Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in o...
Edited by: Jessica Merritt
A long-time points and miles student, Jessica is the former Personal Finance Managing Editor at U.S. News and World Report and is passionate about helping consumers fund their travels for as little ca...
& Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
40 comments
sean
December 27, 2017
can i no longer transfer ultimate chase rewards to my southwest account???
my drop down menu does not look like your photos
great web page…
thank you!
Alex Miller
December 29, 2017
Hi Sean – when you login to your Chase account, on the right hand side you should see the number of Chase Ultimate Rewards that you have. Just click on it and you’ll get taken to the screenshot you see in the article!
leah klein
May 23, 2018
Sorry i’m new to this – how do i find out the number of points from a partner airline to see if its worth transferring or not. Unless you have an account with them they only show the price in $ and not in points.
Michael McHugh
May 24, 2018
Hi Leah!
I’d recommend using awardhacker.com or google to search for the award chart that you want to use with the miles that you have. For example, if you’re wanting to use Chase Ultimate Rewards to fly Delta using Korean Air, I’d google “korean air partner award chart.” Please let us know if you have a specific redemption that you’re looking to book.
Leah klein
May 24, 2018
Thanks so much !! So helpful
John W
June 06, 2018
It looks things have changed and certain transfer are (the word is purposefully) not instant any longer. You may want to research this. At the minimum it applies to Flying Blue.
Alex Miller
June 06, 2018
Hey, thank you for the info. In your experience, how long has Flying Blue taken? More like a couple hours vs instant or?
John W
June 07, 2018
Here is the info: http://www.seat31b.com/2018/06/near-disaster-chase-ultimate-rewards-and-flying-blue/
Alex Miller
June 07, 2018
Awesome, thanks so much John. We’ve confirmed this and have adjusted the timeframe. Hopefully FlyingBlue can resolve this issue and get it reverted back to “near instant”.
Li
October 02, 2018
Hi,
Thanks for the helpful info! I’m planning a trip to Italy and see a flight that is by KLM, but operated by Delta airlines. In this kind of situation, should I transfer my Chase Ultimate Reward Points to KLM or Delta? Thanks for the insight!
Christine Krzyszton
October 02, 2018
Hi Li! That’s awesome that you are going to Italy. You actually have a couple of options for using your points. First, check to see if the flight is available on the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal and how many points it would cost. If you have a premium Chase credit card you’ll get the most value for your points, otherwise they’ll be worth 1 cent per point towards travel. If you are looking at a business class ticket, the cost may be prohibitive on the travel portal, however economy tickets on the Travel Portal can be excellent value. Since Delta is not an airline transfer partner of Ultimate Rewards, the other option would be to transfer points to KLM. You’ll need to compare the two options to see which is a better value.
Li
October 03, 2018
Thank you so much Christine, that’s super helpful!
Marc F
November 18, 2018
Hey guys, fantastic site! I feel like I owe y’all a lot because I have gotten really into the points game over the past year and it’s all thanks to this website, I tell everyone I know about it haha. You all have taught me a lot about how to get points efficiently, and I’ve done it fairly well for the last year or so. Now I’m ready to book and a little confused.
Do you find it is more efficient when using points for business-class, international flights to book each flight individually and build you itinerary one leg at a time with the same airline? Or to try to book with points in a “round-trip” itinerary on their website? I see you guys talk about having to call the airlines often to actually book business/first class seats so I’m just kind of stuck and trying to figure out how to actually find the best value for my points because the costs I’m finding are pretty dang high! Thanks so much for all the help!
Stephen Au
November 20, 2018
Hi Marc,
Thank you for your kind words! We appreciate all of our readers and viewers, and we hope to continue bringing you great content.
Typically if you build an itinerary one leg at a time like you’re proposing, you’ll have to pay the miles for each segment, which can cost a ton of points. We generally do not suggest doing this. You generally want to book the complete itinerary in one go. Another thing too is that if you book each flight individually, you’ll have different reservation numbers. Therefore, if you miss one leg of a flight due to a weather or maintenance delay for example, your entire itinerary is jeopardized. Essentially, you don’t have any “insurance”. If it’s all in one itinerary, the airline must rebook you if they miss your connecting flights. Combining reservations is something that must be done over the phone, and even then it’s not guaranteed.
It is for these reasons we like booking a complete itinerary all at once.
Bruce Nguyen
February 11, 2019
Hello,
Is there a credit card that has NO annual fee that I can transfer points to United Mileage Rewards? Or a credit card that I can sign up with no annual fee that is affiliated with United Mileage Rewards? I’d rather not pay an annual fee. I’m trying to prevent my wife’s account miles from expiring by spending a few dollars so the mileage doesn’t expire until we book the next flight that can accumulate miles. Thanks, Bruce
Christine Krzyszton
February 12, 2019
Hi Bruce! You would need a premium Ultimate Rewards credit card (with an annual fee) to transfer points to United MileagePlus. If you had a no-annual fee Chase credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards, you can transfer those points to a Chase premium card, then transfer the points to United MileagePlus. However, to extend the life of the United miles you have, you can just purchase a small amount of miles from United. You can also purchase an item from United Plus shopping and the earned miles will extend the life of your current miles. I hope this helps. https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/mileageplus/default.aspx
j mcdonald
April 30, 2019
Every year for 6 years, I have booked cars for a 3-month vacation in FL through the Chase travel portal. I have checked the portal 5 days a week for 2 months and there is never a car available for any day in Jan, Feb or March for PBI or Orlando, even if I change dates. But there are all kinds of cars if I go to the Expedia site. I called the travel number they could not book for me either. I called the reservations number and was told the travel site was separate from the card and could not help. I want to use my rewards, any suggestions?
Katie Seemann
May 05, 2019
Hi J,
That’s really strange. I just did a search for PBI in January and found plenty of options. If you keep having problems, I would suggest calling Chase Travel to see if you can speak with someone else. There are definitely cars available, so I am not sure why they aren’t showing up on your end. Good luck!
B. B.
July 30, 2019
I am new to this and am trying to book a vacation to South Africa. It is not a travel zone mention much in your article. I have about 200,000 Chase points and I am wondering how to best uses them to book flights and/or hotels for 2 people. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Jarrod West
July 31, 2019
Hi B.B.
What U.S. city will you be flying out of? Generally, your best bet with Chase Ultimate Reward points to get to South Africa would be to transfer them to United. For example, you can book round-trip through United from EWR to Johannesburg for 80,000 points.
Thanks for reading!
Domingo
August 18, 2019
Can I use my accumulated points to fly with a non-partner airline like Cathay Pacific?
Jarrod West
August 19, 2019
Hi Domingo,
Yes, you can use your Chase Ultimate Reward points through their travel portal to book a flight with any airline available in your search. Depending on which Chase card you have, your points can receive a 25%-50% boost in value as well.
Usually, we recommend using transfer partners as that is often where you can get the best value for your points. But if you’re certain you want to use them for a flight with Cathay Pacific then the Chase travel portal is your best bet!
Thanks for reading!
Ana
November 01, 2019
I have a ton of miles on American Airlines, but it seems that every time I try to look for a flight to Europe in business class they only have flights on British Airlines. These awards have a high tax cost — do you have any suggestions on how to otherwise redeem my miles? Thanks!
Andrew Kunesh
November 01, 2019
Hey Ana!
Thanks for reaching out. We recommend searching for alternate dates and destinations to find awards on American Airlines — these will have the lowest tax cost to Europe. You can also search for space on Finnair or Iberia as these carriers also have low tax cost.
Further, you may find that some routes have a lower tax cost on British Airways. We’ve found that tickets from Europe TO the U.S. generally charge less tax. One good example of this is Prague (PRG) to Chicago (ORD). I found an award ticket on British Airways that charges just $275 in tax one-way. Play around with destinations and you may be able to find something affordable on your return leg.
Best,
Andrew
Zach
November 16, 2019
Great article! Unfortunately, I’m no longer seeing “Transfer to Travel Partners” as an option on the Ultimate Rewards website. It shows all of the other options for using my points, but not that one. Is it still there — maybe hidden somewhere? Thanks!
Christine Krzyszton
November 16, 2019
Hi Zach. I just checked my Ultimate Rewards accounts and it is there, between gift cards and travel at the top of the Ultimate Rewards website page. It will not be an option on all Ultimate Rewards earning cards, only premium cards. The Ink Business Cash, Freedom, Ink Business Unlimited, etc. do not have this option.
Zach
November 17, 2019
Thanks for your reply, Christine!
Nicholaus Brenner
December 18, 2019
This was super informative. I didnt know that chase offered the occasional transfer bonuses. Where do I find these listed ?
Jarrod West
December 18, 2019
Hi Nicholaus,
You can always check out our transfer calculator tool for the most up to date info on transfer bonuses!
PaulH
January 09, 2020
My basic Chase Freedom account wouldn’t let me transfer points to airline partners. I just qualified for and opened a Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, moved points from my Freedom account, and then transferred them to my United MileagePlus account, in the space of about 30 minutes. The $95 annual fee and 1:1 transfer rate makes it a no-brainer at this card level.
Jarrod West
January 09, 2020
Hi Paul!
I’m glad you’re able to start making use of the Chase transfer partners now, and thanks for reading!
Red
October 08, 2021
Hello,
I used to have the Chase Sapphire and the Ink Biz but closed them around a year ago. I just realized that I won’t be able to transfer my points to my United Airlines account. Is there any way to have this transferred without the need to apply for a card just for this?
Thanks,
Katie Seemann
October 11, 2021
Hi Red,
In order to transfer your points to a partner, you need to have a premium Ultimate Rewards card (Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred) open. So, if you don’t have one you would need to open one in order to transfer your points.
Nick
April 15, 2022
Just FYI on transferring points from Chase to Singapore Airlines, per Singapore Airline Rep (called 4/15/2022), when transferring points to Singapore Airlines using Chase Ultimate Rewards takes 15 Business Days, you heard that right, 15 Business Days…I tried to very this with Chase Ultimate Rewards, the rep said 1-2 days…the Singapore Airline Rep also said that when you transfer from AMEX, it is instant.
Crescent Limo
December 15, 2022
I love your blog, I was tired of searching for this type of blog thank god I found this one. Thank you sharing such blogs and information.
Bobby Beck
January 13, 2023
We went to transfer points from Chase UR to United and were surprised when it took more than 2 hours we called and Chase said it can take 5-7 business days to transfer UR points to partners. Ugh, we read about it was, “almost instant.” Hopefully we don’t lose out on the flight we were looking to book. Eeeek.
Carla St. John
February 06, 2023
I’m having the exact same situation. The points are instantly gone from Chase UR, but after more than 24 hours have not appeared in my United Mileage Plus.
Yukito
April 09, 2023
Quick question: I’m trying to book an ANA-operated flight on a certain date at a certain time using Chase Points transferred to United Miles. When I first looked at the flight, I see that it was available to be redeemed for miles. But I went back in a week later and now that same flight, date, and time is only redeemable with money. Does anyone know if it will go back to be able to be redeemable with points? I spoke with a representative and they say yes, but I can’t put much faith in that answer. I’m holding out hope it does but since I’m new to all this I need some others’ insight to see if this has happened to you before. Thanks in advance!
Christine Krzyszton
April 25, 2023
Hi Yukito. It is possible that the flights will, once again, be available to be purchased with miles. Airlines can release more seats or travelers can cancel. It is also possible that seats that can be purchased with miles will not open up. If you do find award availability, it’s always good to book right away, especially if you do not have any flexibility with your dates.
Traveler
May 24, 2023
Just transferred from UR to Air France and it was an instant transfer.
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