The Chase Freedom® is not currently available to new cardholders. Please visit our list of the best cash-back cards for alternative options. The Pay Yourself Back benefit mentioned below ended Dec. 31, 2022
Redeeming credit card rewards for gift cards or travel can be exciting, especially if you have certain Chase credit cards. Popular Chase cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees), are known for earning highly coveted Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.
These points are some of the most lucrative credit card rewards and have the potential to be worth 25% or 50% more value, depending on the card.
Whether you’ve been a Chase cardholder for a while or you’re new to Chase Ultimate Rewards (CUR), it’s important to know how you can get the most value out of your points.
To help you make sense of all your redemption options, we used first-person knowledge of Chase Ultimate Rewards to create an easy to follow guide that addresses common questions about the rewards program.
How to maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Which Chase credit cards earn Ultimate Rewards® points?
Chase credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards include:
How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points
There are three main ways you can earn Ultimate Rewards points: everyday spending, welcome bonuses and referral bonuses. Here’s how each option works:
Everyday spending
All Chase Ultimate Rewards cards earn points in some capacity. Even the Freedom cash-back cards accrue Ultimate Rewards points with cash value. The exact rewards rate you earn on everyday spending depends on the card.
For instance, the Sapphire Preferred earns 3X points on dining at restaurants, 2X points on travel and 1X points on all other purchases.
Meanwhile, the Freedom Flex earns 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate (then 1%), 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services) and at drug stores and 1% cash back on all other purchases. (Check out the Chase Freedom cash-back calendar.)
Since the cash back you earn from the Freedom Flex card is accrued as Ultimate Rewards points, a $50 dining purchase at 3% cash back is equal to 150 points, or $1.50.
Welcome bonus
Currently, all Ultimate Rewards cards offer a welcome bonus, which allows you to earn a large lump sum of points within the first three months from account opening.
The Sapphire cards tend to have the largest bonus offers, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offering 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Referral bonus
Another way to earn points is by referring friends to apply for the Chase card you have. Refer-a-friend bonuses allow you to earn upwards of $100 each time you refer someone for a credit card and they apply then get approved.
Chase continually offers a variety of referral bonuses that you can send out to friends and family multiple times. Here are some current offers:
- Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited: Earn $100 cash back for each referral, up to $500 per year.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 15,000 bonus points for each referral, up to 75,000 bonus points per year.
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card(see rates and fees): Earn 20,000 bonus points for each referral, up to 100,000 bonus points per year.
- Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card and Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card: Earn up to 200,000 bonus points per calendar year. That's 40,000 bonus points for each family member or friend who gets a card.
How to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Here are some ways you can redeem points:
- Travel through Chase Travel℠
- Transfers to participating airline and hotel traveler programs, including JetBlue TrueBlue and Marriott Bonvoy™
- Pay Yourself Back statement credits, with eligible categories
- Cash back outside of Pay Yourself Back
- Gift cards
- Merchandise
*The Ink Plus® Business Card is no longer accepting new applicants.
What are Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth?
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are some of the most valuable credit card rewards. Points have a standard 1:1 value when you choose to redeem for statement credits, gift cards (unless there’s a sale) and transfers to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs.
One-to-one value means that 1 point is worth a penny. When it comes to loyalty program transfers, it simply means 1 point is still worth 1 point with the partner. So 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points equals a $10 statement credit or 1,000 partner miles/points.
In order to increase the value of your Ultimate Rewards points by 25% or 50%, you’ll need to have a card that boosts the value of points.
Here’s a breakdown of eligible card and their added value:
To receive the extra value, you must redeem points for travel through Chase TravelSM.
How to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points
If you have more than one Chase Ultimate Rewards card, you may consider combining points into one account so you can pool rewards and potentially cash them in for greater value. You may also want to transfer points to someone in your household with an Ultimate Rewards card.
Here’s how to initiate a transfer:
- Log in to the Chase Travel℠ portal.
- Expand the “Earn / Use” menu to view redemption options.
- Click on “Combine Points” (you may have to click “See All” to reveal the “combine points” option).
- Choose the card you want to transfer points from and the card you want to move points to, then “Continue.”
- Enter how many points you would like to transfer and confirm the amount.
- Review the transfer request, then “Confirm & Submit.”
- Record your order number in case there’s an issue.
Learn more about transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
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Information about the Chase Freedom Flex®, Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
