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The card_name is a great starter card for anyone looking to turn regular spending into free travel. The annual fee is reasonable, and the rewards (Chase Ultimate Rewards) are easy to earn and redeem. This has been our top card suggestion for years when people ask which card they should open first.
Current offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
Here are the earn rates:
- Earn 5 points per dollar on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Earn 2 points per dollar on other travel purchases
- Instead of the old earn rate of 2, you can now earn 3 points per dollar on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout)
- 3 points per dollar on online grocery purchases (this excludes Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3 points per dollar on select streaming services
- Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
Also, receive credit of up to $50 annually on hotel stays purchased through Ultimate Rewards. New cardmembers will receive this credit immediately and existing cardmembers will start earning after the next anniversary.
Each anniversary, you’ll receive bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year. This excludes any sign up bonus points, so it’s only on points earned from spending.
The annual fee is $95, but the welcome offer alone is worth a lot more than that.
Tip: You can earn extra points when you make purchases with several retailers online. This is possible via the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping portal. For example, I can earn an extra 2 points per dollar on online purchases from Nike. It may not sound like a lot, but it adds up! There are hundreds of retailers (currently over 400 total). Click here for more info.
What is the value of 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
It depends on how you redeem, but if you redeem the points for travel, 60,000 points are worth at least $750. There are two ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for travel.
The first way to redeem is through the Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption portal. Each point can be redeemed for 1.25 cents. That makes the welcome bonus of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points worth $750!
$750 is great, but sometimes, you can get even more value out of Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring to airline or hotel partners.
The second way to redeem is how we’re often able to squeeze even more value out of Ultimate Rewards. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to 11 different airline frequent flyer programs or 3 different hotel loyalty programs at a ratio of 1:1. This often results in a value of 2 cents per point or more, which makes 60,000 points worth a lot more than $750.
The reason Ultimate Rewards points have the potential to be worth more than 1.25 cents per point has to do with the way airline and hotel loyalty programs work. When you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to an airline or hotel partner, your Ultimate Rewards points become miles or points in whichever program you choose to transfer. Then, you can use those miles or points to book flights or free nights according to the rules of the airline or hotel program.
The way that these loyalty programs are structured sometimes allows for some valuable redemption opportunities.
How to stretch 80,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points for more than $1000
Note: this post was originally written when the CSP bonus was 80,000 points. It is now 60,000
For this example I will use a great property in Hawaii, Grand Hyatt Kauai. Free nights at Hyatt hotels can be booked 2 different ways with Chase Ultimate Rewards points:
- Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt. Your Ultimate Rewards points become World of Hyatt points.
- Book through the Chase redemption portal where Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1.25 cents each if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred. This is similar to booking through an online travel agency website such as Expedia, except you’re using your points to “pay”.
Redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards by transferring to World of Hyatt
Grand Hyatt Kauai is a category 6 property. According to Hyatt’s chart, a category 6 property requires 25,000 points per night on stardard dates (off peak dates are 21k and peak dates are 29k).
As long as a room is available to book with points, 21k/25k/29k (off peak/standard/peak) is the redemption price for a standard room at the Grand Hyatt Kauai no matter what the paid rate is.
Remember, free nights booked with World of Hyatt points are subject to availability. For what it’s worth, available dates are usually pretty easy to find at this property.
On standard dates, each night would require 25,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (transferred to WOH). There are no taxes or fees when you redeem WOH points for free nights.
Redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards in the redemption protal
Redemption pricing when redeeming points through the Chase redemption portal is directly tied to the paid fare or rate at the time of booking and your points are always worth 1.25 cents each.
The same room for the same date is $499 per night when booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal.
This means that you would need to redeem 39,920 points per night. After taxes, that would actually go up even more.
The cents per point math
| Transferring to World of Hyatt | Redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards in the redemption portal |
| 1 night is 25,000 points | 1 night is 39,220 points. |
| The paid rate when booking through the portal is $499, so I’ll use that rate to calculate this value, but remember that taxes and fees make the rate even higher, which makes the cents per point value higher. | We already know Chase UR are worth 1.25 cents each when redeeming this way but I’ll show the math. |
| $499/25,000=0.01996 0.01996 X 100= 1.996 1.996, so we can just call it 2. | $499/39,920=0.0125 0.0125 X 100= 1.25 1.25 |
| Cents per point value=2 | Cents per point value=1.25 |
This is what I mean when I say the card_name sign up bonus has the potential to be worth a lot more.
When dealing with such small numbers like 1.25 and 2, it can be hard to understand the potential impact an extra .75 cents per point can have on the bigger picture.
You can read more about booking Hyatt with Chase Ultimate Rewards here, and I’ll give more examples below.
To show you just how valuable Ultimate Rewards points are with transfer partners, I’m going to list several other ways to redeem.
Chase transfer partners
Don’t see your favorite airline on that list? Keep reading
You may notice that only 3 of the airline partners are based in the US: JetBlue, Southwest, and United. Other US common carriers such as American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Delta are notably absent, but you can still book flights operated by these airlines with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. I’ll discuss this throughout the list and at the end of the post.
The first way to do this is by redeeming through the redemption portal at the fixed rate of 1.25 cents per point as in the Grand Hyatt Kauai example above. So 60,000 points would cover up to $750 in plane tickets.
There is another way that could potentially result in a better redemption value because you can actually use Chase’s airline transfer partners to book flights operated other airlines.
This is possible by what is sometimes referred to as indirect partnerships, which I’ll discuss briefly, but you can read more about that here. For example, you can use Chase partners British Airways or Iberia to book flights operated by American Airlines. This is actually how we book a majority of our flights within North America that are operated by American Airlines.
The important takeaway here is even if you mostly fly AA or another airline that is not a Chase Ultimate Rewards airline transfer partner, a Chase Sapphire card is still a better starter card than an airline co-branded card such as one of the AAdvantage credit cards. In addition to having the ability to book AA flights, you can also redeem Ultimate Rewards points for travel with several other airlines or hotels. When you use an airline co-branded credit card, you are earning miles or points for that airline. Your redemption options are limited to those that are set forth by that airline’s loyalty program.
See also: How to Book American Airlines flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards points
At the end of the post, I’ll include a reference chart for which Chase partners you can use to book common carriers such as American Airlines.
A few things before we get started:
The card_name also earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve discussion deserves its own post, but I’ll give my brief thoughts. I usually suggest the Chase Sapphire Preferred to beginners.
The bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve is 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. The annual fee of $550 tends to scare some away. This premium card is definitely worth the annual fee for some people, and you can read more details on the current offers page.
One thing worth mentioning is that in the redemption portal, Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned with the CSR are worth 1.5 cents each (Chase Sapphire Preferred is 1.25), so 60,000 points are worth $900. These points also transfer 1:1 to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, so the redemptions in this list also apply to points earned with a Chase Sapphire Reserve.
CSR also has different bonus categories and earn rates.
- You cannot have both the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Chase Sapphire Preferred at the same time. If you have one open and want to close it and open the other, you wouldn’t be eligible for the sign up bonus unless it has been 48 months or more since you last received a bonus from either of these 2 cards. Note: instead of closing a CSP or CSR I suggest downgrading to a no annual fee Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex.
- If you have previously had a CSP or CSR that is closed, you can open either and receive the bonus if it has been longer than 48 months since you received a bonus on either card.
- If you open a Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but you have to wait a full year. You will not receive another bonus if you upgrade.
- You can downgrade from the Chase Sapphire Reserve to the Chase Sapphire Preferred, but again, you have to wait a full year. You will not receive another bonus if you downgrade.
Current offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
36 ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Everything in this list is subject to availability. I suggest waiting until you are absolutely certain your dates and route are available prior to transferring any points. Chase Ultimate Rewards points generally transfer to airlines and hotels immediately, so there is no need to transfer in advance. Click here for transfer instructions.
Transfers are permanent. Once you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to an airline or hotel program, you cannot transfer them back to your Ultimate Rewards account.
Once points are transferred, they are subject to that airline or hotel’s policies.
When you use a frequent flyer program to book a flight with miles, there may be taxes and fees. Generally, domestic flights only have fees totaling $5.60 each way.
International flights will have extra fees. These are imposed by foreign governments, and they are collected no matter which airline you use to book. For a roundtrip ticket, these fees usually total $50-$100, but some may have higher fees. I’ll point out routes with higher government fees (such as London). To be clear, these fees are different than fuel surcharges.
Fuel surcharges can be significant, so I’ll specify any routes that have fuel surcharges in this list. Otherwise, you can generally assume that your out of pocket cost per international ticket is less than $100. Click here for more info about these fees.
When you book a Hyatt stay on points, there are ZERO taxes, fees, or resort fees! Marriott and IHG are not on this list, because your Ultimate Rewards points will usually go further by redeeming through the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal rather than transferring to these 2 hotel programs. Of course, there are exceptions though, and one such exception was our Maldives hotel stay. We booked that with Marriott points and you can read more about it here.
I know some international destinations on this list are still closed to Americans, but they won’t stay closed forever. I’m all about opening safely, traveling safely, etc, but I’m listing these because it’s always good to start planning your miles and points strategy as early as possible. I’ll start with US/North America.
Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for American Airlines flights within the US
More information: How to book American Airlines flights with British Airways Avios
American Airlines is not an airline transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, but you can use 2 other Chase transfer partners to book American Airlines flights. British Airways and Iberia are both in the Oneworld alliance with American Airlines. This means you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to the loyalty program of British Airways or Iberia, and then redeem those points (they call them Avios) to book flights operated by AA.
You cannot transfer British Airways or Iberia Avios to the American Airlines AAdvantage program. Instead, you can redeem Avios for a flight operated by American Airlines. When you redeem this way, redemption prices are determined by the program you use to book, which would be either British Airways or Iberia in this case. This is sometimes a good thing, because British Airways and Iberia have better redemption pricing on certain routes than the AAdvantage program.
Click here for more info on indirect partnerships.
British Airways has a distance based chart, and any nonstop AA flight within North America (including the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and Central America) between city pairs that are under 1150 miles in distance will price at 9,000 Avios each way. Click here for the British Airways distance chart. Remember, this is subject to availability.
1. 80,000 points are enough for up to 4 roundtrip American Airlines tickets within the US in economy
Although domestic flights may be less exciting than some of the redemptions on this list, this is sometimes the most practical and/or valuable way to use miles and points. A few years ago, we used British Airways Avios to book 2 last minute AA tickets worth $1400! At the time, we only had to use a little over 20,000 Avios (there was a transfer bonus promotion). Today, those 2 roundtrip tickets would be 36,000 Avios total, but 36,000 Ultimate Rewards transferred to British Airways for AA flights totaling $1400 would still be an excellent value.
Flights within the US operated by AA start at 9000 British Airways Avios each way in economy, or 18,000 Avios roundtrip.
DFW to Northwest Florida Beaches (ECP), my parents’ home airport and the nearest airport to the 30a area, is 18,000 Avios roundtrip per person. These tickets can often price over $500 each, especially during peak travel times, so this is a great value.
2. Redeem as little as 33,000 points for a roundtrip first class ticket on flights operated by American Airlines within the US
Nonstop routes operated by AA within the US start at 16,500 Avios each way, or 33,000 Avios roundtrip in first class.
To compare, AA’s saver pricing for the exact same first class roundtrip ticket that would require 33k Avios would be 50k AAdvantage miles.
Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards bonus points from the Sapphire Preferred welcome offer for Napa hotel stays worth $1800
To do this, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt and then use the Hyatt points to book. Again, these are subject to availability.
3. You can book 2 free nights at Alila Napa for as low as 70,000 points
This is a new adults only property in Napa.
Free nights are 35k/40k/45k (off peak/standard/peak). From what I’ve seen, rates are around $900 per night. That would mean 70,000/80,000/90,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $1800 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.
4. Redeem as little as 63,000 points for 3 free nights at Andaz Napa
Free nights at Andaz Napa are 21k/25k/29k World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. When we stayed at this property a few years ago, rates were over $600 per night. That would mean 63,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $1800 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.
Save lots of money on Hawaii flights and/or hotels with the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus
5. You can book up to 3 roundtrip economy tickets to Hawaii on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines from the west coast with the CSP bonus
More information: How to book American Airlines flights with British Airways Avios
To do this, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways. You can redeem British Airways Avios for Alaska Airlines or American Airlines flights to Hawaii.
British Airways requires 13,000 Avios each way or 26,000 round-trip for flights to Hawaii in economy on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines from west coast cities. Some of these cities include Anchorage, Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle.
You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Singapore Airlines and redeem Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles to book Alaska Airlines flights to Hawaii from the west coast for as low as 24,000 miles roundtrip.
6. If you do not live on the west coast, the bonus is still enough for 2 roundtrip economy tickets between the mainland and Hawaii (and you’ll have points leftover)
The west coast has the lowest redemption prices to Hawaii, but you can book a ticket to Hawaii from other airports by using Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and then use those miles to book United flights to Hawaii from any US city for 35,000 miles roundtrip per ticket.
This is subject to availability and the best way to search for availability is to search on United’s website by checking the flexible dates and award travel options one way at a time. The calendar will show which dates are available to book as saver tickets. These are the tickets that will usually be made available to book with partner airlines such as Singapore Airlines.
Unlike British Airways and Iberia’s programs for booking American Airlines flights, Singapore Airlines Krisflyer’s chart for United and Star alliance award tickets is region based. This means that any place within region A (US lower 48) to any place within region B (Hawaii) requires a fixed amount of miles regardless of distance. Also, a connecting flight does not add to the redemption price when you redeem Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles for flights operated by United.
If United flights are not available to book with KrisFlyer miles, you can also check Southwest. You may also be able to book 2 roundtrip tickets by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest. Their award tickets are priced based on cash fares, so the amount of Rapid Rewards required for a ticket to Hawaii depends on the price. Also remember, if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, you get 2 tickets for the price of 1.
7. Redeem as little as 84,000 Ultimate Rewards points for 4 nights at Grand Hyatt Kauai
To get the welcome bonus on the CSP, you have to spend $4,000 in the first 3. months. You would have a minimum of 4,000 points from that spend, plus the 80,000 welcome bonus, for a total of 84,000 points.
To do this, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt and then use your World of Hyatt account to book. As a WOH category 6 property, a free night at the Grand Hyatt Kauai requires 21k/25k/29k points (off peak/standard/peak). You can book 3 nights for as little as 63,000 World of Hyatt points.
This is one of our favorite Hyatt properties. Award night availability is fairly easy to find, especially if you’re flexible and/or booking in advance. With cash rates that are often $500 per night or more, 3 nights would be a value of over $1500. For more Hyatt properties in Hawaii, click here.
8. Redeem the bonus for 2 nights at Ventana Big Sur…
Or wait until you’ve accumulated more points and redeem for 3 nights because this place is amazing.
We stayed here last October and I cannot recommend this place enough.
NOTE: Ventana was recently moved to a category 8 property which means free nights are now 35,000/40,000/45,000 points per night for a standard room.
Ventana is an Alila property, which is under the Hyatt brand. It is adults-only. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt and then use World of Hyatt points to book this property. This is outstanding considering paid rates for a standard room are often around $1500 or more per night. I know that sounds insane but Ventana is semi all inclusive. Meals and some activities are included. Anyway, 2 nights would be as little as 70,000 points.
This is a great example of redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points with transfer partners vs. the redemption portal
If rates are $1500, 2 nights would be worth $3000, which would make your Ultimate Rewards points worth 5 cents each. Remember, the value of Ultimate Rewards when booking in the portal is a fixed rate of 1.25 with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. If you book with Hyatt points, the redemption price is as low as 35,000 points, but again, this is subject to availability. Finding a standard room at this property can be tough, but you can also book a suite for more points.
- $3000/70000=0.043
- 0.043 x 100=4.3 cents per point
Assuming the paid rate is $3,000 for 2 nights (and that’s a conservative rate, but we’ll go with it!), you would need to redeem 240,000 points to book with the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you were to book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption portal.
You can read more information about redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points for this and other hotels in Big Sur and Carmel here. There are several ways to redeem points for flights to this area and you can read more about that here.
3 night getaways (including flights for 2) for 80,000 points or less
There are several options for this, but basically you want to find a Hyatt property that is category 4 or lower. 3 nights in a category 4 property would be 45,000 WOH points (on a standard date), then you would have 35,000 leftover for flights.
Here are some examples:
I’m using standard date redemption rates. Obviously off peak is less and peak is more.
- Category 4 is: 12k/15k/18k (off peak standard/peak)
- Category 3 is: 9k/12k/15k (off peak standard/peak)
9. 3 nights in Savannah, Georgia (at Andaz Savannah) plus 2 plane tickets
Andaz Savannah is a World of Hyatt category 4 hotel. This means that you can redeem 15,000 WOH points for a free night in a standard room.
Southwest certainly isn’t the only option for flights, but since there is currently a Southwest fare sale, I’m going to check prices there first.
For Saturday May 8-Tues May 11, I can book a nonstop from DAL to SAV for 6,210 Southwest points each way, which is 12,420 roundtrip per ticket. I can transfer 24,840 Chase UR points to Southwest and then redeem the Southwest Rapid Rewards points for 2 roundtrip tickets.
The paid fare for each ticket is $200 roundtrip.
The lowest available paid rate for Andaz Savannah on these dates is ~$250 per night. After taxes and fees, the total for the 3 night stay comes to just under $900
- Hotel value: $885
- Plane ticket value: $400
- Total value: $1285
Total points required: 69,840
10. 3 nights in New Mexico at the hotel where the Bachelorette was filmed plus 2 plane tickets
This resort is located about 25 minutes from Albuquerque. We’ve never been, but it looks like a lovely place for a weekend getaway.
Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa is a World of Hyatt category 3 hotel. This means that you can redeem 12,000 WOH points for a free night in a standard room.
The hotel redemption cost for 3 nights would come to 36,000 points.
You would have 44,000 points leftover to cover flights (or extra nights if you want a longer stay)
Again, I’m going to check Southwest prices to ABQ first.
For Thursday June 10-Sun June 13, I can book a nonstop from DAL to ABQ for 17,644 Southwest points roundtrip per ticket. I can transfer 35,288 Chase UR points to Southwest and then redeem the Southwest Rapid Rewards points for 2 roundtrip tickets.
The paid fare for each ticket is $272 roundtrip.
The lowest available paid rate for Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa on these dates is ~$175 per night but there is a resort fee. After taxes and resort fees, the total for the 3 night stay comes to $657
- Hotel value: $657
- Plane ticket value: $544
- Total value: $1201
Total points required: 71,288
11. Flights plus 3 nights in Wine Country (Hyatt Regency Sonoma)
Hyatt Regency Sonoma is a World of Hyatt category 4 hotel. This means that you can redeem 15,000 WOH points for a free night in a standard room.
The hotel redemption cost for 3 nights would come to 45,000 points.
For Thursday June 10-Sun June 13, I can book a nonstop from DAL to OAK for 18,152 Southwest points roundtrip per ticket. I can transfer 36,304 Chase UR points to Southwest and then redeem the Southwest Rapid Rewards points for 2 roundtrip tickets.
The paid fare for each ticket is $278 roundtrip.
The lowest available paid rate on these dates at Hyatt Regency Sonoma is ~$225 per night but there are taxes and fees. After taxes and resort fees, the total for the 3 night stay comes to $853
- Hotel value: $853
- Plane ticket value: $556
- Total value: $1409
Total points required: 81,304
Other great Hyatt redemptions in the US
To book any of these options, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt and then use the Hyatt points to book the room.
12. Up to 6 nights at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
Though this isn’t an official Disney property, this is a great option if you’re planning a Disney trip. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. My BFF Lexie, who you may remember from some of our trips, went with her family last year and they really enjoyed it.
Free nights are 12,000/15,000/18,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room (off peak/standard/peak). Summer rates are over $200 after factoring in taxes and resort fees (remember, there are no resort fees when you redeem WOH points for free nights). If redemption dates are off peak or standard pricing, that would mean 72,000-85,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a 6 night stay worth over $1200 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.
13. Redeem as little as 21,000 per night at Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa
Free nights are 21,000/25,000/29,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Rates are often over $400. That would mean as little as 63,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $1200 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.
14. Here’s a 3 night stay with a potential value of over $2,000 (Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe) with 75k points
Free nights are 21,000/25,000/29,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Some rates are over $700. I thought this seemed high but I checked multiple dates and this seems to be a typical rate. That would mean as little as 63,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $2100 if you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book this property.
Update 2022: Paid rates at this property now seem more reasonable, but redeeming points may still be a great value!
Mexico- Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for hotels, plane tickets, or both
15. 4 nights in Playa del Carmen for less than 50,000 points
The adults only Thompson Playa del Carmen Main House is a World of Hyatt category 3 hotel. This means that you can redeem 9,000/12,000/15,000 WOH points for a free night in a standard room.
The hotel redemption cost for 4 nights on standard dates would come to 48,000 points.
The lowest available paid rate for Thompson Playa del Carmen Main House on these dates is ~$172 per night but there are taxes and fees. After taxes and resort fees, the total for the 4 night stay comes to $1,033
16. The 80k bonus is enough for to 4 roundtrip tickets to Mexico in economy on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines
More information: How to book American Airlines flights with British Airways Avios
You can book several nonstop American Airlines routes between the US and Mexico for just 18,000 British Airways Avios roundtrip per person in economy. Remember, this is subject to availability.
British Airways has a distance based chart, and any city pairs with nonstop AA flights that are under 1150 miles will price at 9,000 Avios each way. Click here for the British Airways distance chart.
- DFW, LAX, or MIA to Mexico nonstop in economy: 18,000 British Airways Avios roundtrip
- Chicago and New York are a little further, but still have a lower redemption cost than most airline programs for flights to Mexico. Chicago or New York to Mexico in economy: 22,000 British Airways Avios roundtrip per ticket
You can also book flights operated by Alaska Airlines with British Airways Avios. Pricing is the same as that of flights operated by American Airlines.
17. A roundtrip ticket to Mexico on American Airlines in first class can be booked for as little as 33k
Nonstop routes between the US and Mexico operated by AA start at 16,500 Avios each way, or 33,000 Avios roundtrip in first class.
18. Up to 4 free nights at Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta (all inclusive)
To do this, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt and then use the Hyatt points to book the room.
Free nights are 17,000/20,000/23,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Rates I checked for summer were around $400 per night before taxes. That would mean 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $1600 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.
Other Hyatt Ziva properties in Mexico:
- Hyatt Ziva Cancun: 21,000/25,000/29,000 points per night (summer rates I found were around $600)
- Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos: 17,000/20,000/23,000 points per night (summer rates I found were around $400)
19. Free nights at all incusive adults only Hyatt Zilara in Cancun (or Dominican Republic or Jamaica) are as low as 21,000 points per night
To do this, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt and then use the Hyatt points to book the room.
Free nights are 21,000/ 25,000/29,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Most summer rates at all 3 properties are $400 or more after taxes.
20. Free nights at The Cape, A Thompson hotel, Los Cabos start at 21,000 points per night
To do this, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt and then use the Hyatt points to book the room.
Free nights are 21,000/25,000/29,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room (off peak/standard/peak dates). Summer rates are over $500.
Moving on to the rest of North America
21. Roundtrip flights to the Caribbean on American Airlines start at 18,000 Avios
This would be possible by transferring the points to British Airways (or Iberia) and then using British Airways (or Iberia) to book American Airlines flights.
Thanks to the distance pricing of British Airways award tickets, there are several nonstop routes between the US and the Caribbean on American Airlines operated flights that price between 18,000 and 22,000 Avios roundtrip in economy. Here are some examples:
- Miami to any Caribbean island served by American Airlines is 9,000 Avios each way or 18,000 Avios roundtrip per ticket.
- Chicago to Nassau, Bahamas is 11,000 Avios each way or 22,000 Avios roundtrip.
- Chicago to Grand Cayman is 11,000 Avios each way or 22,000 Avios roundtrip.
- DFW to Montego Bay, Jamaica is 11,000 Avios each way or 22,000 Avios roundtrip.
- JFK to St. Thomas, USVI is 11,000 Avios each way or 22,000 Avios roundtrip.
First class nonstops start at 16,500 British Airways Avios each way, or 33,000 roundtrip.
It may also be possible to get even better pricing with Southwest to some of these destinations.
22. Roundtrip tickets between the US and Canada start at 18,000 points
To do this, you would transfer Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways or Iberia.
Any AA nonstop flight from the US to Canada under 1150 miles in distance is 9000 British Airways Avios each way in economy, or 18,000 Avios roundtrip. There are a few nonstop AA routes between the US and Canada that fall into this distance band.
One route that has given us great value is DFW to Vancouver. We have been to Whistler a few times and flights to Vancouver during ski season can be pricey. Since DFW-Vancouver is further than 1150 miles, this route falls into the next tier of award pricing. Nonstop DFW to Vancouver on an American Airlines flight would be 11,000 Avios each way in economy or 22,000 Avios roundtrip.
Costa Rica
23. 80k is enough for 4 free nights at Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica
To do this, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt.
This is one of our favorite Hyatt properties. In the past few years, it has moved from a World of Hyatt category 4 to a WOH category 5 property, but since paid rates can be so high, it’s still a great value. As a WOH cat 5 property, you can book the Andaz Papagayo for 17,000/20,000/23,000 Hyatt points per night (off peak/standard/peak dates). When we visited, rates were close to $600 per night. That’s a value of over $2400 for 4 nights. Click here to read about our stay.
24. Roundtrip tickets from the US to Costa Rica on American Airlines start at 18,000
You can do this by transferring Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways. Nonstop American Airlines flights that are less than 1150 miles in distance price at 9,000 Avios each way or 18,000 Avios roundtrip in economy. Since Miami is less than 1150 miles from Liberia, Costa Rica, the cost is 9,000 Avios each way.
DFW and Charlotte are more than 1150 miles from Costa Rica, so the cost is slightly higher at 11,000 Avios each way. DFW or Charlotte to Liberia, Costa Rica on a nonstop American Airlines flight would require 22,000 Avios roundtrip per ticket. For some reason, Costa Rica flights have been pretty expensive for the past few years. If you can find award availability, this is definitely a great way to book the flights. The problem is, availability can be tough to find for these American Airlines flights to Costa Rica.
There are also options with other Ultimate Rewards partners that you can use to book Costa Rica flights.
Redeem the bonus for a trip across the pond
25. 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points is enough for a roundtrip ticket between the US and Europe on Delta in business class one way and economy the other way
Related post: How to book Delta flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Click here for more info on indirect partnerships.
Subject to availability, of course, but this is one of the best ways to fly across the pond.
This is possible by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic and then using Virgin Atlantic miles to book the flight. Click here for more information about using Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book Delta flights.
Delta is not a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, but you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and then use those miles to book Delta flights between the US and Europe. Virgin Atlantic is not in an alliance but has partnerships with several airlines including Delta. Redemption prices start at 50,000 Virgin Atlantic miles for a one way flight that is operated by Delta between the US and Europe in business class.
Finding availability for Delta business class that is available to book with Virgin Atlantic miles can be a challenge, so it’s definitely helpful to start looking for availability as soon as you start planning a trip. The great thing about booking Delta flights with Virgin Atlantic miles (as opposed to booking Virgin Atlantic operated flights) is that there are usually no fuel surcharges!
Economy flights operated by Delta between the US and Europe start at 30,000 Virgin Atlantic miles. It’s a little easier to find availability in economy when using Virgin Atlantic miles to book Delta flights.
Award tickets booked with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles but operated by Delta do not have fuel surcharges on transatlantic flights outside of the UK. In other words, avoid London routes. Fly to Paris, Amsterdam, or another city served by Delta to avoid fuel surcharges.
26. 2 Nights at Park Hyatt Paris Vendome (or 2 nights at Hyatt’s other top luxury properties)
While there are certainly other Hyatt properties in Paris that you can book for way less points, some people like to use points to splurge on luxury. So this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome.
The Park Hyatt Paris tends to be one of the more expensive hotels in Hyatt’s portfolio. Rates are typically around $850 per night, but can be well over $1000 in peak season. You can book free nights with Chase Ultimate Rewards by transferring the points to World of Hyatt. As a WOH category 8 property, the Park Hyatt Paris is 35,000/40,000/45,000 points per night.
27. At least 1 roundtrip ticket between any US city and any European city (with no fuel surcharges)
There are so many options for this. Click here for a more extensive post on using Chase Ultimate Rewards to book flights between the US and Europe.
- Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to United to book United or Star Alliance partner flights to Europe (as low as 60,000 miles roundtrip in economy)
- Transfer to Virgin Atlantic to book Delta flights to Europe (starting at 60,000 miles roundtrip in economy)
- Transfer to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer to book Singapore Airlines flights for 45,000 Krisflyer miles roundtrip in economy. Note that Houston-Manchester and JFK-Frankfurt are the only two US-Europe routes operated by Singapore airlines, but…
- You can transfer Ultimate Rewards to Singapore Airlines and use Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles to book United and other Star Alliance partner flights to Europe for 55,000 miles roundtrip in economy*
*It costs less miles to book a United flight with KrisFlyer than with United Mileage Plus. With United, it would be 30,000 each way in economy. Some flights booked with KrisFlyer miles but operated by partners may come with a fuel surcharge, but United operated flights do not. United generally has good saver award availability from the US to Europe in economy no matter what your home airport is.
28. 80k is enough for up to 4 roundtrip tickets between the US and London on Virgin Atlantic
Off-peak flights from Boston, Newark, New York (JFK), or Washington DC to London are 20,000 Virgin Atlantic miles roundtrip. That means 60,000 Ultimate Rewards transferred to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club would be enough to book 3 tickets!
Other cities, such as Atlanta, Miami, and Orlando, to LHR start at 25,000 Virgin Atlantic miles roundtrip.
The problem is, Virgin Atlantic adds fuel surcharges. The fuel surcharges and the extra taxes and fees that it costs to fly in and out of LHR bring the total fees for a roundtrip ticket to $350 and up. So you can redeem 60,000 points for up to 3 tickets, but you will pay over $1000 in fees for 3 tickets. Depending on the cash fares your dates, this could still be a good deal. It would just depend on what the paid fare is.
29. A roundtrip tickets to Dublin on Aer Lingus is as low as 26,000
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Aer Lingus at a 1:1 ratio and then use their frequent flyer program to book. Like British Airways and Iberia, Aer Lingus miles are called Avios.
For off peak dates, Aer Lingus-operated flights between these North American cities and Dublin are 13,000 Aer Lingus Avios each way in economy: Boston, Chicago, Hartford, Minneapolis, Montreal, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington. That means each ticket would be only 26,000 Avios roundtrip!
The catch: Aer Lingus has fuel surcharges, but they aren’t as outrageous as what British Airways collects on US-Europe routes. Your total for these Aer Lingus routes would be 26,000 Avios plus about $270 in taxes and fees per ticket. This could still be a good deal, though, especially when cash fares are higher.
Other US cities to Dublin on Aer Lingus are going to require more Avios, but it can still be a good deal, especially on off-peak dates. You can book Aer Lingus flights to Dublin on off-peak dates from these cities for 32,500 Aer Lingus Avios roundtrip: Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, San Francisco, and Seattle.
30. One-way Virgin Atlantic upper class to London (with enough points leftover for a one way economy ticket)
If you want to be fancy, you can fly to London in Virgin Atlantic Upper class by transferring Ultimate Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Award tickets between the US and London start at 47,500 Virgin Atlantic miles each way for Upper Class. The problem is, fuel surcharges are even higher when you book Upper Class. You can expect to pay around $700 in surcharges each way in Upper Class. Depending on how much you value premium travel, this may or may not appeal to you. You can find Virgin Atlantic redemption prices here.
Remember, you can also use Virgin Atlantic to book Delta routes between the US and Europe and you can avoid fuel surcharges. See number 27 on this list
South America
31. A roundtrip tickets to Peru is as low as 26,000
You can do this by transferring Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways and then using British Airways to book the American Airlines operated flight. There are no fuel surcharges when you use British Airways Avios to book American Airlines flights between the US and South America.
Nonstop Miami to Lima in economy on AA is only 13,000 Avios each way or 26,000 Avios roundtrip.
If you need to add a connection, you will need to redeem more Avios. For example, I booked LIM-MIA and then MIA-DFW. MIA-DFW is under 1150 miles, so it prices at 9,000 Avios. So my total for the one-way was 13k plus 9k which is 22,000 Avios. Roundtrip would have been 44,000 Avios. Some routes with connections can be booked with Iberia at a lower rate than British Airways.
Other nonstop routes will be higher since the distance is further. For example, there is a DFW to Lima nonstop route operated by AA, but the time didn’t work for us. That flight would price at 20,750 Avios each way or 41,500 Avios roundtrip.
United also has routes between the US and Peru starting at 17,500 United miles each way or 35,000 roundtrip. This is subject to availability as always, but connecting flights do not add to the redemption price if saver pricing is available when you use United miles.
32. 1 roundtrip ticket to Argentina and other Southern South American countries on United or Star Alliance Partners
Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer to book United or Star Alliance partner flights in economy at 30,000 miles each way to South America. That’s 60,000 miles for roundtrip flights between anywhere in the US and anywhere in South America where Star Alliance partners fly.
Asia
There are soooo many possibilites but I’m just going to list a couple.
33. 3 free nights at some luxury properties such as Alila Uluwatu Bali
Alila Uluwatu Bali is at the top of our list of Hyatt properties we want to book once it’s safe to travel again. Check out the website, but you can book a 3,000 (not a typo) square foot villa with a pool and butler service for as little as 25,000 points per night.
To do this, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt and then use the Hyatt points to book the room.
Free nights are 25,000/30,000/35,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Summer rates are over $700. That would mean as little as 75k Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $2100 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.
34. 1 roundtrip ticket to Japan in economy on American Airlines or Japan Airlines
This is possible by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways and then using British Airways to book either American Airlines or Japan Airlines flights. While we found Japan Airlines economy to be a step above American Airlines, there are fuel surcharges if JAL operates the flight. If you can get a flight operated by American Airlines, there are no fuel surcharges.
Fares on roundtrip flights from the US to Japan are often $1,000 or more. You can get a roundtrip American Airlines flight to Tokyo in economy for as low as 51,500 Avios and less than $50 in taxes and fees.
Examples of city pairs:
- LAX to Tokyo (NRT) is 25,750 Avios each way or 51,500 Avios roundtrip in economy.
- Chicago or DFW to Tokyo is 31,000 avios each way or 62,000 avios roundtrip.
Southwest and Jetblue
Southwest and Jetblue both have programs that base redemption prices on paid fare, so you probably won’t get the value you can potentially get with other Chase partners. But both of these partners are still very useful at times.
35. Southwest flights
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest to book Southwest flights. Southwest award tickets are priced based on the current fare. Cheaper tickets means less Rapid Rewards points required for an award ticket. Without having exact dates and destinations, it’s tough for me to say exactly how far 80,000 Southwest points go.
Southwest points are generally thought to be worth about 1.2 cents each, so that’s a similar value to the Ultimate Rewards booking portal. BUT, it’s worth mentioning Southwest because those points become twice as valuable if you have the Southwest Companion Pass.
36. JetBlue flights
Chase Ultimate Rewards points can also be transferred to JetBlue True Blue. JetBlue didn’t get any attention in this post, but this can definitely be a good program for certain routes. JetBlue award tickets are priced based on the cash fare, but the value is a little tougher to predict than Southwest.
JetBlue points will generally be worth anywhere from 1-1.7 cents per point. Without having exact dates and destinations, it’s tough for me to say exactly how far 80,000 JetBlue points go, but at a rate of 1-1.7, the value would be $800-$1360ish. It’s important to also check portal pricing since 1.25 may be more valuable than transferring to JetBlue.
We booked roundtrip flights to the Bahamas for 7,000 TrueBlue points each. Click here for more info.
Final thoughts
No matter what your travel goals are, opening a card_name credit card and earning the welcome bonus allows you to book at least $750 worth of travel. To get even more value out of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, learn how to use transfer partners! I’m here to help, so feel free to contact me with questions.
Current offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.
Click here for more info on indirect partnerships.
Here is a reference list of which Chase transfer partners you can use. This is a chart I used in a post about flights to California, so I’m including those prices for reference. Obviously a flight between the US and Asia or US and Europe will be different.
| To book flights operated by this airline | You can transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to this program | Redemption pricing | Economy prices from continental US airports to California* |
| *prices could be lower or higher, but these are the typical range | |||
| American Airlines | British Airways Executive Club | Distance based | Between 7.5k and 13k each way for nonstop |
| Iberia Plus | Distance based | Between 17k and 28k roundtrip, depending on your starting airport and route | |
| Alaska Airlines | British Airways Executive Club | Distance based | Between 7.5k and 13k each way for nonstop flights |
| Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles | Zone-based | Between 8.5 and 14k each way for nonstop flights | |
| Emirates Skywards miles | Zone-based | From anywhere in California to another California destination is 15k roundtrip Anywhere else in the continental US to California is 25k roundtrip | |
| Delta | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Zone-based | 12.5k each way for nonstop from anywhere in the continental US. Adding a segment is more |
| Flying Blue AirFrance/KLM miles | Dynamic(ish) | 11.5k-14.5k each way, but this could vary slightly based on starting airport and nonstop vs. connecting flights | |
| JetBlue | Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer directly to JetBlue | Fare-based | Redemption prices are mostly tied to the fare. BOS-SFO, a long route, was available at low rates on dates I searched, so the redemption cost was as low as 11,200 each way |
| Emirates Skywards miles | Zone-based | Redemption prices aren’t good for flights to California, but using Emirates miles to book JetBlue flights may make sense with other destinations. | |
| Southwest | Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer directly | Fare-based | No matter what the route is, Southwest redemption prices are mostly tied to the fare. -A $300 ticket is ~25,000 points. -A $200 ticket is ~16,700 |
| United | Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer directly | Dynamic | DFW-SJC 12.5k each way in economy. Dynamic pricing means this could vary. |
| Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles | Zone-based | A United operated flight from anywhere in continental US to California 14k Krisflyer miles each way (subject to availability) | |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Zone-based | 6k-12.5k each way in economy |
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