Chase Travel℠'s Mint pricing. One of the lesser-appreciated benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the 25% bonus you get when redeeming points through Chase Travel—meaning each point is worth 1.25 cents. While we've found that you'll usually get a higher value than that by booking an economy seat through JetBlue, its Mint award pricing tends to have more variety. We've seen the value dip below 1.25 cents, at which point you may want to consider booking with Chase Travel instead. Just Want the Cheapest Flight? Here Are 3 Tips To Stretch Your 100K Chase Points 1. Make Comparison Shopping a Breeze With Award-Searching Tools
Finding the best deal on award flights can be time-consuming, especially when you're juggling different airline partners and point transfer options. That's where award finder tools like PointsYeah, AwardTool and Point.me come in. These search engines make it easy to compare flight availability and prices across multiple programs, all in one place.
I particularly like PointsYeah because it allows you to filter results by airline, cabin class and even specific bank rewards programs (in this case, Chase Ultimate Rewards).
Screenshot of PointsYeah's search engine with 'Chase Ultimate Rewards' selected inside the 'Bank ... More Programs' filter. Forbes Advisor
Instead of checking each airline's site individually, these tools let you quickly pinpoint which flights offer the best bang for your points. That can save you both time and points on your next redemption. 2. Use Southwest's Low Fare Calendar To Find Affordable Dates
Southwest uses a fixed-value system for its Rapid Rewards points, meaning the number of points needed for a flight is directly tied to the cash price. Still, if you have flexibility in your plans, you could score a great deal by choosing a date when the fare for your desired flight is below average.
An easy way to find these dates is to use Southwest's Low Fare Calendar. This tool lets you view the fares for an entire month at a glance, helping you zero in on the dates with the cheapest prices. Occasionally, Southwest runs Wanna Get Away sales. For example, Southwest was running a summer sale as I wrote this article, with prices starting at $49. Using the Low Fare Calendar, we found several of these $49 fares from Las Vegas to Los Angeles that translated to just 3,500 Rapid Rewards points (also a Chase transfer partner).
Screenshot of Southwest's Low Fare Calendar for LAS to LAX for May with prices ranging from 3,500 to ... More 5,000 points. Forbes Advisor
Southwest is also known for offering ultracheap interisland flights in Hawaii. We found a Wanna Get Away ticket from Honolulu (HNL) to Hawaii Island (KOA) that was also just 3,500 Rapid Rewards points. This is an excellent redemption option for travelers looking to hop between islands on a budget.
Screenshot of Southwest's Low Fare Calendar for HNL to KOA for May with prices ranging from 3,500 to ... More 6,500 points. Forbes Advisor
With the Low Fare Calendar and some flexibility, you can unlock serious value from your Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring them to Southwest Rapid Rewards. 3. Don't Forget To Crosscheck Prices and Availability on Chase Travel
While many points enthusiasts prefer transferring to travel partners to maximize value, that advantage is often more pronounced on international flights in premium cabins. For domestic flights, the value gap can shrink significantly, especially when you consider that Sapphire Preferred points are always worth 1.25 cents when redeemed for Chase Travel purchases.
There may be times when you'd use fewer points booking through Chase Travel than by transferring to an airline. Even if the pricing is close to par, remember that Chase Travel bookings are viewed like normal cash fares, so you won't deal with limited award availability. You can also still generally earn frequent flyer miles when you book through Chase Travel, which isn't the case when you book award flights directly with an airline.
Of course, there are trade-offs. If you need to change or cancel your flight, you'll have to go through Chase Travel customer service instead of dealing directly with the airline, which can be a bit more of a hassle. But if your main goal is to stretch your Chase Ultimate Rewards balance as far as it can go, it's worth the extra step to check Chase's portal. Bottom Line
With 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, your options for domestic flights are far from limited. Whether you're seeking luxury on a transcontinental route or just trying to get the best deal on a quick getaway, smart redemptions can help you maximize the value of your rewards.
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