Chase Ultimate Rewards points are one of the most valuable transferable currencies you can earn. Because of this — and Chase’s 5/24 rule — many people start with an Ultimate Rewards-earning card when they first get into points and miles.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) currently offers a hearty welcome bonus of 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Meanwhile, the benefit-packed Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
If you’re new to Ultimate Rewards, you can redeem your points directly for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal. However, the most valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards redemptions often involve transferring points to Chase’s 14 airline and hotel transfer partners. This guide will cover some of the best Chase sweet spots to help you maximize your next redemption.
Book luxury Hyatt hotel stays with Chase points
Chase’s relationship with World of Hyatt is great news for anyone collecting Ultimate Rewards points. That’s because World of Hyatt’s award chart is very generous compared to some competitors: Top-tier Category 8 properties cost between 35,000 and 45,000 points per night, depending on the dates.
With Ultimate Rewards points transferring to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, booking these properties at reasonable rates is easy, especially if you can travel outside of holidays and peak travel times.
For example, you can book some of the fanciest Park Hyatt properties in the entire portfolio, including the Park Hyatt New York and the Park Hyatt Sydney, for 35,000 points per night during off-peak dates. TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2.05 cents each per our April 2025 estimates, so 35,000 points are worth just over $700. That’s a great deal for hotels that sell for close to $1,000 per night, even when demand is low.
There’s also great value at the lower end of the Hyatt award chart. With Category 1 hotels ranging from just 3,500 to 6,500 points per night, it’s no surprise this is one of the best ways to spend Ultimate Rewards points.
Related: Why my favorite use of Hyatt points is a Category 1 airport hotel
Book Iberia flights to Madrid with Chase points
Most people associate the Avios currency with British Airways Club (formerly British Airways Executive Club). However, its sister airline, Iberia, also uses Avios and can provide a better value for some flights to Europe.
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Since Iberia’s award chart is distance-based, you may pay more when taking longer routes or connecting flights. Still, you can score a great deal on nonstop flights to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD), operated by Iberia.
Round-trip flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to MAD only set you back 34,000 Avios in economy, 51,000 Avios in premium economy and 68,000 Avios in business class on off-peak dates. Considering that most airlines charge at least 60,000 miles for a one-way business-class award to Europe, you’re essentially getting a 50% discount.
This deal is so good that it might be worth paying for a positioning flight to one of these cities.
You’ll need to fly during off-peak dates to get the lowest prices for each route. Look at the calendar and see if any dates work for you and have award space. Note that the dates in red are peak, and all others are off-peak.
Book flights to Hawaii via Alaska Airlines and American Airlines
Another of our favorite Chase Ultimate Rewards redemptions is transferring points to British Airways Club at a 1:1 ratio and booking flights to Hawaii with Oneworld partners American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
As long as your nonstop flight distance is under 3,000 miles each way, you can leverage British Airways’ unpublished distance-based award chart to fly from several West Coast gateways to Hawaii for reasonable prices in Avios. Most range from 30,000 to 40,000 Avios each way, but we found American flights from Los Angeles to Honolulu and Alaska flights from Seattle to Honolulu for as low as 20,000 Avios.
Related: Airlines you can book using Avios: How to maximize your points
Book ANA flights with Virgin Atlantic points
If you’re looking to fly to Japan in some of the world’s best business- and first-class products, you need to know about Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, another transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Flying Club’s award chart for traveling on Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways has some excellent rates, making this one of the best ways to spend your hard-earned Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
For just 145,000 points, you can fly round-trip in first class between the West Coast and Tokyo. Flights from other U.S. gateways only cost an extra 25,000 points (170,000 points round-trip).
Flights in business class are a steal, costing between 105,000 and 120,000 points round-trip, depending on your U.S. departure airport. You may also be able to fly ANA’s industry-leading The Room business class, which is only available on select routes. Or, you can essentially book a lie-flat seat in economy with ANA’s Couchii.
Availability is strictly limited, so you’ll have the best chance at snagging one of these flights either 12 months in advance when they are first loaded or within 14 days of departure when unsold seats are converted to awards.
Book Delta One flights to Europe via Virgin Atlantic
For another luxurious Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption, you can transfer your points to Virgin Atlantic and book Delta One business-class suites to Europe from eastern and central U.S. destinations for just 47,500 points each way on off-peak dates. This pricing is valid for travel to any European destinations outside the U.K., but you’ll pay more points for connecting tickets since the program charges per leg for Delta Air Lines flights. Thus, choose nonstop routes whenever possible to get the best value.
You can book these flights on Virgin Atlantic’s website. Note that the search tool can be a bit wonky, so you may need to call to book your flight. You can verify award space using a handy tool like Seats.aero.
Compared to what Delta SkyMiles charges for many similar routes — often in the hundreds of thousands of miles — 47,500 points each way is a steal. However, Virgin does impose a huge surcharge for Delta One award redemptions. You can expect to pay over $1,000 per person (one-way) for taxes, fees and surcharges. But for a seat that will typically cost you well over $7,000 one-way, paying the additional fee could be worth it for some.
Book short-haul flights to Canada using Chase points
Though Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty program still uses an award chart, it uses dynamic pricing for flights operated by Air Canada and select partner airlines.
However, you can still find cheap short-haul tickets from the U.S. to Canada. For example, a flight from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) or JFK to Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) can be booked for just 6,500 Aeroplan points one-way on several dates. This is far cheaper than what United Airlines charges for the same flight, which typically sets you back about 15,000 United miles.
How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points
You can earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points through spending on select Chase credit cards. One of our favorites, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, is currently offering its largest welcome bonus since 2021.
The Sapphire Preferred has no foreign transaction fees and many travel perks, including delayed baggage insurance, trip interruption/cancellation insurance and primary car rental insurance.
Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Reserve has additional card perks. Notable benefits include an easy-to-use annual travel credit worth $300, the application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (every four years), Priority Pass Select lounge access and entry to the growing list of Chase Sapphire lounges.
Bottom line
The myriad ways you can redeem your Ultimate Rewards points make them one of the most valuable and versatile transferable points currencies. Whether you’re looking to travel domestically or indulge in international luxury, a transfer partner can help you get there.
While these are some of the best Chase Ultimate Rewards redemptions, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. If you play your cards right (pun intended), there are many other ways to get great value out of your Ultimate Rewards points.
