How much your Chase points are worth will depend on how you use them. You might redeem them for as little as one cent per point or possibly five cents per point. The redemptions requiring the least work tend to provide the lowest value, though there are exceptions.
You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for cash back, merchandise, gift cards, and travel bookings in the Ultimate Rewards portal, or you can transfer them to airline and hotel partners to book award travel.
With so many options, it’s worth noting that some redemptions take more work and provide more value for your points than others. Today, we’ll walk you through how much Chase points are worth and how to get the maximum value whenever you redeem your points.
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The value of Chase points when booking using the Chase travel portal
When booking through the Chase Travel Portal, your Chase Ultimate Rewards points offer a flexible and convenient way to cover travel costs. However, the value of your points depends on which Chase credit card you have.
For cardholders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, points are worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed through the travel portal. This means 40,000 points would be worth $500.
Chase Sapphire Reserv® cardholders get even more value, with each point being worth 1.5 cents toward travel. In that case, 40,000 points would be worth $600 toward travel.
Those with no-annual-fee Chase credit cards can use their points for just one cent apiece here, meaning 40,000 points are worth $400.
One of the key benefits of using the Chase Travel Portal is that it functions like any other online travel agency, letting you book flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities. Plus, unlike some airline miles or hotel points, there are no blackout dates to worry about. If you see a flight or hotel available for cash, you can book it with points.
However, there’s a tradeoff in value here. While booking through the portal is easy, you may not always get the best bang for your buck. In many cases, transferring your Chase points to one of the program’s travel partners, such as Hyatt or United, can provide significantly better value. For example, you might use fewer points to book a luxury hotel stay through Hyatt’s program than through the portal itself.
Ultimately, the Chase travel portal offers flexibility and convenience, but it’s worth comparing the value of direct bookings with potential transfer partner redemptions before deciding how to use your points.
The value of Chase points when transferring to a travel partner
If you make the effort to learn about Chase’s transfer partners and how to differentiate a good redemption from a poor one, you can easily increase the value of your Chase points. But it’s also possible to redeem them at sub-par values with transfer partners, which is why you should understand how to calculate cents-per-point value.
To do this, divide your actual cash savings by the number of points used.
For example, if you need to transfer 10,000 miles to United Airlines to save $200 on a flight, that’s a redemption value of two cents per point. That’s more than the value you can get by using points in the travel portal or cashing them out (1-1.5 cents per point).
However, if you’re transferring 10,000 points in order to save $85 on a flight, you’re getting a redemption value of 0.85 cents per point — significantly less than the value of simply cashing out the points to reimburse yourself.
Chase has both hotel and airline transfer partners, and you can find both strong and weak redemption options in all of these programs. It’s worth considering all of your options before booking a flight or hotel by checking the cash cost against the point rates and comparing your options.
Can you book through the Chase travel portal using your points at the fixed values discussed above? Alternatively, would you need more points or fewer if you transferred them to a rewards program for an award booking? Use the option that makes the most sense. This is why having options with your points is a good thing.
Chase has 14 transfer partners, including 11 airlines and three hotels. All transfers happen at a 1:1 ratio. Here’s a look at Chase’s airline transfer partners:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
These are the hotel transfer partners:
- IHG Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
What can you get with your Chase points?
Let’s put the “cents-per-point” discussion aside for a bit and discuss using your Chase points.
Short flights with a high cash cost can be an excellent time to use points. Consider this flight from Paris to London that lasts less than 90 minutes but costs $196. Instead of paying that, you could pay 9,250 British Airways Avios plus $1.
British Airways is a 1:1 Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner. You’d get 2.1 cents per point on this particular redemption, which is excellent for an economy flight.
What about closer to home? If you have a family member at Fort Benning in Georgia, you might be visiting and need a hotel room. Rates at the Hyatt Place Columbus-North cost over $140 with taxes on most nights, but you can redeem just 5,000 points here most nights.
Since Hyatt is a 1:1 Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, you could send 5,000 points to the World of Hyatt program and get 2.8 cents per point in redemption value. That’s stellar.
But it’s also possible to use points at the opposite end of the spectrum. Consider this Lufthansa business class seat, flying from New York City to Frankfurt, Germany. The flight sells for $3,132. However, you could redeem 80,000-88,000 United Airlines miles instead, depending on whether you have a United Airlines credit card or elite status with the airline to get the lower number.
Transferring 80,000 Chase points to United MileagePlus for this flight provides a redemption value of around 3.9 cents per point.
If you want an even better number, transfer 50,000 points to Flying Blue, the joint program of Air France and KLM. You can book a business-class seat to Europe from the U.S. for just 50,000 miles, plus about $230 in taxes and fees.
Considering this same flight was selling for over $7,300 at the time of writing, you’ll get a whopping 14 cents per point on this redemption.
The value of Chase points when redeeming for Amazon.com purchases, statement credits, or gift cards
Redeeming Chase points for Amazon.com purchases, statement credits, or gift cards typically gives you just 1 cent per point or less, which isn’t great compared to travel redemptions. For example, a $100 Amazon purchase requires 12,500 points. Meanwhile, 10,000 points could get you $125 in travel in the portal with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It could get you even more value through Chase’s transfer partners.
To maximize your Ultimate Rewards, it’s better to save them for travel bookings or transfers to travel partners.
Amazon purchases: 0.8 cents per point
Statement credits: 1 cent per point
Gift cards: 1 cent per point
The best use of your Chase points
- High-end redemptions with airline and hotel transfer partners for luxury travel
- Low-category hotel and economy flight redemptions during peak travel season, where cash prices are high
- Fixed value Chase travel portal redemptions when a hotel or flight is on sale
The worst use of your Chase points
- Redeeming points with Chase airline or hotel partners at less than 1.25 cents per point in value
- Shopping online for merchandise with your points
- Redeeming points by cashing them out for under one cent each.
Frequently asked questions about Chase points
How much are 10,000 Chase points worth?
10,000 points are worth between $125-$200, depending on how you redeem them. When transferring 10,000 Chase points to airline or hotel partners, you can get as much as 14 cents a point in value.
How much are 30,000 Chase points worth?
30,000 Chase points are worth $375-$600. You could book a round-trip domestic flight (distance under 650 miles) by transferring 25,000 Chase points to British Airways You could also get up to 8 nights in a Category 1 Hyatt property. Alternatively, you could get up to two nights in a Category 4 Hyatt hotel.
How much are 50,000 Chase points worth?
With an average 1.25-2 cents value per point, 50,000 points are worth $625-$1,000. You could transfer 30,000 Chase points to Hyatt and redeem them for a night in a standard room at nearly any Hyatt hotel in the world, including all-inclusive resorts. You also could book a a one-way flight from the U.S. to Europe in Air France business class, by transferring 50,000 Chase points to Flying Blue .
How much are 75,000 Chase points worth?
75,000 Chase points are worth $937.50-$1,500, depending on how you use them. You could get more value by transferring these points and booking free nights at any Hyatt property or a fair number of Marriott luxury properties. You also could book three one-way economy class seats from the U.S. to Europe with Air France or KLM.
How much are 100,000 Chase points worth?
100,000 Chase points are worth around $1,250-$2,000. You could book 4 flights between the U.S. and Europe in business class, which is a couple’s getaway in ultimate comfort. Or take a couple’s getaway to Europe in economy seats so you’ll still have 20,000 points leftover for a few hotel nights at a Hyatt Category 1 property or a single night at a Category 4 or 5 property.
How many Chase points does it take for a free flight?
It takes as few as 4,000 Chase points for a $50 flight in the travel portal. Alternatively, you might spend 100,000 points to fly international first class, though the cash price of that flight could easily reach $10,000. In general, you should compare the number of points you need to redeem in the travel portal against the number of points you need to send to a transfer partner to book that same flight. Then, use whichever option costs fewer points to book the same flight.
How many Chase points to fly business class to Europe?
You can book off-peak business class to Europe from the East Coast starting at just 34,000 points per person by transferring Chase points to Iberia Plus. Those seats are hard to find, however. Alternatively, you might transfer and redeem 50,000 points per person with Flying Blue, the shared program of Air France and KLM, or 80,000 points per person with United Airlines.
Do Chase points expire?
No, Chase Ultimate Rewards points don’t expire as long as your account is open and in good standing. However, if you close your account before redeeming or transferring your points – or if Chase closes your account for failing to pay your bill — you can lose your points.
Summary
Chase Ultimate Rewards points offer varying value depending on how they’re redeemed. You’ll get the least value — around one cent per point or less — when using them for Amazon purchases, statement credits, or gift cards. Chase points are worth significantly more when redeemed for travel, especially through transfer partners. To maximize the value of your Chase points, focus on high-value redemptions, like transferring to airline or hotel partners, which can offer redemptions worth several cents per point. This requires effort to learn and understand the programs, but the potential payoff is worth it when it’s time to use your points.
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