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A big advantage of travel credit cards with Chase is the number of ways you can use your points. If you want to redeem points towards cash travel purchases, you can do so at a competitive rate through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Here's how to book with this travel portal and when you should do it.
Follow these steps to book travel through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal:
1. Log in to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account.
The quickest option is to log in to your account on the Chase Ultimate Rewards site. There's also a link to this site in your Chase credit card account.
2. Click "Earn / Use" to open a menu with various options, and then click "Travel."
Image source: Getty Images
3. Choose the type of travel you want to book.
Image source: Getty Images
The travel portal offers the following options:
4. Fill out the required information and perform a search.
The search process will depend on what you're booking, but it's all self-explanatory.
5. Select your desired option and complete the booking process.
Chase lets you book travel in cash, points, or a combination of the two.
To use the Chase travel portal, you need a Chase card in the Ultimate Rewards program. Most Chase credit cards issued exclusively by Chase qualify. This includes cards in the Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire, and Chase Ink product lines. It doesn't include the cobranded credit cards Chase issues with partners, such as its airline and hotel cards.
The value of your points depends on which Chase card you have. Chase's standard rate is $0.01 per point, which is the same rate you'd get if you redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for cash back.
However, Chase travel cards offer a greater value on travel portal redemptions. Here's how much more you'd get with the current Chase travel cards:
If you're interested in travel, you should get one of those cards so that your points are worth more.
Here's some more info on those cards:
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50 stars
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
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Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50 stars
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50 stars
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. |
Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Reserve®
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions. |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions. |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions. |
Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. 60,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® 60,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 100,000 bonus points |
Rewards Program: Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more. 1x - 5x points |
Rewards Program: Earn 5x total points on air travel and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases 1x - 10x points |
Rewards Program: Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. Earn 3 points per $1 in select business categories |
Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Regular APR: 20.24% - 27.24% Variable |
Regular APR: 21.24% - 28.24% Variable |
Regular APR: 20.24% - 25.24% Variable |
Annual Fee: N/A $95 |
Annual Fee: N/A $550 |
Annual Fee: N/A $95 |
Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Reserve®
On Chase's Secure Website. |
Apply Now for Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
On Chase's Secure Website. |
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The two best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for travel are to transfer them to one of Chase's many airline and hotel partners or book through the travel portal. Here are the benefits of going with the travel portal when you redeem your rewards:
You can use it for a larger variety of travel purchases. Chase's transfer partners are all airlines and hotels, so transfers are only an option if you want to book airfare or a hotel stay. The travel portal lets you put your points towards far more travel purchases. The "Things to Do" option, in particular, includes all kinds of activities you normally can't book with credit card points. The travel portal also allows you to book flights and hotels with brands that aren't partnered with Chase.
The fixed rate provides a solid, consistent value. When you transfer your points, the value of Chase Ultimate Rewards points varies quite a bit based on your award booking. You could get over $0.02 per point, but there are also situations when it's difficult to get more than $0.01 per point. That's where the travel portal comes in handy, as you can use it when an awards booking wouldn't be of much value. At $0.0125 to $0.015 per point, depending on your Chase card, you can rest assured you're getting a good deal.
Purchases through the travel portal count as cash bookings. An important advantage of the travel portal is that even when you're paying in points, it counts as a cash purchase instead of an award booking. Here's why that's better for you:
Let's say you're booking a flight with United. If you transfer Chase points to United Airlines and buy an award ticket, you won't earn miles on that purchase. Should anything happen with your flight, you'll need to handle it with the airline.
If you booked the same United flight through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you could earn miles on it with the airline. Your Chase card's travel insurance would apply, which helps if you have any issues, such as a trip delay or lost luggage.
The travel portal is the clear choice for car, activity, vacation rental, and cruise bookings. It's the only way you can book those using Chase points. Flight and hotel bookings require a bit more research to decide.
Your best bet is to look up how many points you'd pay if you transferred points to the airline or hotel compared to how many you'd pay through the travel portal. Then, you can go with the option that costs you fewer points.
Don't you wish you could take a peek inside a credit card expert's wallet sometimes? Just to see the cards they carry? Well, you can't look in anybody's wallet, but you can check out our experts' favorite credit cards. Get started here:
In my experience, the travel portal tends to get you a better deal on the following types of travel:
On the other hand, you're typically better off transferring your points if you're booking:
That's not always the case, though. The only way to know for sure is to compare both options.
Here are some other questions we've answered:
Our Credit Cards Expert
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