How to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value

You can never have too many Chase Ultimate Rewards points. This transferable rewards currency gives you access to some of the best hotel and airline transfer partners; therefore, it maintains its place as one of the most valuable to have in your wallet. TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2.05 cents each, per our April …

Apr 3, 2025 - 17:15
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How to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value

You can never have too many Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

This transferable rewards currency gives you access to some of the best hotel and airline transfer partners; therefore, it maintains its place as one of the most valuable to have in your wallet. TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2.05 cents each, per our April 2025 valuations, which is what you should aim for when redeeming your points to help you maximize your rewards.

However, you can also use your points to book car rentals, hotels and flights in the easy-to-use Chase Travel℠ portal at a value of 1.25 cents per point or 1.5 cents per point when using certain Chase credit cards

And for a limited time, you can earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) — which TPG values at over $2,000.

Therefore, learning how to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value is essential if you want to make the most of your hard-earned points.


Offer alert: Add 100K Ultimate Rewards Points to your balance with this limited-time offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred.


How can I redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points?

If you want to maximize your Ultimate Rewards points, usually the most lucrative option is to transfer them to one of Chase’s 11 airline or three hotel partners. Whether you want to save money on an economy fare, a first-class flight or a luxury hotel, you can use your points to travel the world and cut the cost by thousands of dollars.

If you don’t want to transfer your points to airline and hotel partners, you can use your rewards for virtually any kind of travel booking — flights, hotels, cruises, tours and rental cars — via Chase Travel. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, your points are worth a fixed rate of 1.25 cents each. Meanwhile, cardholders of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) get a higher value of 1.5 cents per point. This is an excellent redemption option for folks who don’t want to deal with potentially complex award program rules.

You can also use your points for nontravel redemptions, such as on Amazon purchases, gift cards or statement credits. However, this will typically yield you between 0.8 and 1 cent per point.

So, to get the most value out of your Chase points, here are the best ways to redeem your rewards.

What are the most valuable ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points?

Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350 A330 London Heathrow LHR Terminal 3
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

As we mentioned, transferring your Chase points to a travel partner is often the best way to get the most value out of them. Here are some of TPG’s favorite ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards points with airline and hotel transfer partners.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Transfer your Chase points to Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program. Though the airline recently switched to dynamic pricing for redemptions, a benefit of this change is that if you are flexible and willing to travel on off-peak dates, you can book one-way Saver seats to the United Kingdom starting at just:

  • 6,000 points in economy
  • 10,500 points in premium economy
  • 29,000 points in business class

Therefore, if you earn the Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus, you could fly round-trip from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Heathrow Airport (LHR) in a lie-flat business-class seat for just 58,000 points (plus fees, taxes and carrier-imposed surcharges) and still have points left over. This is a terrific value for nonstop flights to Europe.

Make sure to look for the red “Saver” tag when searching for the lowest prices, or you can also use Virgin Atlantic’s reward seat checker to find the cheapest Saver fares across multiple dates.

Related: Bringing the fun back to flying: Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class review

United Airlines MileagePlus

Flights within the United States on United Airlines start at just 5,600 MileagePlus miles on shorter routes, such as from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Dulles International Airport (IAD).

With fees and taxes as low as $5.60 per flight, this is a great way to save money on your next domestic flight.

United aircraft lineup
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

If you want to fly to Europe beyond the United Kingdom, consider Air France-KLM Flying Blue. While the program prices most of its awards dynamically, Flying Blue has standardized saver-level pricing for one-way flights between the U.S. and Europe. Award fares start at:

  • 25,000 miles in economy
  • 40,000 miles in premium economy
  • 60,000 miles in business class

Remember that these rates are only for the lowest saver-level seats, which are limited.

Booking business class from the U.S. to anywhere in Europe for 60,000 Flying Blue miles is a great deal, so if you find this price on dates that work for you, jump on it. Plus, the program offers monthly award deals, which means you can spend even fewer miles to fly internationally.

Additionally, you could extend your trip and spend a few days in Paris or Amsterdam using the free Flying Blue stopover program. This is a great way to visit another city without paying additional miles or cash. To book Flying Blue stopovers, you’ll need to call Flying Blue at 800-375-8723.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines has several benefits as a potential destination for your transferred Ultimate Rewards points. First, Singapore is one of the best airlines in the sky, with tremendous service and luxurious onboard products and experiences. The carrier’s long-haul premium products are typically mostly available through the KrisFlyer program, not through its Star Alliance partners.

Second, Singapore’s KrisFlyer program offers great value, with reasonable award charts, low fuel surcharges, routing rules that allow stopovers and the ability to combine multiple partners in one award.

Finally, the online award booking tool is intuitive and easy to use — though be aware that transfers typically are not instantaneous.

One of the best uses of KrisFlyer miles is booking a Saver fare on the world’s longest business-class flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) for just 111,500 miles. This is a great price for almost 20 hours of comfort.

Related: 19 thoughts for 19 hours on the world’s longest flight from New York to Singapore

Singapore airlines A350 business class
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

World of Hyatt

One of the best ways to use Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to World of Hyatt. Hyatt points are generally worth more than Marriott Bonvoy and IHG One Rewards points, so Hyatt is often your best hotel transfer partner within Chase Ultimate Rewards.

World of Hyatt prices most stays using a fixed award chart, dividing properties into Category 1 through 8 and dates into peak, off-peak and standard award nights.

Category 1 properties on off-peak dates are 3,500 points per night, while Category 8 properties on peak dates cost 45,000 points per night.

Category 1 to 5 properties, in particular, can offer some fantastic awards. For example, the Thompson Hollywood costs between 17,000 and 23,000 points per night, the Grand Hyatt Athens costs between 9,000 and 15,000 points, and the Hyatt Regency JFK Airport at Resorts World New York costs between 12,000 and 18,000 points per night.

You can also get substantial value from higher-tier hotels. For example, redeeming 45,000 points per night at the ski-out Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa during peak ski season can help you save a ton of money since the room costs around $1,400 per night. By transferring your Chase points to World of Hyatt to book a stay at this resort, you’d yield a redemption value of over 3 cents per point. Other notable World of Hyatt redemption properties include the Park Hyatt St. Kitts Christophe Harbour and the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa, which cost between 25,000 and 35,000 points per night. Both of these luxury properties routinely sell for over $1,000 a night, so this is a great redemption option.

Related: Best Hyatt hotels in the world

Best cards to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points

Here are the best ways to earn Ultimate Rewards points with Chase credit cards:

The first three cards earn fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points, while the remaining two are technically billed as cash-back credit cards.

However, if you also have an Ultimate Rewards points-earning card, you can convert your Chase cash-back rewards to Ultimate Rewards points. For this reason, having more than one Chase card in the family can make sense to maximize your earning and redeeming potential.

Bottom line

It’s no secret how much we love Ultimate Rewards points at TPG. With so many great airline and hotel transfer partners, especially World of Hyatt, you can get great value from your next Ultimate Rewards points redemption.

Plus, with an amazing limited-time offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card to earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, now is a great time to consider adding a Chase card to your wallet to help you earn and redeem Ultimate Rewards points for dream-worthy travel redemptions.