37 Ways To Redeem 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (Updated August 2021)

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I love writing redemption posts. I have several readers with hundreds of thousands of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, so in this post I’ll discuss some ideas of what to do with 100,000 Chase points.

How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points if you don’t already have them

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. If you have a spouse or partner who can also credit cards, and if you’re able to meet the minimum spending requirement, each spouse can have their own card. This means you would have a total of 120,000 bonus points.

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 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points?

It depends on how you redeem, but if you redeem the points for travel, 100,000 points are worth at least $1250. 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.  

$1250 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 100,000 points worth a lot more than $1250.

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 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points for more than $1,250

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:

1. Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt. Your Ultimate Rewards points become World of Hyatt points.
2. 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 “paying” with points at a fixed value.

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.

I found a room for 4 nights January 19-23, 2022 for this example.

As long as a room is available to book with points, 25,000 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.

4 nights would require a total of 100,000 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 June 19-22, 2021 is $659 per night when booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal.

This means that you can redeem 52,720 points per night. After taxes, that would actually go up a little, but to keep it simple, we’ll use this rate for this example.

Total for 4 nights is over 210,880 points.

When dealing with such small numbers, it can be hard to understand the potential impact an extra cent per point can have on the bigger picture.

The bottom line is that redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards for this exact same 4 night stay could require either 100,000 points or over 210,000 points, depending on how you book. It obviously makes sense to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt to book this particular stay. By doing so, you’re saving over 110,000 points total.

The total value for this stay is over $2800 after factoring in taxes and fees. This is what I mean when I say 100,000 points have the potential to be worth a lot more than the $1250 you would get when booking through the redemption portal.

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 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points are with transfer partners, I’m going to list several other ways to spend 100k.

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 100,000 points would cover up to $1,250 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 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 since the annual fee is lower and the bonus offer is better.  But if the annual fee is your main concern, the Reserve comes with lots of benefits and statement credits that may offset the higher annual fee.  

• 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 a sign up bonus unless it has been 48 months or more since you last received a bonus from either of these 2 cards.
• 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.

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Current offer: Earn 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. 

37 ways to redeem 100,000 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. There are always exceptions, though, and you can read more about redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Marriott stays here.

I know some international destinations on this list are still closed and/or restricted, 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.

Iberia now has the same redemption pricing as British Airways. I prefer British Airways because Iberia’s website can be glitchy, plus I feel that British Airways is easier to deal with if you need to change or cancel flights. The exception would be for transatlantic flights. Both programs impose fuel surcharges for AA flights between the US and Europe, but Iberia’s are sometimes more reasonable. More on that a little later.

1. You can book up to 5 roundtrip American Airlines tickets within the US in economy with 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points

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 couple years ago, we used British Airways Avios to book 2 last minute AA tickets worth a total of $1400! At the time, we only had to use a little over 20,000 Avios (there was a 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.  

If you do not live in an AA hub city and/or you require a connecting flight, other Chase partners may be better for booking domestic flights.

Note: Alaska Airlines is now in the Oneworld alliance with British Airways. You can also redeem BA Avios for nonstop Alaska Airlines flights starting at 9,000 each way.

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. 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points are enough for up to 3 roundtrip first class tickets 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 points for Napa hotel stays worth over $2,000

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 3 free nights at Alila Napa with 90,000 points

This is a new adults only property in Napa.

Free nights are 30,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. From what I’ve seen, rates are around $800-900 per night. That would mean 90,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $2400-$2700 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.

4. Redeem 100,000 points for up to 4 free nights at Andaz Napa

Free nights at Andaz Napa are 25,000 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 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $2400 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 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points

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.

Routes from further cities will require more Avios/points, but redemption prices on nonstop routes are still reasonable. For example, nonstop DFW to Maui on an AA flight in economy would be 41,500 Avios per ticket. To compare, the AAdvantage program requires 40k-45k for this exact flight.

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.

Note: Previously, British Airways had a non alliance partnership with Alaska Airlines, but Alaska Airlines is now in the Oneworld alliance so you should also be able to redeem Iberia Avios for Alaska Airlines flights.

6. If you do not live on the west coast or have the option of a nonstop AA flight, 100,000 points are still enough for 2 roundtrip economy tickets between the mainland and Hawaii

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 not all seats that are available on United.com to book with United miles will be available to book with Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles. It is very important to confirm that a seat is available to book with Krisflyer miles before transferring any Chase points to Singapore Airlines. You can make a free Singapore Airlines Krisflyer account and then search for the route you want. Be sure to click the redeem miles box before searching.

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. The price is 17,500 miles each way in economy.

If United flights are not available to book with KrisFlyer miles, you can check Southwest. You may also be able to book 2 or more 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 at the time of booking. Also remember, if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, you get 2 tickets for the price of 1.

Click here for more ways to get to Hawaii with Chase (or Amex) points.

7. Redeem 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points for up to 4 nights at Grand Hyatt Kauai

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 25,000 points. You can book 4 nights for 100,000 World of Hyatt points.

This is one of our favorite Hyatt properties. Award night availability tends to be great. With cash rates that are often $500 per night or more, 4 nights would be a value of over $2000. In the example at the beginning of this post, the rates for those dates is $659 per night, making this even more valuable. For more Hyatt properties in Hawaii, click here.

8. You can book up to 3 nights at Ventana Big Sur with 90,000 Ultimate Rewards points…

We stayed here last October and I cannot recommend this place enough.

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. As a category 7 property, a standard room requires 30,000 points per night. This is outstanding considering paid rates for a standard room are often $1500-$2,000 or more per night. I know that sounds insane but Ventana is semi all inclusive. Meals and some activities are included. Anyway, 3 nights in a standard room would require 90,000 points.

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.

Redeem 100k points (or less) for a 4 night getaway (including flights for 2)

There are several options for this, but basically you want to find a Hyatt property that is category 4 or lower. 4 nights in a category 4 property would be 60,000 WOH points, then you would have 40,000 leftover for flights. You could also book 3 or 4 nights in a category 5 hotel for 20,000 points per night for a total of 60,000 or 80,000.

Here are some examples:

9. 4 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 Oct 23-Wed Oct 27, I can book a nonstop from DAL to SAV for 16,150 points roundtrip per ticket, which is 32,300 for 2. I can transfer 32,300 Chase UR points to Southwest and then redeem the Southwest Rapid Rewards points for the 2 roundtrip tickets.

The paid fare for both tickets is $475 roundtrip.

The lowest available paid rate for Andaz Savannah on these dates is ~$300 per night. After taxes and fees, the total for the 4 night stay comes to over $1200

• Hotel value: over $1200
• Plane ticket value: $475
• Total value: over $1675

Total points required: 92,300

10. 4 nights in New Mexico at the hotel where the Bachelorette was filmed plus 2 plane tickets

The Bachelorette was filmed at this resort 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 4 nights would come to 48,000 points.

You would have 52,000 points leftover to cover flights (or extra nights if you want a longer stay)

I’ve received a few messages and emails about availability being tough to find for the remainder of 2021. Not surprising since this property received a lot of exposure from the show. I did find several dates in 2022, though.

11. Flights plus 4 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 4 nights would come to 60,000 points. Paid rates are typically at least $250 per night after taxes and fees.

You would have 40,000 points leftover for flights.

Another great Hyatt redemption 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. A week 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 for spring break this year and they really enjoyed it.

Free nights are 12,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Rates are often over $200 after factoring in taxes and resort fees (remember, there are no resort fees when you redeem WOH points for free nights) . That would mean 84,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a 7 night stay worth over $1400 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.

Another option if you’re looking for a shorter stay is to redeem 48,000 points for a 4 night stay. You would have 52,000 points leftover. If you’re able to book during a Southwest sale, you may be able to cover all or most of your airfare with those leftover points.

Mexico- Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for hotels, plane tickets, or both

13. 4 nights in Playa del Carmen plus 2 plane tickets

The adults only Thompson Playa del Carmen Main House 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 4 nights would come to 48,000 points. The paid total for 4 nights I found in February is over $1500.

You would still have 52k points for flights. You can look at British Airways to book AA if you live in a city with nonstop AA flights to Cancun. If not, you can check Southwest and other Chase partners.

The fine print:

Since these are international tickets, there are taxes and fees totaling just under $100 per ticket. This means there would be ~$200 in out of pocket fees. Also, this is not an all inclusive hotel, so that may be a deal breaker as I know that is part of the appeal of Mexico for some people.

Their sister property, Thompson Playa del Carmen Beach House, is WOH category 5 meaning free nights are 20,000 points per night. Rates here are around $400, so this would also be a good way to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

14. 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points are enough for up to 5 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.

15. 100k points are also enough for up to 3 roundtrip tickets to Mexico on American Airlines in first class

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.

16. Redeem 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points for 5 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 20,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Rates I checked for early 2022 were around $450 per night before taxes. That would mean 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth over $2250 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.

Other Hyatt Ziva properties in Mexico:

• Hyatt Ziva Cancun: 25,000 points per night (summer rates I found were around $600, so a 4 night stay would be worth $2400)
• Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos: 20,000 points per night (summer rates I found were around $400)

17. 100,000 points are enough for 4 free nights at all incusive adults only Hyatt Zilara in Cancun (or Dominican Republic or Jamaica)

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 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Most rates at all 3 properties are $400 or more after taxes. That would mean 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $1600 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book either of these.

28. 4 free nights at The Cape, A Thompson hotel, Los Cabos

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 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Rates I looked at for early 2022 are over $600. That would mean 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth over $2400 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.

Moving on to the rest of North America

19. 100k points are enough for up to 5 roundtrip flights to the Caribbean on American Airlines

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.

20. Up to 5 roundtrip tickets between the US and Canada

To do this, you would transfer Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways (after confirming availability, of course).

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

21. 5 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 100,000 Hyatt points per night. When we visited, rates were close to $600 per night. A 5 night stay would be a value of over $3000. Click here to read about our stay.

22. Up to 5 roundtrip tickets from the US to Costa Rica on American Airlines

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 consistently 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

23. 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a roundtrip ticket from the US to Athens or Milan in an Emirates business class seat.

Thanks to 2 fifth freedom routes operated by Emirates, you do not have to fly to/through Dubai to get the Emirates first or business class experience. Instead, you can fly between Newark and Athens or New York (JFK) and Milan.

You can book roundtrip flights in business class to Italy or Greece for as little as 90,000 Emirates miles. Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Emirates at a 1:1 ratio, so opening this card and earning the welcome bonus would give you more than enough!

Here are the lowest possible redemption amounts roundtrip for EWR-ATH or JFK-MXP:

• Economy: 45,000 Emirates miles (or 38,750 one way)
• Business: 90,000 Emirates miles (or 62,500 one way)
• First: 170,000 Emirates miles (or 85,000 one way)*

Click here for more information about redeeming Ultimate Rewards points for these flights.

24. 3 Nights at Park Hyatt Paris Vendome (or 3 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 7 property, the Park Hyatt Paris is 30,000 points per night for a standard room.

25. 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points would be more than 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 (after confirming availability) 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. 100k Ultimate Rewards points is also enough for one way in business and one way in economy on Star Alliance carriers on some US-Europe routes

Air Canada Aeroplan is now a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner. You can redeem Air Canada Aeroplan miles for flights operated by Star Alliance carriers. When you redeem Air Canada miles for partner airlines, there may or may not be fuel surcharges.

Air Canada has a distance based award chart. US-Europe routes start at 60,000 miles each way in business class.

For example, Air Canada requires 70k miles each way in business class for DFW-Zurich on a Lufthansa operated itinerary. While Air Canada does charge a partner booking fee, it is reasonable. It is unclear what the rest of the fees are, but it’s not fuel surcharges because Lufthansa fuel surcharges in business class are typically over $700 each way. The total out of pocket for fees for this one way DFW-ZRH operated by Lufthansa in business class would be ~$90 USD. Air Canada may collect fuel/carrier surcharges on some routes operated by other partner airlines.

We actually used Aeroplan to book business class flights for my brother and his wife for their honeymoon on their return flight from Greece!

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. 100,000 points are enough for up to 5 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 100,000 Ultimate Rewards transferred to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club would be enough to book 5 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 100,000 points for up to 5 tickets, but you will pay over $1500 in fees for 5 tickets. Depending on the cash fares your dates, this could still be a decent value for your points. It would just depend on what the paid fare is.

29. Up to 3 roundtrip tickets to Dublin on Aer Lingus

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. Roundtrip Virgin Atlantic upper class to London

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 28 on this list.

South America

31. 100,000 points are enough for up to 3 roundtrip tickets to Peru on American Airlines or United

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 redeem 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.

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. 100,000 is more than enough for points 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 several possibilities but for now, I’m just going to list a couple.

33. 1 roundtrip ticket to Japan with one way in business class and the other in ANA first class from the west coast

It would be tough to top the redemption value of this one.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic is not in an airline alliance, but has partnerships with a few airlines including ANA, Delta, and KLM/AirFrance. This means you can redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles for flights operated by ANA or any of Virgin Atlantic’s other partners. 

ANA’s first class is top notch and a roundtrip ticket between the US and Japan would set you back about $20,000. ANA’s business class also has a great reputation and availability may be easier to find than first class. A paid roundtrip business class ticket between the US and Japan would be $8,000-$10,000. 

Virgin Atlantic’s redemption pricing for business and first class tickets on ANA flights is the lowest of any program that you can use to book ANA flights in premium cabins. 

A one way business class ticket between these US cities and Japan is 45,000 Virgin Atlantic miles, first class is 55,000 Virgin Atlantic miles: 

• Los Angeles
• Seattle
• San Francisco
• San Jose

This means that with 100,000 points transferred to Virgin Atlantic, you can book one way in business class and one way in first class.

A one way business class ticket between these US cities and Japan is 47,500 Virgin Atlantic miles, first class is 60,000 Virgin Atlantic miles:

• Chicago
• Houston 
• New York
• Washington DC

Virgin Atlantic does collect fuel/carrier surcharges, but current surcharges for this ANA route are very low and your total out of pocket for taxes, fees, and surcharges on a roundtrip ticket would be just over $100. 

This is subject to availability and the best way to search for availability is on United.com. If a business or first saver award is available to book with United Miles, it should also be available to book with Virgin Atlantic miles. Just remember, you’re looking for ANA operated routes only; you wouldn’t be able to redeem Virgin Atlantic miles if United or another carrier is operating the flight. Click here for more info about using United.com to search for availability.

After you’ve found availability, you will have to call Virgin to complete the booking. Wait until the agent on the phone confirms the availability and redemption price, then you can transfer from Chase. 

Chase points usually transfer to Virgin Atlantic immediately, so there is no need to transfer until you’ve confirmed availability. 

34. 1 roundtrip ticket to Japan in economy on American Airlines or Japan Airlines

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.

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.

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.

35. 100,000 points would be enough for 3 free nights at luxury properties such as Alila Uluwatu Bali

Alila Uluwatu Bali is at the top of our list of Hyatt properties we want to book as the world opens again. Check out the website, but for 30,000 points per night, you can book a 3,000 (not a typo) square foot villa with a pool and butler service for 30,000 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 30,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. Rates for dates I looked at in 2022 are over $700. That would mean 90,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $2100 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property.

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.

36. $1200 worth of 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 100,000 Southwest points go.

Southwest recently devalued their points this week and Rapid Rewards points are now thought to be worth something like 1.2 cents each. so to give you a ballpark figure, 80,000 Southwest points can be used to book about $1200 worth of Southwest tickets. Those points become twice as valuable if you have the Southwest Companion Pass.

37. $1000-1500 worth of 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 1-1.5 cents per point. Without having exact dates and destinations, it’s tough for me to say exactly how far 100,000 JetBlue points go, but at a rate of 1-1.5, the value would be $1000-$1500ish.

We booked roundtrip flights to the Bahamas for 7,000 TrueBlue points each. Click here for more info.

Final thoughts

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.

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