Your guide to earning and redeeming points in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program
All information about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the most valuable travel rewards programs out there. Ultimate Rewards points can be earned with an impressive lineup of credit cards and can be used in a variety of ways. They are especially valuable when transferred to one of the program's many transfer partners, which can help card holders unlock a huge variety of travel opportunities. You can use them to book flights, hotels and everything in between.
If you're new to the world of travel rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards is a great program for beginners. The points are relatively simple to earn from a wide range of credit cards, and there are a lot of options for redeeming them.
You can also earn large amounts of Ultimate Rewards points from the current offers on some Chase cards, which can earn up to 100,000 points if you meet a spending target within a given time.
Here's everything you need to know about the Chase Ultimate Rewards program.
You can earn Ultimate Rewards points in various ways. Firstly, Chase offers some of the most lucrative credit card bonuses, enabling you to quickly earn hundreds of thousands of points that can then be used toward travel. Then there are category bonuses, meaning your points earnings are elevated for spending in certain categories. For example, with some cards, you'll earn 3 points per dollar spent on dining purchases, as opposed to 1 point per dollar. You can also take advantage of a referral program and of shopping online via the Chase shopping portal, among other ways to maximize your points earning.
Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points from Chase credit cards
The best way to earn Ultimate Rewards points is with a Chase credit card. Chase issues personal and business cards, which are split, in turn, into cards that directly earn Ultimate Rewards points and cards that earn cash back.
Chase has three credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points directly: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. They offer relatively generous new card member bonuses and lucrative category bonuses, although they all carry annual fees. In the case of the Sapphire Reserve, the annual fee was just raised to a whopping $795, although the card offers benefits that can make it worthwhile for people who are able to utilize them.
As mentioned, there are also a number of traditional cash-back credit cards in the Chase portfolio. For example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 3% to 5% cash back on select categories and 1.5% on all other purchases.
Keep in mind that those cash-back cards do earn Ultimate Rewards points, which can be redeemed for cash back at a rate of 1 cent apiece. But if you also have a premium Ultimate Rewards card, like one of the three mentioned above, most Chase cash-back cards allow you to transfer points freely between accounts. That will give you the option to redeem them for travel instead of cash back or transfer them to Chase's many transfer partners, including airlines and hotels.
By combining Chase cards in your wallet, you can maximize the Chase Ultimate Rewards points you earn. For example, you can opt for a trifecta including the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom Flex cards. With the Sapphire Preferred, you're locking in a high new card member bonus and great continued rewards on travel spending, while the Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex offer many bonus categories to maximize your earnings. This approach requires keeping track of which cards you're using for each type of spending in your budget, but it pays off with a higher number of points in your account.
Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points by adding an authorized user
Adding an authorized user to your Chase card can help you earn even more rewards. While Chase doesn't currently offer bonus points just for adding an authorized user, it's still beneficial. For starters, you'll double your earning power since you have another person charging their expenses to your card.
Authorized users can also help you meet spending requirements in order to earn a new card member bonus. Before adding someone to your account as an authorized user, however, make sure it makes sense for you; while you'll be able to add the Ultimate Rewards points from their purchases to your account, you're also the one ultimately responsible for footing the bill. Ensure you're adding only family and friends whom you trust.
Above all, pay off your bill each month, so you aren't incurring interest charges that would negate the value of the points you earn.
Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points by referring friends
Referring friends for a credit card can be lucrative. Simply head to Chase's referral page and select the card to which you want to refer your friends, then follow the instructions to get a unique link you can share. If your friend applies via that link and is approved for a card, you'll earn bonus points.
Chase typically offers anywhere between 10,000 to 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points for referrals, depending on the card. Referrals are capped to five a year, but you can still earn quite the chunk of points by referring your friends for a Chase card.
Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points via Chase Dining
Chase Dining is an exclusive program that offers up to 10x points at participating restaurants for Sapphire Reserve card holders. Simply book and pre-pay your reservation, or order takeout, to earn 10 points per dollar spent. That's an incredible return on your spending and the highest category bonus offered by any Ultimate Rewards card.
Do note that as of Oct. 26, 2025, the Chase Dining portal will be retired and replaced by Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables, which offers a credit of up to $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of the program. That's divided into $150 in statement credits from January through June, and another $150 from July through December.
Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points by shopping online
The Chase shopping portal offers some of the most competitive earning rates at hundreds of online merchants. The next time you shop online, simply log in to your Chase account, navigate to Ultimate Rewards and search for the merchant you want to shop with. Click the merchant link provided by Chase and do your shopping as usual. You'll earn bonus points, depending on the merchant, in addition to the rewards from your credit card.
After you've earned the points comes the fun part: redeeming them! Redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points is as simple as you want to make it. You can use points for statement credits or Ultimate Rewards travel bookings, or you can get fancy and transfer them to one of Chase's 14 travel partners, including 11 airlines and three hotel chains. Transferring points will typically get you the most value, especially if you use them for luxury travel.
Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring to travel partners
Transferring Ultimate Rewards to one of Chase's 14 travel partners will get you the most value. You can redeem them for stays at all-inclusive resorts, international business-class tickets, domestic flights and more. But keep in mind that not all airline and hotel loyalty programs are equal.
Ultimately, you'll want to research which program will offer you the most in return, depending on what your travel plans are. Like with the American Express Membership Rewards® program, you'll need to link your Chase account with your account on the transfer partner's site. You'll also need to search for award availability with the airline or hotel of your choice before transferring any points.
If you're interested in transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to a travel partner, these are your 14 options, as well as the transfer rates:
Aer Lingus AerClub: 1:1
Air Canada Aeroplan: 1:1
British Airways Executive Club: 1:1
Emirates Skywards: 1:1
Air France/KLM Flying Blue: 1:1
Iberia Plus: 1:1
IHG Rewards Club: 1:1
JetBlue TrueBlue: 1:1
Marriott Bonvoy: 1:1
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: 1:1
Southwest Rapid Rewards: 1:1
United MileagePlus: 1:1
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 1:1
World of Hyatt: 1:1
Chase also runs transfer promotions for certain airlines and hotels. During those transfer offers, you can get more points than the standard transfer rate listed above. Bonuses like these can increase the value of your points by enabling you to book sought-after award tickets for substantially less.
By transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to partner airlines, you unlock the ability to travel for next to nothing; in most cases, when redeeming points and miles, you'll just have to pay the taxes and fees on a ticket. This opens the door to flying experiences that might otherwise be out of reach.
Keep in mind that the most obvious airline choice may not always be your best option. Airlines typically have extensive alliance networks, allowing you to redeem points for partner airlines through their respective programs. For example, Delta Air Lines and Air France/KLM are both members of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Flying Blue — the European carriers' joint loyalty program — and redeem them for flights operated by Delta.
If you want to go the route of transferring your Ultimate Rewards points to a travel partner, note that some options are better than others, particularly when it comes to award sweet spots. Some of those sweet spots include the following:
British Airways: 20,000 British Airways Avios, plus taxes and fees, for a one-way economy-class ticket between the West Coast and Hawaii on American Airlines.
Iberia Plus: 34,000 Iberia Avios, plus taxes and fees, for a one-way business-class ticket between the East Coast and Europe.
World of Hyatt: 21,000 World of Hyatt points for an off-peak free night at the all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta.
Air France/KLM Flying Blue: 60,000 Flying Blue miles, plus taxes and fees, for a one-way ticket in business class from the East Coast to Europe.
In general, you'll get the most value out of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring them to airline partners. But that may not always make sense for all card holders — and it's not your only option.
Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points via Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel
If you want a hassle-free way to redeem your points for travel at a higher value than a statement credit (more on that below), then Ultimate Rewards Travel is the way to go.
Currently, Sapphire Reserve card holders get 1.5 cents in value per point on Ultimate Rewards bookings, while Sapphire Preferred card holders get 1.25 cents. For the traditional cash-back cards, such as the Freedom Unlimited and the Freedom Flex, Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for 1 cent per point in value.
This is being replaced, however, by a feature called Points Boost, which lets card holders redeem points for select travel bookings at a value of 1.5 to 2 cents per point, depending on the card.
Existing card holders can redeem points earned until Oct. 26, 2025 at the current rates — those in effect before the introduction of Points Boost — until Oct. 26, 2027.
Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards via Chase Experiences
Chase card holders can also redeem points for experiences, such as sports events or concerts. The redemption rate is lower, just 1 cent per point, but if it saves you money on an expensive pair of concert tickets, then it might be worthwhile. Head to the Chase Experiences portal to check out what's available.
Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for a fixed value
Fixed redemptions aren't the best use of Ultimate Rewards points, offering about 0.75 to 1 cent per point in value. Considering that frequent-flyer website The Points Guy values Chase points at 2.05 cents apiece, that's far less than what they can be worth. However, fixed-value redemptions can be interesting in certain circumstances.
For example, through a feature called Chase Pay Yourself Back, points are worth 1 cent each, with an exception: The holders of select Chase cards get 1.25 cents per point on purchases in some categories, which change quarterly. Log in to your Chase account or Chase mobile app, go to Chase Ultimate Rewards and select the Pay Yourself Back redemption option to see if your card is eligible for those elevated Pay Yourself Back rates.
Chase card holders can also redeem points for merchant gift cards at around 1 cent each. The worst redemption value is using Shop with Amazon, which gives you just 0.75 cents per point, which is why we do not recommend using credit card points to shop with Amazon.
Generally speaking, if you're looking to get the most value out of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, redeeming for a fixed value is the worst option. But every card holder's goals for their points will be different, and even redeeming at 1 cent per point will save you cash.
How much Ultimate Rewards points are worth depends on how you elect to redeem them. Generally, they're worth about 1 to 2 cents apiece. You'll get at least 1 cent per point when redeeming for statement credits and gift card redemptions. If you redeem your points through Chase Travel℠, they're worth 1.25 to 1.5 cents each, depending on which credit card you have.
Where you can get the most value from your Ultimate Rewards points is with transfer partners. By electing to redeem your points this way, you can get well over 2 cents per point in value.
Much like Amex Membership Rewards points, Citi ThankYou points and Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are so valuable because of how versatile they are. To extract the most value from them, you can transfer them to one of 14 airline and hotel partners for a luxurious experience that might otherwise be out of budget. At the opposite end, if you're looking to just save on your next statement, you can redeem them for a fixed value of 1 cent. This flexibility is part of why having Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be so rewarding.
The following FAQs have been answered by CNN Underscored senior money editor and credit card expert Alberto Riva.
How much are Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth?
How much are Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth?
The value of Chase Ultimate Rewards depends on how you redeem them. They can be worth well above 2 cents per point when transferred to partners such as airlines and hotel chains to book travel, or they can be worth as little as 0.7 cents per point when used for Amazon purchases.
What is the best use for Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
What is the best use for Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
The best use of your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points depends on your goals. If you want to use them for travel, you have a vast array of choices at your disposal. For example, you can use them for long-haul flights in business class or for stays at luxury hotels. If you're looking to save cash, you can use them to offset all or some of your credit card statement — or you can choose several other options for your points. Flexibility is one of the main features of Chase Ultimate Rewards.
How do you maximize the value of Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
How do you maximize the value of Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
The way to extract the most value from Chase Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to one of Chase's 14 transfer partners, which include 11 airlines and three hotel chains. Especially during periods when Chase offers a transfer bonus, this can get you well over 2 cents per point in value.
CNN Underscored's team of expert editors and contributors carefully reviews credit cards, travel rewards and loyalty programs to help readers navigate changes and make informed financial decisions. Senior money editor and credit card expert Alberto Riva, who holds five Chase credit cards, has been collecting Ultimate Rewards points since 2017 and has redeemed them many times for numerous flights in business class across the Atlantic. For this article, he applied his years of industry knowledge and personal experience to ensure every detail is accurate and actionable. Our recommendations are grounded in real-world value, not hype, and backed by thorough analysis, expert insight and a commitment to clarity and transparency.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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