Save 10% on Gift Cards in March When You Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
by Brittney Myers | March 3, 2021
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Act fast before these offers disappear.
It's March again -- and travel remains at the bottom of most folks' to-do list. After a year of lockdowns, however, you may be looking for something to do with those travel rewards you've been collecting all this time.
Well, for Chase Ultimate Rewards cardholders, this month brings a little extra incentive to redeem your points in the form of a 10% discount on select gift cards. The deal extends through the end of March 2021, but quantities are limited, so some offers may be removed before the deal officially expires.
10% discount extends to gift cards from 14 popular brands
Chase's Ultimate Rewards portal offers gift cards from more than 175 retailers, but only a small portion of those cards are eligible for a discount under the March offer. You'll see 10% discounts on these popular brands:
- Apple
- Athleta
- Chili's
- Build-A-Bear
- Children's Place
- Chipotle (Freedom and Sapphire cards only)
- DoorDash
- DSW
- Happy Rewards
- Jiffy Lube
- Old Navy
- Spafinder
- Topgolf
- Yankee Candle
Normal gift card redemptions offer a typical value of 1% back, which comes out to $0.01 per point where 1,000 points = $10. With the discount in place, you'll earn an effective 1.1%, and you can get the same $10 gift card for just 900 points.
This offer is only good for Ultimate Rewards points redemptions, so you'll need one of these Chase credit cards to be eligible:
- Chase Freedom® Student
- Chase Freedom Flex℠
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
- Chase Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card
If you have multiple Ultimate Rewards cards, you can pool your points across accounts. As with other Ultimate Rewards redemptions, gift cards can be found in the Ultimate Rewards portal.
How to redeem Ultimate Rewards points for gift cards
You can find the gift card deals in the Ultimate Rewards redemption portal through your desktop browser or the Chase app. Simply log into your account and select your Ultimate Rewards point balance to be taken to the redemption portal.
Once in the portal, you can scroll down to "Shop Gift Cards" to see the full spread of Chase gift card options. Near the top of the page is a link to "See gift cards on sale" that will show you all of the discounted offers.
Clicking on an offer will open a page where you can select your gift card type -- most brands offer both a physical and a digital option -- as well as choose your card amount. Physical gift cards will be sent through the mail, while digital cards are sent via email. Most digital gift card orders are sent right away, but others could take up to 48 hours to arrive.
Many of the gift cards are available in amounts as low as $10, but others may require you to spend at least $25. The minimum amounts can also vary between digital and physical gift cards.
Should you take advantage of this deal?
In the grand scheme of redeeming Ultimate Rewards points, the best way to maximize your per-point value is always going to be travel. Specifically, the highest returns tend to come from transferring your rewards to a hotel or airline partner to redeem for travel through their loyalty program. Even purchasing travel through Chase will typically yield at least $0.0125 per point.
For those with cards advertised as cash back -- the Freedom family and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card -- travel redemptions aren't an option. These cardholders are generally stuck with a $0.01 per point redemption for cash back or regular gift cards. So, in this case, getting $0.011 per point is a small, but significant, step up.
If, on the other hand, you have a Sapphire card (or Chase Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card), the difference between $0.01 and $0.011 is marginal at best considering the other, more valuable, redemption options. Unless you're already in the market for gift cards from the discounted brands, it's probably best to save your rewards for the future. After all, Chase Ultimate Rewards points never expire as long as your account is open.
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About the Author
Brittney is a credit expert and card strategist whose advice has been featured by major publications and financial sites across the web.
We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.
