25 Reasons To Open A Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

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The bonus offer for the card_name card is now 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points. Click here for an updated list of ways to redeem the bonus.

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to 11 different airline frequent flyer programs or 3 different hotel loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio.  You can also redeem the points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption portal for flights and hotels (even those that are not Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners).  Each point can be redeemed for 1.25 cents.  That makes the welcome bonus of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points worth $750!  

To show you just how valuable Ultimate Rewards points are with transfer partners, I’m going to list 25 valuable ways to spend the bonus.

$750 is great, but sometimes, you can get even more value out of Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring to airline or hotel partners.

25 ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points

Everything in this list is subject to availability. 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. For that reason, I suggest waiting until you are absolutely certain your dates and route are available prior to transferring any points. 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. These fees usually total $50-$100 on a roundtrip ticket, but some airports may have higher fees. 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. I’ll also specify routes with higher government fees (such as London). 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!

Note that Marriott and IHG aren’t 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. I wrote a whole post about Marriott Bonvoy vs. the Ultimate Rewards redemption portal here.

1. 3 roundtrip tickets to Mexico on American Airlines

American Airlines is not a direct transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, but British Airways is. You can use British Airways Avios (miles) to book American Airlines flights. You can book several American Airlines routes between the US and Mexico for just 18,000 British Airways Avios roundtrip per person in economy.

To do this, you would transfer the Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways Avios. Then you can use the British Airways program to book American Airlines flights. 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 cost less than most programs for flights to Mexico.  Chicago or New York to Mexico in economy: 22,000 British Airways Avios roundtrip per ticket

If you do not live in an AA hub city and/or you require a connecting flight, Iberia may be a better way to book American Airlines flights. You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Iberia and then use the Iberia Avios to book. Click here for more information about British Airways vs. Iberia.

2. 3 free nights at the Andaz Napa

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 at the Andaz Napa are 20,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room. UPDATE: This property is now 25,000 points per night, but this is still a valuable way to redeem, especially if paid rates are high. When we stayed at this property a few years ago, rates were over $600 per night. That would mean 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a stay worth $1800 if you transfer the points to Hyatt to book this property. Click here for more info about our stay.

3. 1 roundtrip ticket to South Africa

This is possible by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards to Virgin Atlantic and then using Virgin Atlantic miles to book the flights. In addition to Virgin Atlantic flights, you can also book Delta and South African Airways flights to South Africa using Virgin Atlantic miles. Most of the flights I found are operated by Virgin and route through LHR, though. Unfortunately, that means fees are high.

For example, you can fly ATL-LHR-JNB and back (all operated by Virgin Atlantic) in economy for a total of 50,000 Virgin Atlantic miles. Fees for the roundtrip ticket are $600 and up, but these plane tickets are normally $1300 or more. If you fly from JFK, you can get to South Africa for as little as 45,000 Virgin Atlantic miles roundtrip.

If the flight is operated by Delta or South African, fuel surcharges and fees may be less.

4. 2 roundtrip tickets to Hawaii on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines from the west coast

To do this, you would transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways. British Airways has a non-alliance partnership with Alaska Airlines so you can use British Airways Avios for Alaska Airlines flights. You can also book American Airlines operated flights to Hawaii using British Airways Avios.

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 use Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles to book Alaska Airlines flights to Hawaii from the west coast for as low as 24,000 miles roundtrip.

5. 3 free nights at the 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. 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 20,000 Hyatt points per night. When we visited last summer, rates were close to $600 per night. Like the Andaz Napa, that’s a value of over $1800. Click here to read about our stay.

6. 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. I realize this is just over 60,000 Avios, but after meeting the minimum spending requirement of $4,000 to earn the Chase Sapphire bonus, you would have 64,000 Ultimate Rewards points. So these routes would still be bookable with your bonus!

7. 1 roundtrip ticket to Tahiti

AirFrance operates a flight from LAX to Tahiti. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to AirFrance/KLM Flying Blue and then use those miles to book the flight. From Tahiti, you can fly to Bora Bora! Bora Bora is an expensive trip but covering the cost of the Tahiti flight helps offset at least some of your expenses! To get to other French Polynesian islands, you also need to first fly to Tahiti.

Roundtrip economy tickets are as low as 58,000 Flying Blue miles. Taxes, fees and surcharges total $300, but this route is often more than $1,000, so redeeming points still saves lots of money.

8. One roundtrip ticket to Brazil or Argentina on American Airlines

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways and then use British Airways Avios to book American Airlines flights to South America. Here are some nonstop routes that are going to be under 60,000 points for a roundtrip economy ticket:

• DFW to Buenos Aires: 51,500 Avios
• Miami to Rio de Janeiro: 51,500 Avios
• JFK to Buenos Aires: 51,500 Avios

When the flight is operated by American Airlines, there are no fuel surcharges for North America-South America routes when booked with British Airways.

9. 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 most 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.

10. Up to 3 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. Click here for more info about using British Airways vs. Iberia.

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.

11. One-way business class ticket between the US and Europe on Delta

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 business class flights between the US and Europe. I’ve seen routes for as low as 50,000 Virgin Atlantic miles each way. 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! 

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.

12. Up to 3 roundtrip American Airlines flights within the US

You can do this by transferring Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways or Iberia. Depending on your departure city, one program may be better than the other. If you live in a city that does not have nonstop AA flights, using Iberia to book might result in a lower redemption cost. Click here for more information about how each program calculates distances.

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 $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 tickets totaling $1400 would still be an excellent value.

An AA nonstop flight within North America (including the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and Central America) under 1150 miles in distance is 9000 British Airways Avios each way in economy, or 18,000 Avios roundtrip.  Plus you don’t have to worry about fuel surcharges on these routes!

DFW to Panama City Beach, Florida, my parents’ home airport, 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.

13. 2 or 3 roundtrip tickets between the US and Canada

To do this, you would transfer Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways or Iberia. Click here for more information about how each program calculates distances. One program may result in a lower redemption cost than the other.

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.

14. 2 roundtrip tickets to Peru on American Airlines

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 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 recently 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. Click here for more info

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.

15. 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 series 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 (60,000 miles roundtrip 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.

Remember, United will be eliminating the award chart for their own flights. Those flights are now priced dynamically. While it’s definitely possible to find roundtrip tickets to Europe on United operated flights for less than 60,000 United miles, there is no chart that dictates award ticket pricing. But there are still award charts for Star Alliance partners. You can fly from the US to Europe on airlines such as Lufthansa and Swiss Airlines for 60,000 United miles roundtrip. The great thing about United is that they do not collect fuel surcharges, so as long as you don’t flight through London, your taxes and fees will generally be less than $100 on a roundtrip Europe ticket.

16. 2 nights at the 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 get 2 nights for 50,000 World of Hyatt points.

This is another one of our favorite Hyatt properties. Award night availability tends to be great. With cash rates that are often $600 per night or more, 25,000 World of Hyatt points per night is a good value. For more Hyatt properties in Hawaii, click here.

17. 1 roundtrip ticket to Hawaii from anywhere in the US plus one night at the Grand Hyatt Kauai

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. You can use the remaining 25,000 points for a night at the Grand Hyatt Kauai or several other Hyatt properties in Hawaii. If you’re in 2 player mode, each person can book a flight, and you would have 2 free nights!

Southwest now flies to Hawaii. 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. You may be able to get 2 roundtrip tickets for 60,000 points during a sale. Also remember, if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, you get 2 tickets for the price of 1.

18. 2 or 3 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 to 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 year. 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 other Ultimate Rewards partners you can use to book Costa Rica flights. Click here for more info.

19. 1 roundtrip ticket to South America 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.

20. 2 or 3 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 cash rate is. Click here for more discussion on these fees.

21. 2 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.

22. One-way 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. We’re talking over $600. Depending on how much you value premium travel, this may or may not appeal to you.

Remember, you can also use Virgin Atlantic to book Delta routes between the US and Europe and you can avoid fuel surcharges. See number 11 on this list.

23. 4 nights at the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach

The Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach requires 15,000 World of Hyatt points per night. You can transfer 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points to your World of Hyatt account and then book a free 4 night stay!

The reason I put this property on the list is because if you’re in 2 player mode and you both open a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you may be able to get 2 plane tickets with one person’s bonus and a 4 night stay at this property with the other person’s bonus! Having your plane tickets plus 4 nights of your stay in Hawaii covered by points means you’ll save lots of money on a Hawaii trip!

24. $900 worth of Southwest flights

I barely mention Southwest in this list, but you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest to book Southwest flights. The reason there isn’t much talk of Southwest on this list is because their award tickets are based on the price of 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 60,000 Southwest points go.

Southwest points are generally thought to be worth about 1.5 cents each, so to give you a ballpark figure, 60,000 Southwest points can be used to book about $900 worth of Southwest tickets. Those points become twice as valuable if you have the Southwest Companion Pass.

Update: Southwest points have devalued and are worth about 1.2 cpp.

25. $600-1000 worth of JetBlue flights

Chase Ultimate Rewards points can also be transferred to JetBlue True Blue. Like Southwest, JetBlue didn’t get any attention in this post. The reason is the same. 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 60,000 JetBlue points go, but at a rate of 1-1.7, the value would be $600-$1000ish.

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.

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