5 of the Best Ways to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

For saving on travel, it doesn't get much better than the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. Most travel credit cards let you either transfer your points to airline and hotel partners, or redeem them at a competitive rate for cash travel purchases. With Chase's travel cards, you can do both.

That makes Ultimate Rewards points easy to use and highly valuable. Depending on which Chase card you have, you can always get $0.0125 to $0.015 per point on travel bookings. And if you transfer your points to Chase's partners, you could get even more, sometimes over $0.03 per point. So, 100,000 Chase points could be worth $1,500 to $3,000 or more.

The value you get depends largely on how you use your points. Certain redemptions are much better deals than others. To help you make the most of your rewards, here are some of the best ways to use Chase points.

1. Book luxury hotel stays with Hyatt

Most of the time, it's not a good idea to transfer credit card points to a hotel. Hotel points generally aren't worth that much. You're basically sending rewards that could be worth $0.015 or more per point over to a program where they'll be worth about $0.005 per point.

Hyatt is the notable exception, and Chase is the only card issuer to have it as a transfer partner. There are incredible deals available when you book Hyatt hotels with points, especially with its higher-end properties.

For example, I once transferred Chase points to Hyatt to book a four-star hotel in New York. It cost me 145,000 points for a stay that would've otherwise cost $5,634. That's a value of nearly $0.04 per point.

2. Transfer to United Airlines for award airfare

Chase's transfer partners include two of the largest U.S. airlines: United and Southwest. It usually isn't worth it to transfer points to Southwest, as the airline doesn't offer high-value award tickets.

United, on the other hand, is one of Chase's better airline partners. It has a massive route network, so you can book flights all over the world. There can also be good deals on award tickets, although you should always check first to see what's available.

You tend to get more value for your miles when you use them to book expensive tickets. So if you want to fly business class, a transfer to United could be a great way to do so.

3. Book travel through the Chase Travel portal (if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®)

Chase lets you book flights, hotels, car rentals, activities, and cruises through its Chase Travel portal. You can pay in cash or Chase points, and the value you get per point depends on the Chase card you have.

With most Chase credit cards, you get either $0.01 or $0.0125 per point, which isn't the best. But with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you get $0.015 per point. That's a reasonable value, especially since you can book so many different types of travel. If you can't transfer your Chase points to book the travel you want, then the Chase Travel portal is a solid backup plan.

4. Transfer to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer for international travel or flights to Hawaii

Singapore Airlines is one of the many international airlines partnered with Chase. Its KrisFlyer program gives you several enticing ways to redeem miles, including:

• Flights to Europe with Singapore Airlines's partners, including Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, and Lufthansa
• Flights to Hawaii on United (United charges more miles than Singapore Airlines for these flights)
• Flights to Singapore on Singapore Airlines

If you're flying to or from Singapore and want to travel in style, this airline's Singapore Suites are about as luxurious as it gets -- and it's a whole lot cheaper to pay in miles than to put a ticket on your credit card.

5. Transfer to British Airways Executive Club to book short-haul flights

You might think that British Airways is the perfect transfer option if you want to book a flight from the United States to the United Kingdom. Surprisingly, that's not the case. Those flights have extremely high taxes and fees, to the point where it barely feels like you're saving money by paying in Avios.

The best use of British Airways Avios is booking short-haul flights with its partner airlines. British Airways is part of the Oneworld alliance, with partners that include Alaska Airlines and American Airlines. Flights with partners don't cost nearly as much in taxes and fees, and flights in the United States cost as little as 7,500 Avios.

Maximizing your Chase Ultimate Rewards points

When you want to book travel with your Chase points, start by seeing if there are any good transfer opportunities available. Award tickets with airline partners and award hotel stays with Hyatt can both get you quite a bit of value for your points. If that's not an option, you can always use your points through the Chase Travel portal.