Best Ways to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Transfer partners are the real value

Chase points are most valuable transferred 1:1 to travel partners. The standout is World of Hyatt: Hyatt award nights frequently return well over 2 cents per point, the best mainstream sweet spot in the hobby. Airline partners like United, Southwest, and Air Canada Aeroplan add strong value for flights. Confirm the current partner list before transferring.

The portal and cash floor

Booking through the Chase Travel portal redeems points at a fixed rate (often elevated on premium cards), which is easy and a reasonable floor when you do not want to chase awards. Cash back is worth a flat 1 cent. Both are simpler than transfers but rarely the best value, so use them when convenience matters more than squeezing every cent.

How to decide

Transfer to a partner (and confirm award space first) when you can beat about 1.25 cents per point, which Hyatt and good airline awards easily do; otherwise use the portal or cash. See the Chase Ultimate Rewards guide for earning, and what points are worth for the math.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Award Flight Taxes and Fees, Explained
• The Best and Worst European Countries for Award-Flight Taxes
• Flying to London on Points: How to Beat the Taxes
• The Countries With the Highest Award-Flight Taxes
• Flying to Asia on Points Without the Surcharges

Written by Bryce Casson, Founder of Cardocrat. About the author and how we rank cards.