When to transfer Chase points instead of booking a hotel through Chase Travel?

Many travelers love redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points for hotel stays through the Chase Travel℠ portal. Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) cardmembers get a redemption value of 1.5 cents per point when doing so, while Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees) cardmembers get …

May 7, 2025 - 22:13

When to transfer Chase points instead of booking a hotel through Chase Travel?

Many travelers love redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points for hotel stays through the Chase Travel℠ portal. Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) cardmembers get a redemption value of 1.5 cents per point when doing so, while Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees) cardmembers get 1.25 cents per point.

However, if you have one of these three cards, you could also transfer your Chase points to select hotel loyalty programs — IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt — at a 1:1 ratio and redeem points through that program for your stay.

Offer ending soon: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Highest-ever 100,000-point bonus after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

It’s relatively easy to book a stay regardless of whether you book through the Chase Travel portal or transfer points to a hotel partner loyalty program and then redeem through that program, so ease of booking shouldn’t be a factor. However, when deciding how to redeem Chase points for a hotel stay, there are two important aspects to consider. So, let’s dive in.

Points required for your stay

The easiest way to determine whether you should transfer Chase points to a hotel loyalty program or book a hotel through Chase Travel is to compare the number of points you’d need to redeem.

If you want to book a specific Hyatt, IHG or Marriott property, you can compare the points cost through the Chase Travel portal to the points cost of the property if you redeemed through the hotel loyalty program.

For example, I could transfer 5,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt and then redeem 5,000 Hyatt points for this night at the Hyatt Place Atlanta Airport – North.

But if I wanted to book through Chase Travel using points from my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card account, I’d need to redeem 9,646 Chase points for the same night.

Booking a hotel through Chase Travel — CHASE TRAVEL

In this case, I’d get better value by transferring Chase points to Hyatt and booking an award stay through the World of Hyatt program.

If you don’t have a specific property you want to book, you can still compare your options by choosing a property through Chase Travel and checking award rates for properties bookable through Marriott, IHG and Hyatt. This will let you compare your options and the number of Chase points you’d need to redeem for each.

Loyalty program benefits

The second aspect to consider is loyalty program benefits when you book directly, including on award stays. For example, I appreciate getting benefits due to my hotel elite status when I book directly with Hyatt, Marriott and IHG. Plus, I like earning elite-qualifying nights toward requalifying for elite status with these programs. After all, these programs all provide elite-qualifying nights, even on award stays.

Hyatt House At Anaheim Resort/Convention Center. MARTIN VAN HEMERT/HYATT

You usually won’t get loyalty program benefits and elite earnings when you book through an online travel agency like Chase Travel, with the exception of select properties booked through The Edit by Chase Travel. So, I use Chase Travel to book hotels outside my primary hotel loyalty programs, such as boutique or independent hotels.

Bottom line

Comparing your options is important, and can let you get more value from your Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

For example, my sister-in-law has the Chase Sapphire Preferred and was going to book a one-night stay during a road trip through the Chase Travel portal for about 20,000 Chase points. Before she did so, I found her a comparable Category 1 Hyatt property that only cost her 5,000 points for the same night if she transferred Chase points to Hyatt and then redeemed Hyatt points for her stay. In this case, she saved around 15,000 Chase points simply by transferring points to Hyatt instead of booking through the Chase Travel portal.

However, it’s also worth remembering that you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to various airline loyalty programs. Check out the following stories to learn more about how to maximize your redemptions: