23 Best Ways to Use 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards For Max Value

BY 

Michael McHugh

- UPDATED: May 8, 2021   |    23

1. Credit Cards

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Chase cardmembers who earn Ultimate Rewards points have the option to transfer their points at a fixed rate, or to a travel partner such as an airline or hotel.

With Chase Ultimate Rewards points, one of the best ways to receive the most value is to transfer your points directly to airlines or hotels.

As you’ll read in the post, different airlines require different numbers of points, which means the value of your points will fluctuate for each redemption.

Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Travel Partners

Chase provides 2 ways to redeem points with their travel partners for flights:

• Redeem points directly for flights, hotels, cars, activities, or cruises through the Chase Travel Portal
• Transfer points to one of 9 airline or 3 hotel partners

Chase offers various personal and business credit cards that will earn Ultimate Rewards points.

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

Recommended Chase Cards (Business)

Chase Airline Transfer Partners

Chase has a total of 9 airline partners. You can transfer to 3 hotel partners, including Hyatt, which transfers instantaneously.

Chase Hotel Transfer Partners

26 Best Ways to Use 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards

As with many other transferable point programs, you receive the most value for your points when transferring them to an airline or hotel partner (rather than booking directly through the Chase travel portal).

A higher value is usually on long-haul flights in premium cabins where the revenue of the flight is high.

This post explains some of the best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards across all of their airline and hotel partners.

1. Fly From the West Coast To Singapore (Singapore Airlines)

Singapore Airlines is one of 2 airlines offering nonstop flights from the U.S. to Singapore (the other is United).

With 95,000 KrisFlyer miles, you can fly Singapore Airlines business class on a 14+ hour flight. This airline is known for its exceptional product.

Singapore Airlines flies nonstop from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. If you prefer to take the long way, you can fly from New York through Frankfurt or Houston through Manchester for 4,000 additional miles.

You can book a round-trip economy flight for only 76,000 miles from the West Coast to Singapore. Round-trip economy from the East Coast to Singapore costs 80,000 miles. If premium economy was more your style, you’d pay 64,500 miles from the West Coast one-way or 68,000 miles from the East Coast.

Hot Tip: Need help booking business class? Check out our guide for booking Singapore Airlines business class.  

2. Fly From the West Coast to Hong Kong (Singapore Airlines)

This redemption is intriguing, because many people are unaware that Singapore Airlines flies direct from the U.S. to Hong Kong.

For 89,000 KrisFlyer miles, you can fly 14+ hours in Singapore Airlines’ business class from San Francisco to Hong Kong. If you want to stretch your miles, consider this option: you can book 3 one-way economy flights for 114,000 miles.

3. Fly From the West Coast to Japan (Singapore Airlines)

Another long-haul route flown by Singapore Airlines is from the West Coast to both Japan and South Korea.

You can book Singapore Airlines’ business class from Los Angeles to Tokyo (NRT) for 92,000 miles one-way. That’s 11+ hours in business class!

For 70,000 miles round-trip, you can opt to book an economy flight.

Hot Tip: If you’re set on going to Tokyo, check out our guide on the best ways to fly to Japan using points and our Ultimate Travel Guide to Tokyo!

4. Fly From the East Coast to Europe (Singapore Airlines)

The most popular premium redemption for AvGeeks in the U.S. is to fly Singapore Suites out of New York (JFK). At only 86,000 miles one-way, who wouldn’t want to try this out?

An alternate option is business class on the 2 nonstop routes from the U.S. to Europe. For 72,000 from either Houston (IAH) to Manchester (MAN) or New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA), you can fly Singapore Airlines business class.

Look into flying economy to get the most flights for your miles. With 90,000 KrisFlyer miles, you can book 2 round-trip economy flights to Europe from either Houston or New York.

Need help booking Singapore Airlines Suites? Here’s our step-by-step guide to booking Singapore Suites or First Class.

Hot Tip: If you need more route info before booking, we’ve produced a dedicated guide to Singapore Airlines U.S.-based routes!

5. Fly Intra-North America in Business Class (Singapore Airlines)

Premium transcontinental flights can get up there in price, particularly the closer you are to the departure date. With KrisFlyer miles, you can book these expensive flights for a relatively low number of points.

Unlike United, which charges a 10,000-mile premium each way for transcontinental flights, Singapore Airlines requires the same number of miles for all flights.

At 46,000 miles round-trip, you can book United business class intra-North America. Based on a recent search, transcontinental United flights in premium cabins are generally more than $1,000.

Singapore Airlines does not show intra-North America award availability, so we recommend using United’s website to search, then calling KrisFlyer at 800-742-3333 to book the flight.

6. Fly Star Alliance to South America (Singapore Airlines)

Another difference between the KrisFlyer and MileagePlus programs is the way the South American region is structured. United Airlines divides South America into northern and southern regions; with Singapore Airlines, South America is 1 region.

The way to take advantage of South America being in one region is to use KrisFlyer miles to fly long-haul flights to the southern region. With 115,000 KrisFlyer miles, you can fly round-trip in business class from the U.S. to Santiago, Chile (SCL), Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (GIG), and São Paulo, Brazil (GRU).

You also have the option to fly other Star Alliance partners like Copa Airlines and Avianca. With these airlines, you’ll have a connection in Central America or South America on your way to southern South America.

Search for United and Star Alliance award availability on United’s website, and then book the award directly on Singapore Airlines’ website.

7. Fly Star Alliance to Northern South America (United)

With United dividing South America into 2 regions, the northern region provides a 25,000-mile discount compared to the southern region.

United includes Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela in the northern South America region. For 70,000 United miles, you can fly round-trip in business class on United or Star Alliance partners to these locations in South America.

If you are booking a trip as a couple or for a larger group, consider this option: with 100,000 United miles, you can book 2 round-trip economy flights plus an additional one-way economy flight. Search for award availability on United’s website, which is also where you will book your round-trip or one-way flights.

8. Fly United to Europe in Business Class (United)

Flying to Europe is likely at the top of many U.S.-based travelers’ wish lists. With the MileagePlus program, you can fly there for a low number of miles. Europe is one region in United’s award chart allowing you to fly transatlantic with the multitude of European-based Star Alliance partners.

With 60,000 miles, you can fly business class on United one-way to Europe. For an additional 10,000 miles, you can fly business class on a Star Alliance partner such as Lufthansa. An alternative option is to fly 3 economy flights on United or Star Alliance partners for 90,000 MileagePlus miles.

Hot Tip: Need help booking? Check out our guide to booking Lufthansa business class or United business class.

9. Fly Star Alliance to Central & Southern Africa (United)

Similar to South America, United divides Africa into 2 regions: northern Africa and central and southern Africa. With Star Alliance members Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways based in Africa, you have options to take that safari you’ve been eyeing!

For 80,000 miles, you can fly business class on Ethiopian or South African one-way to Africa. Ethiopian flies nonstop from Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Ethiopia (ADD), and South African flies nonstop from New York (JFK) to Johannesburg (JNB).

A cost-effective points option is to consider flying economy. For 80,000 miles round-trip, you can fly to Africa on a Star Alliance partner.

Hot Tip: As with most long-haul premium cabin redemptions, award availability to Africa will be limited. Consider using Expert Flyer to find award availability that aligns with your travel dates. If you’re eyeing South Africa as your next destination, check out our guide to flying to South Africa on points and miles.

10. Fly United to South Asia in Economy (United)

The MileagePlus program has 4 Asian regions, with the South Asia region including countries such as Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

United flies nonstop from San Francisco (SFO) to Hong Kong (HKG) and Singapore (SIN), as well as nonstop from Los Angeles (LAX) to Singapore (SIN). You can also fly Star Alliance partner Singapore Airlines, which has a nonstop flight from San Francisco to Singapore. This flight actually makes the list of 10 longest nonstop flights in the world.

At 80,000 miles round-trip, you can fly nonstop in economy on United or Singapore Airlines to Asia. Business class is 75,000 miles one-way on United, but award availability is usually lacking, so we can’t currently recommend this option.

Find award availability for United and Singapore Airlines on their websites. If you want to fly on Singapore Airlines, call United at 800-421-4655 to book the award.

11. Fly United to Japan in Business Class (United)

One of the additional Asian regions to consider with the MileagePlus program is Japan. United includes the entire country as one region, similar to Mexico.

What makes this redemption impressive is that United flies nonstop from Japan (NRT) to the following U.S. cities: Chicago (ORD), Denver (DEN), Honolulu (HNL), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO), and Washington, D.C. (IAD).

With 75,000 MileagePlus miles, you can book nonstop business class on United to Japan. Or, you can book 3 United economy flights at 105,000 miles, where you’ll find much better award availability.

12. Fly United to Australia & New Zealand in Economy (United)

Australia and New Zealand, like Europe, are typically countries that rank high on wish lists for travelers based in the U.S.

Both Australia and New Zealand are grouped into the same region in United’s award chart. That means you can book the following flights for the same number of miles when flying United:

• Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), and San Francisco (SFO) to Sydney (SYD)
• Los Angeles (LAX) to Melbourne (MEL)

For 80,000 miles round-trip, you can book nonstop economy flights to Australia or New Zealand. Business class requires 80,000 miles on United or 90,000 miles on partner Air New Zealand. However, it’s hard to come by premium award availability for these routes.

Hot Tip: For business class award availability on United or Air New Zealand, you will want to use Expert Flyer. Even with Expert Flyer, business class on Air New Zealand will be extremely difficult to find. 

13. Fly From the East Coast to Europe on Oneworld Partners (British Airways)

British Airways uses a distance-based chart on its flights and with partner airlines. For Oneworld partner flights to Europe, most flights will be within the Zone 5 mileage of 3,001-4,000 miles one-way.

With premium cabins, British Airways adds material taxes and fees, so you will want to focus on flights on Oneworld partners American Airlines and Iberia.

With 62,000 British Airways Avios, you can book a one-way business class flight to Europe; or you could book 4 one-way economy flights at 20,750 Avios each.

Find Oneworld award availability on the British Airways or Qantas’ website. The award can then be booked directly on British Airways.

Need help booking? Here’s our step by step guide to booking business class on American Airlines.

Hot Tip: The Wandering Aramean has a useful Avios mileage calculator that helps confirm the mileage required for your particular flight. 

14. Fly From the West Coast to Hawaii (British Airways)

For many people in the U.S., Hawaii is a top travel wishlist destination. However, getting there is prohibitively expensive. Using British Airways Avios for flights from the West Coast is a way to cut down on those expenses.

Flights to Hawaii from the West Coast are between 2,001-3,000 miles and fall within Zone 4 on the Executive Club award chart.

At 26,000 miles round-trip, you can book economy flights on Alaska Airlines or American Airlines to Hawaii. That’s 2 round-trip flights to Hawaii for just over 100,000 Avios!

Find American Airlines award availability on the British Airways or Qantas website. You’ll use Alaska’s website to find Alaska Airlines availability, then call British Airways to book the ticket at 800-247-9297.

Hot Tip: While this is a great option for using a decent chunk of your miles, transferring to British Airways also provides great options for those flyers who don’t quite have such a large stack!  Check out this piece for ideas: The Best Ways to Use 10,000 (or fewer) Chase Ultimate Rewards. 

15. Fly to North Africa On SkyTeam Partners (Flying Blue)

Flying Blue recently switched to using dynamic pricing with award ticket mileage tied to the revenue cost of the flight. With these recent changes, you’ll now use the Miles Price Estimator to provide an estimate of the number of miles required for your flight.

With 62,500 Flying Blue miles, you can book a business class flight on SkyTeam partners. The route will take you through Europe on a partner such as Air France or Delta. Another option is to book 2 round-trip economy flights at 100,000 miles.

Find SkyTeam award availability on the Air France or KLM websites (KLM has a superior user interface).

16. Fly Delta to the Caribbean in Economy (Flying Blue)

While flying Delta using Flying Blue doesn’t provide the highest value redemption, there are still good redemption options to fly to the Caribbean.

For example, you can use 15,000 miles to book a one-way flight to the Caribbean. This low-mileage redemption is great news for family travel. You could book round-trip flights for a family of 3 for under 100,000 points!

Find Delta award availability on Delta’s website, where you’ll look at dates showing “Lowest Fare.” Next, use those dates found on Delta’s website to search for award availability on Air France or KLM, which is where you’ll book the flight.

17. Fly From the U.S. to Tahiti on Air France (Flying Blue)

Award availability is tough to find with this redemption, but worth it if you can get access.

Air France flies one of the few nonstop flights from the U.S. to Tahiti, which is between Los Angeles (LAX) and Tahiti (PPT). Later this year, United is scheduled to begin service between San Francisco (SFO) and Tahiti, providing another option to the South Pacific.

With 75,000 Flying Blue miles, you can theoretically book nonstop business class flights to Tahiti. Separately, you can book nonstop economy flights for 30,000 miles one-way.

Find Air France award availability on the Air France or KLM websites, which is where you will also book the award.

Hot Tip: Business class award availability on this route is tough to find, so start early. Based on a recent search, only 1 day through April 2019 was available to book for 75,000 miles one-way. 

18. Fly Delta to Europe in Economy (Virgin Atlantic)

Similar to Etihad, Virgin Atlantic uses separate award charts for their partner airlines. If Delta flies a route not covered in the Delta award chart (i.e., U.S. to South America), you will need to call Virgin Atlantic to confirm the required mileage.

For 30,000-35,000 Flying Club Virgin Points, you can book round-trip economy flights on Delta to the U.K.

You can use 30,000 Virgin Points for round-trip flights from Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), or Philadelphia (PHL) to the U.K. Flying round-trip from either Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW), or Minneapolis (MSP) to the U.K. requires 35,000 Virgin Points.

Find award availability on Delta’s website. Next, call Virgin Atlantic at 800-365-9500 to book the ticket.

19. Fly ANA to Japan in Business Class (Virgin Atlantic)

When I first saw this award price in the ANA award chart, I did a double-take — the award price is extremely competitive!

Adding to the competitive pricing is the fact that ANA flies from multiple U.S. destinations, including Chicago (ORD), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), Seattle (SEA), and Washington, D.C. (IAD).

With 90,000 Virgin Points, you can book nonstop round-trip business class flights from the West Coast to Japan (NRT). From the Central and Eastern U.S., you can book nonstop business class flights for 95,000 miles round-trip.

Hot Tip: Search for award availability on ANA’s website and call Virgin Atlantic to book the award ticket. Need help booking ANA business class? Check our step-by-step on booking business class on ANA.

20. Fly Aer Lingus to Ireland in Business Class (Aer Lingus)

Aer Lingus, like British Airways, has an off-peak structure to their award chart, which provides attractive redemption rates during certain days of the year.

Like ANA, Aer Lingus flies from several U.S. cities, including Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Hartford (BDL), Newark (EWR), New York (JFK), Philadelphia (PHL), Washington, D.C. (IAD), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA).

With 100,000 Aer Lingus Avios, you can book a round-trip business class flight to Dublin or Shannon from cities located in Zone 5 in the award chart. You’ll find Aer Lingus award availability on the Aer Lingus website, which is also where you will book the award.

Hot Tip: For more information, check out our detailed guide to using miles and points to fly to Ireland.

21. Fly Royal Air Maroc to Morocco (Iberia)

Iberia uses separate award charts for partner airline flights similar to Virgin Atlantic. Iberia partners with Oneworld members such as American Airlines and also non-alliance members such as Royal Air Maroc.

The Royal Air Maroc award chart is distance-based with mileage determined by the total distance flown. For 100,000 Iberia Avios, you can book nonstop, round-trip Royal Air Maroc flights to Morocco from either New York (JFK) or Washington, D.C. (IAD).

You will need to call Iberia at 800-772-4642 to search for award availability and book the award ticket.

22. Fly Iberia to Spain (Iberia)

When flying Iberia, note the award chart has an off-peak function like Aer Lingus, which provides reduced mileage redemption options if you are flexible with dates.

Iberia flights from the U.S. fall within Zone 5 for flights between Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), or New York (JFK) and Madrid (MAD). At 68,000 miles round-trip, you can fly nonstop business class round-trip on Iberia to Madrid.

You’ll find Iberia award availability and book this ticket on Iberia’s website.

23. Redeem Hotel Stays at Hyatt (Hyatt)

Standard awards in Category 1-4 hotels and Points+Cash hotels in the award chart will provide the most value for your Hyatt points.

Hot Tip: We’ve got an entire in-depth article dedicated to the best ways to use a Hyatt Category 1-4 free night certificate — don’t miss it! 

If a premium experience makes more sense than a standard award, 30,000 points can land you a stay at places like the Park Hyatt Tokyo.

Need more ways to use your Hyatt points? Check out our best ways to redeem Hyatt points post.

How to Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Partners

For a step-by-step guide to transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards to partners, head to the bottom of our post on the best ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Final Thoughts

The Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Preferred®, and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card all provide high sign-up bonuses, which can jump-start your way to one of these redemptions.

It’s important to research all of your options before transferring your points, because reward programs can devalue over time.

Knowing where to search for award availability and how many points you’ll need will go a long way in getting you to your next destination.