The Ultimate guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards

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Affordable travel

8 min readJan 30, 2015

There are a lot of loyalty programs surrounding us everyday. Some are poor, another just gain hundreds of members every day.But I would like to talk about benefits of one of the best programs on the market from US famous Chase bank : Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Originally published at www.milesfortrips.com on January 25, 2015.

Disclosure: We get a commission for some links on the blog. You don’t have to use our links, but we’re very grateful when you do click them.

How to earn points with Chase Ultimate rewards

1 point per $1 spent on all purchases with your credit card from Chase

Travel bonus with Chase Chase Ultimate rewards :

https://ultimaterewardspoints.chase.com/travel

Earn 1 additional point per $1 spent on travel when you use your card to pay for airfare, hotels, cruises, rental cars, train tickets, taxis, tolls, and more.
You can also earn 1 additional point per $1 spent when you use your card to book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® through December 31, 2015. (making it 3 points a$1 spend)

Dine bonus with Chase Ultimate rewards:

Earn 1 additional point per $1 spent at restaurants.
You can also earn 1 additional point per $1 for dining at restaurants on the First Friday of each month.

Shop through Chase online and earn bonus points:

https://ultimaterewardspoints.chase.com/shop-with-chase

You have a lot of options to choose from : electronics to grocery stores. Just choose the store you are interested in and you will be redirected to a special Chase link.Note, that you have to go through Chase special link!

For example: 1 year subscription to TIME magazine of $30 would give me 780 points.

Also, do not forget about special bonuses when you open a credit card. Chase Freedom will give you 10000 bonus points, Chase Sapphire Preferred — 40000 points.

How to meet minimum spending on credit card

How to redeem points with Chase Ultimate rewards

Travel

https://ultimaterewardspoints.chase.com/travel

You have the option to book:

Flights
Hotel Accommodations
Car Rentals
Experiences
Cruises
Activities
Vacation Packages

Note: Cardholders of Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus or Chase Ink Bold receive a 20 percent point discount when redeeming for travel, so a $500 flight would require only 40,000 points.

As you can see you have a lot of options to chose from : you can navigate and align search results by star ratings, trip advisor reviews, price, distance, companies,categories, points.

You can book vacation packages online at Ultimate Rewards or call 1.866.951.6592 to speak to an Ultimate Rewards travel agent for cruise and package booking. Travel agents specializing in air, hotel reservations and car rentals are available24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.Travel agents specializing in cruises are available: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

Points Transfer to Travel Partners

Chase issues several premium credit cards for both individuals and businesses. These cards are fee-based and offer enhanced features including point transfer.

Chase’s premium credit cards include:

Chase Sapphire PreferredSM
Ink BoldSM
Ink PlusSM
Chase Corporate Flex CardSM
J.P. Morgan Palladium Card
J.P. Morgan Select Card

Note:that Chase Freedom ( which is one of the most popular credit card) does not have this option).

https://ultimaterewardspoints.chase.com/transfer-points/list-programs

You can transfer just the points you need, in 1,000-point increments, to get closer to upgrades, flights and hotel stays.
Your points always transfer at 1:1 value. That means one point equals one mile/point for all participating frequent travel programs.
With Chase Ultimate Rewards, you don’t pay point transfer fees.

With an eligible Chase credit card, you can transfer points at full value to these participating frequent travel programs:

Amtrak Guest Rewards®
British Airways Executive Club
Hyatt Gold Passport®
Korean Air SKYPASS
Marriott Rewards®
IHG® Rewards Club
Singapore Airlines
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®
United MileagePlus®
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

In most cases, points are transferred the same day as your request. However, timing may vary depending on the participating frequent travel program and may take up to one week. To confirm your points successfully transferred, visit the participating partner’s website and log-in to view your miles/points.

Once points are transferred to airline partner — you cannot take it back to your Chase Ultimate rewards. But also note that you can transfer to you spouse or domestic partner.

Transfers to unauthorized third parties or any other abuse of the Ultimate Rewards program may result in suspension or termination of the ability to participate in the program and forfeiture of points already earned. That is very interesting, since there are some companies that offer you to buy your airline miles and points — I would not recommend doing it, since you can just be banned of the program.Better use your rewards on gift cards or cash back!

That is a one of my best benefits of Chase Ultimate rewards — United, Southwest, British Airways — all in one place. So, basically I have way more better options when it comes to vacation booking. I can transfer my points to a frequent flyer program I need ( based on my itinerary) and use it towards my award flight.

Use Chase Ultimate rewards for gift cards

You can also change your points for gift cards in ratio 100 points for $1. Which is great if you need a gift for somebody.

With Free Standard Shipping, your items should arrive within 5–8 business days. Select Rush Shipping, available for a flat rate of $10, to receive items within 2–3 business days. Note: Gift Card orders will arrive in a grey envelope marked “Rewards Information Enclosed”.

Use Chase Ultimate rewards for Amazon purchases

That is just amazing, since Amazon.com is flourishing everyday with their home deliveries and variety of goods.

It’s simple — think of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points as another fast and convenient way to pay for products at Amazon.com. There are no point minimums, plus you can choose to use all or part of your Chase Ultimate Reward points for your order and pay the remaining balance with your associated Chase credit card.

To “Get Started,” just link your eligible Chase credit card to your Amazon account and start shopping.

The following Chase cards with Chase Ultimate Rewards are eligible for Shop with Points at Amazon.com:

Chase Freedom
Chase Sapphire
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Ink Bold
Ink Cash
Ink Classic
Ink Plus
Chase Corporate Flex Card
J.P. Morgan Palladium Card
J.P. Morgan Select Card

When you choose how you’d like to pay, you’ll be able to apply available Chase Ultimate Rewards points to an eligible order.

photo courtesy of amazon.com

When Chase Ultimate Rewards points are applied to your order total, you’ll see them before you place your order. If you can’t see your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, click the “Change” button in the Payment Method box.

photo courtesy of amazon.com

However, items that currently may not be eligible for Shop with Points purchases include Amazon MP3s and Amazon Instant Video titles, Kindle downloads, Subscribe and Save items, AmazonFresh items, games and software downloads, cell phones with service, magazine subscriptions, Prime Memberships and orders containing Pre-Order items. Shop with Points cannot be used on any other Amazon site such as MyHabit.com, Zappos.com or Endless.com. Additionally, you may not use one-click to redeem points for products using Shop with Points. Chase Ultimate Rewards points can only be redeemed for online orders at Amazon.com and are not redeemable from Amazon.com over the phone.

Use Chase Ultimate rewards for cash back

That is another great feature of this loyalty program.

You can choose to redeem for a statement credit to apply it toward your balance or direct deposit it into most U.S. checking and savings accounts starting at $20.00 for 2,000 points. It may take up to 3 business days for your cash back to post to your account. Note: Debit card products may redeem for cash back starting at $.01 for 1 point but may only direct deposit into a Chase checking or savings account.

So, you can use your points towards your credit cards balance, transform into cash on you checking/saving account and just send money to someone just using the route code and account number.

Combining Chase Ultimate rewards points

You can combine points or rebates from any eligible credit or debit card with Ultimate Rewards. Note: Once points are transferred, they cannot be credited back. Transfers may only be used to combine points belonging to the same individual or business in the program; or for the purpose of enabling spouses or domestic partners to combine points. Chase will not make the transfer if the credit card account(s) or checking account(s), as applicable, are in default at the time of the transfer.

That is very handy, since you may have different credit cards and you spouse/partner can have some. So, you have more possibilities to redeem for.

Bottom line

Me, personally, really enjoy this program. Since points never expire, which is huge! Because you can accumulate points and use them when you want and need and not being pushed by airline/hotel loyalty program.For example: United airlines expiration timeframe is 18 months, Southwest — 24 months. But, these 2 airlines are partners of Chase Ultimate rewards — you have an option to extend this period for forever!

Still, would be nice to have more partners to transfer to!

Just to sum up the Chase Ultimate rewards benefits:

Travel Partners
Amazon
Gift cards
Cash back

https://ultimaterewardspoints.chase.com/faq/