How do Chase Ultimate Rewards work?

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are earned on Chase credit cards (even their cash-back credit cards). You can earn at least 1 Ultimate Rewards point per dollar spent simply by making a purchase using your card, and for bonus category purchases you’ll earn more. When your statement closes each month, the points will be deposited into your account and will be ready to redeem. Although some redemption options deliver more value than others, you can redeem your points for travel, cash-back, gift cards, merchandise, or transfer to travel partners. These points are some of the most valuable rewards you can earn because they offer flexible reward redemption options and additional value when redeemed for travel on Chase premium credit cards.

Can I use miles to book a tour?

Some airlines allow you to use miles to book a vacation package and add on a tour or other experience. Delta Air Lines is one of the loyalty programs for using miles to book vacation packages and add-on activities.

How does a statement credit work?

When you earn rewards on a credit card, one of the redemption options for those rewards may be to request a statement credit on your monthly bill. Each credit card issuer will value your rewards differently, and in some cases, a statement credit is your best option. Other credit cards may have additional redemption options that deliver much better value. These options would include transferring your points to other travel partners such as airlines or hotel programs. You can generally receive 1 cent per point or mile in value for a statement credit, so it isn’t a good redemption if you receive less.

Which purchases count as travel?

Each credit card issuer defines travel purchases a bit differently. Chase, for example, defines travel as purchases made at: Airlines Buses, limos, taxis, ferries Campgrounds Car rental agencies Cruise lines Highway and bridge tolls Hotels and motels Parking lots and garages Passenger trains Timeshares Travel agencies and discount travel sites Other credit card issuers may have a more expansive or more limited list. You’ll want to check the offer terms when applying for a credit card or the benefits guide you receive with your card to confirm the specific requirements. Merchant codes of specific card networks such as Visa or Mastercard can also determine if the purchase may be coded as travel.

Best Credit Card Rewards Programs for Booking Experiences [2023]

When planning a trip, we usually think first of booking the airfare and lodging, hopefully using rewards earned on our travel rewards credit cards.

But you may not be aware that you can book destination experiences with miles and points, too.

Think of the possibilities of paying for your tours, day trips, transportation, and entertainment using rewards currency instead of cash!

Yes, it’s true: you can use points to skip the line at the Vatican, tour the pyramids of Giza, or spend your rewards to have lunch at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Of course, you know we’re advocates for getting the best value for your hard-earned rewards. For that reason, we’re going to take a look at some of the best rewards programs for booking destination experiences.

In this article, we’ll cover how to book experiences with popular credit card rewards programs including Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Let’s get started on this journey and discover how to book exciting destination experiences.

Table of Contents

Best Rewards Programs and Associated Credit Cards for Booking Experiences — Overview
Chase Ultimate Rewards
- How To Use Ultimate Rewards for Purchasing Experiences
American Express Membership Rewards
Capital One Miles
Citi ThankYou Rewards
Booking Experiences With Cash-back
Additional Option for Booking Experiences
Final Thoughts

Best Rewards Programs and Associated Credit Cards for Booking Experiences — Overview

We’ll jump into the how-to details shortly but first, let’s review some of the best programs that you can use to redeem rewards for experiences.

Occasionally, you might just have to pay for destination experiences directly using your credit card. When that happens, you’ll want to make sure you are earning the most rewards possible on your purchase, so we’ve also included the best credit cards within these recommended programs for purchasing experiences.

Rewards Program	Recommended Cards	How To Redeem Rewards for Experiences	Earnings on Experience Purchases
Chase Ultimate Rewards	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Redeem points for 1.25 cents each via the Ultimate Rewards portal Transfer points to travel partners to book via airline or hotel loyalty programs	2x points per dollar spent on travel
	Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card		3x points per dollar spent on up to $150,000 in combined purchases each card anniversary year on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
	Chase Sapphire Reserve®	Redeem points for 1.5 cents each via the Ultimate Rewards portal Transfer points to travel partners to book via airline or hotel loyalty programs	3x points per dollar spent on travel
Amex Membership Rewards	The Platinum Card® from American Express American Express® Gold Card	Transfer points to airline transfer partners and redeem for vacation packages or add-on experiences	1x points per dollar spent
Amex Membership Rewards	The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express		2x points on everyday business purchases up to $50,000 per year; 1x thereafter
Capital One Miles	Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card	Transfer miles to airline or hotel partners and redeem via the associated loyalty programs Redeem miles for a statement credit against travel purchases from the previous 90 days	2x miles per dollar spent
Citi ThankYou Rewards	Citi Premier® Card	Transfer points to airline or hotel partners and redeem via the associated loyalty programs Redeem points for 1 cent each for experiences	1x points per dollar spent
Cash-back Cards	Chase Freedom Unlimited®	Redeem points for a statement credit for 1 cent each Transfer to Chase premium cards and redeem for experiences for up to 1.5 cents in value per point	1.5% cash-back on all purchases, including experiences
	Citi Custom Cash℠ Card	Redeem for a statement credit toward purchased experiences	5% cash-back on the highest spending category each statement period, including travel
	Citi® Double Cash Card	Redeem for a statement credit toward purchased experiences Transfer points to Citi Premier card to then transfer to airline or hotel partners	2% cash-back on all purchases, 1% when charged, 1% when paid

Bottom Line: Credit card rewards programs that earn transferable rewards, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards, can work well for purchasing destination experiences. In addition, cash-back-earning credit cards allow you to accumulate cash in your account to pay for future experiences.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase Ultimate Rewards are great for purchasing experiences — that’s because on premium Chase credit cards you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for 25% to 50% more value through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

Here are some of the best cards for earning Ultimate Rewards points:

Chase credit cards such as the Chase Freedom Flex℠, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card also earn points that can be redeemed for 1 cent per point for travel, including experiences.

A better option, which we recommend, is pairing these cards with any of the Chase premium credit cards mentioned above and transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the premium card to use for travel and experience redemptions for up to 50% more.

How To Use Ultimate Rewards for Purchasing Experiences

Want to buy train tickets to Machu Picchu, find a private guide to show you around the Pyramids of Giza, or spend a day in Hunter Valley wine country while visiting Sydney, Australia?

You can use Ultimate Rewards points to pay for these and thousands of other experiences throughout the world.

First, log in to your Ultimate Rewards account, and under Earn/Use, click on Travel.

Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal — You’ll be able to redeem points for experiences once you’ve entered the travel section of the dashboard. Image Credit: Chase

Next, you’ll want to select Activities.

Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal Activities — Activities are just one option for redeeming your rewards. Image Credit: Chase

Type in the name of the city you’re visiting and the dates for which you want to find activities.

Ultimate Rewards Activities — There’s an affordable experience option no matter which city you select. Image Credit: Chase

You’ll find a great selection of things to do at reasonable prices. For Sydney alone, there were 292 choices! To decide, you can sort by price, popularity, and more.

Ultimate Rewards Sydney Activities — Chase shows options from dozens of local service providers. Image Credit: Chase

In addition to tours and activities, you’ll also find choices for airport transportation, train tickets, river cruises, overnight excursions, and more! And they’re all discounted when paying with Ultimate Rewards points, though the amount depends on which Chase credit card you use.

Hot Tip: You can use a combination of Ultimate Rewards points and cash to purchase any of the experiences available. Once you select the experience, you will see an option to apply the amount of points or cash you wish to use. You’ll also earn Ultimate Rewards on the cash portion when you pay with your Chase credit card!

American Express Membership Rewards

Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Use your rewards to book an entire vacation package, including unique experiences. Image Credit: Universal Orlando

While Membership Rewards points cannot be redeemed directly to book experiences, the rewards are still among the most valuable types of rewards you can earn.

There is an option we want to share for redeeming points for experiences, but first, here are our favorite cards for earning Membership Rewards points:

If you’re a business owner, you’ll also want to review our latest list of the best American Express business credit cards.

To receive maximum value for your Membership Rewards points, we recommend you use the Amex transfer partners.

Unfortunately, you cannot book add-on experiences using Membership Rewards points via the Amex Travel website.

You can, however, transfer Membership Rewards points to partner airlines that offer the purchase of vacation packages and add-on experiences using miles (for example, we detail how to do this with Delta Air Lines later on).

You can also purchase gift cards from bonus category merchants to use for experiences. The Amex Gold card, for example, earns 4 points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year; earn 1x thereafter). Some supermarkets sell gift cards for theme parks, entertainment, and transportation.

If you want to learn more about the best credit cards for purchasing gift cards, we have a great article on the topic.

Hot Tip: It is possible to transfer your Membership Rewards points to airline frequent flyer programs and then secure an entire vacation package, which could include additional experiences such as Universal Studios park tickets and more!

Capital One Miles

Wine and glasses in tent — Capital One miles can be used for a statement credit to offset travel purchases, including experiences. Image Credit: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen via Unsplash

Capital One Miles is a flexible rewards program whose currency can be used, indirectly, to pay for experiences.

Here are some of the best credit cards for earning Capital One miles:

To pay for experiences with Capital One miles, you have 2 options:

Transfer Miles to Airline or Hotel Programs — You can redeem the associated frequent flyer miles or hotel loyalty points for airline vacation packages with add-on experiences or experiences via a hotel loyalty program such as Marriott Moments.
Redeem for a Statement Credit — Capital One offers the option to redeem miles against travel purchase in the previous 90 days. For example, you can book an experience with your Capital One credit card and redeem miles (for 1 cent in value each) for a statement credit to wipe out that purchase.

Bottom Line: To redeem Capital One miles to pay for experiences, transfer miles to travel partners and book experiences through those associated loyalty programs or redeem miles against an experience purchase from the previous 90 days for a statement credit.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Using Citi ThankYou Points to book destination experiences is simple, and there are plenty of great choices.

One of the best credit cards for earning ThankYou Points is the Citi Premier card.

Additional Citi cards that earn ThankYou Points are the Double Cash card and the Citi Rewards+® Card.

Here’s how to redeem ThankYou Points for experiences.

First, log in to your online Citi card account and select the option to redeem ThankYou Points. Then, select the Travel category.

Citi ThankYou Redeem — After logging in to your Citi account, you’ll see the **Travel** option. Image Credit: Citi

Next, you’ll want to select Activity.

Citi ThankYou Redeem Activities — In addition to flights, hotels, and rental cars, you’ll find the option to redeem rewards for activities. Image Credit: Citi

Then, type in your destination and the dates you will be there. Hit the search option and you’ll be provided with a list of available activities, transportation options, and other experiences.

Citi ThankYou Redeem Tokyo — You’ll be able to select from hundreds of activities throughout the world. Image Credit: Citi

Select your preference from the list, and you’ll then be given the option to apply points or cash to the purchase.

Citi ThankYou Points are worth 1 cent each toward activities.

Hot Tip: The value of the rewards you use to purchase experiences can vary. Select those that yield at least 1 cent per point or mile — never below that!

Booking Experiences With Cash-back

In addition to redeeming flexible rewards points for experiences, you can use cash-back to purchase destination activities.

The best cash-back credit cards for booking destination experiences are those that accumulate cash-back in your account vs. those that apply it automatically to your statement each month.

This is because when cash-back accumulates, you may be able to select the specific purchases for which you’d like to be reimbursed with a statement credit, the amount, and control the timing.

To reimburse yourself for a travel experience purchase, these credit cards are examples of cards that earn cash-back that accumulates in your account:

Hot Tip: As you’re accumulating cash-back in your account, you can also purchase gift cards using your credit card for future travel experiences such as Universal Studios and more. You can then use your cash-back for statement credits to pay off the purchase. It’s a great method of advance expense planning for your trip.

Additional Option for Booking Experiences

Although limited, you can book transportation and some experiences with frequent flyer miles. Delta Air Lines SkyMiles is one frequent flyer program that still allows you to do this.

Here is an example of using miles toward vacation packages and add-on experiences with Delta SkyMiles.

Use Delta Miles for Experiences — When booking Delta Vacations with miles, you’ll find the option to add park passes to your purchase. Image Credit: Delta Vacations

Delta SkyMiles are normally worth 1 cent per mile toward flights when you use the Pay with Miles option as a Delta SkyMiles credit card holder.

For example, if you redeem 50,000 Delta SkyMiles toward a vacation package, including add-on experiences, you’ll get $500 toward the purchase, a value of 1 cent each.

Earn Delta SkyMiles on these credit cards:

Note that 1 cent per Delta mile is not the best value for your points but it is an option for purchasing experiences with your vacation package.

American Express also partners with Delta, so you can earn Amex Membership Rewards points and then transfer those directly to your Delta frequent flyer account.

It’s possible to earn Membership Rewards points very quickly due to their generous welcome bonuses, as well as their bonus spend categories.

Hot Tip: Did you know you can book experiences via hotel loyalty programs using rewards points? Check out our informative article that walks you through additional options for booking experiences using points and miles.

Final Thoughts

The next time you book a trip, don’t forget about the opportunity to book destination experiences or transportation options with your points, cash-back, or miles.

You may be able to find good value for your rewards points and receive the added benefit of trying something new!

For rates and fees of the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, click here.

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The Best Credit Card Rewards Programs for Booking Experiences [2023]

Best Rewards Programs and Associated Credit Cards for Booking Experiences — Overview

Chase Ultimate Rewards

How To Use Ultimate Rewards for Purchasing Experiences

American Express Membership Rewards

Capital One Miles

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Booking Experiences With Cash-back

Additional Option for Booking Experiences

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

How do Chase Ultimate Rewards work?

Can I use miles to book a tour?

How does a statement credit work?

Which purchases count as travel?

About Christine Krzyszton

Any thoughts or questions? Comment below! Cancel reply

Advertiser Disclosure

Best Rewards Programs and Associated Credit Cards for Booking Experiences — Overview

Chase Ultimate Rewards

How To Use Ultimate Rewards for Purchasing Experiences

American Express Membership Rewards

Capital One Miles

Citi ThankYou Rewards

Booking Experiences With Cash-back

Additional Option for Booking Experiences

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

How do Chase Ultimate Rewards work?

Can I use miles to book a tour?

How does a statement credit work?

Which purchases count as travel?

About Christine Krzyszton

Any thoughts or questions? Comment below! Cancel reply

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Advertiser Disclosure