Giving Tuesday 2024 Has Increased Options for Charitable Donations Using Points and Miles

Updated: December 3, 2024, 1:31pm CST

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Giving to Charities With Chase’s ‘Pay Yourself Back’
How To Donate to Charities With Points and Miles
Final Thoughts

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It’s Giving Tuesday. After spending money on new gadgets and booking travel for the past few days, you might be looking for ways to help others today. Chase can help you do that with your points balance.

You’ve been able to use points — or even use Pay Yourself Back — for charitable donations for some time now. Chase has even added another member to the eligible charities list: Make-A-Wish.

If you’re looking to donate to eligible charities with your Chase Ultimate Rewards points on Giving Tuesday, here’s what you need to know.

Giving to Charities With Chase’s ‘Pay Yourself Back’

Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature has been extended multiple times, and eligible redemption categories have changed repeatedly over the program’s life. However, the ability to redeem points to cover eligible charity donations has remained constant.

After logging into your Chase account and accessing the rewards portal, clicking on Convert to cash at the top will reveal a drop-down menu with the Pay Yourself Back option.

Chase Pay Yourself Back menu option — Image Credit: Chase

Depending on which Chase credit card you have, you’ll be able to redeem points at a value of 1 to 1.5 cents apiece to cover charitable donations made using your credit card.

Presently, those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® get the best value at 1.5 cents per point on charitable donations, while those with the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card can use Pay Yourself Back to offset these donations with points at 1.25 cents each in value. Cards from the Freedom and Ink business card families can use their points at 1.25 cents apiece on these donations as well.

To be eligible, you’ll need to make a donation to a charity with your credit card and then use points to offset it through Pay Yourself Back within 90 days of the transaction.

Not all charities are eligible, however. Here’s the list of those that are:

American Red Cross
Equal Justice Initiative
Feeding America
Habitat for Humanity
International Medical Corps
International Rescue Committee
Leadership Conference Education Fund
Make-A-Wish

NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
National Urban League
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
United Negro College Fund
UNICEF USA
United Way
World Central Kitchen

Hot Tip:

Remember that not all charities are eligible for Chase’s Pay Yourself Back program. If you donate to one that is, you have up to 90 days to cover the donation amount on your credit card using Ultimate Rewards points.

How To Donate to Charities With Points and Miles

Looking for other ways to donate to charities on Giving Tuesday? You can help your preferred charity with hotel points, airline miles, and credit card rewards.

Depending on the currency you’re donating and the charity involved, you might receive a bonus on your donation. The donation could also be matched, which is common on Giving Tuesday.

Final Thoughts

For Giving Tuesday, you have options to donate to charities with your credit card points, hotel rewards, and airline frequent flyer miles. You also can make a donation on your credit card and then offset it with points through Chase’s Pay Yourself Back program.

The number of options for how to donate is nearly as plentiful as the charities who would love to receive your donation.