100k Chase Points Can Do More Than You Think—Here's How The Savviest Travelers Use Every Last One

Forbes

14-05-2025

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is offering a 100,000-point welcome bonus, which is currently one of the most valuable offers on the market. For a limited time, new cardholders can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
With a minimum redemption value of $1,250 through Chase Travel℠ and potentially much more through transfer partners, there are multiple ways to stretch your rewards for maximum value. But which route delivers the best bang for your buck, transferring points or using Chase Travel?
The answer depends on how you travel, where you're going and whether you value simplicity or strategy. Below, we compare the two options head-to-head in several categories.
Up to 5x Reward Rate
Earn 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on allRead More
100,000 bonus points
$95
19.99% - 28.24% Variable
Excellent, Good (670 - 739)
Offering a rare mix of high rewards rates and redemption flexibility, this card is a dream for frequent spenders on travel & dining – while charging a modest annual fee.
Winner: Transfers to travel partners
Chase has over a dozen airline and hotel transfer partners. Those partners include:
Airline Partners
Hotel Partners
Thanks to the 25% bonus offered to Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card owners, Chase Travel bookings yield a fixed redemption value of 1.25 cents per point. However, your Ultimate Reward points can be worth significantly more when redeemed for bookings through the loyalty programs of Chase's travel partners.
I personally love transferring my points to Hyatt as I frequently get a value of more than 2 cents per point on my stays. As an example, I ran a sample rate search for the Hyatt Regency Dallas. On Hyatt's own site, cash prices start at $358 a night for nonmembers with a total of around $420 after taxes and fees.
Chase shows the same base price and cost after adding taxes and fees, for a total of $420. Booking with rewards in Chase Travel would cost 33,594 Ultimate Rewards points, reflecting the 25% points bonus.
That's a better deal than paying cash, however, you can book this hotel on the same night for just 9,000 World of Hyatt points transferred from Chase to your World of Hyatt account.
By leveraging the points transfer option, you could save 24,594 Ultimate Rewards points and receive an incredible redemption value of 4.7 cents per point! This is an excellent example of how points transfers can be such a powerful weapon in a traveler's arsenal.
It's also worth mentioning that Hyatt waives resort fees on award stays. This is an often-overlooked benefit that can save you a decent chunk of change. Not every property charges resort fees. But you're still on the hook for these fees when booking through Chase's portal, and they can't be paid with Ultimate Rewards points. Rather, these charges must be paid directly to the hotel at check-in, adding an extra out-of-pocket cost to your stay.
Moving beyond Hyatt stays, transferring your points to airline partners and then redeeming them for long-haul international flights in premium cabins can also provide outsized value. In the example below, a one-way business class seat for an Air France flight from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) would cost $3,458 or just 60,000 Air France Flying Blue miles + $237.60.
That's another superb value of 5.4 cents per point. We could go on with many more examples, but the bottom line is this: If you enjoy strategizing to get the most potential value from your points, transferring them to partners is the way to go.
Winner: Chase Travel
Unlike redemptions with partners, Chase Travel redemptions have a minimum redemption value, and it's a solid one. As we've already mentioned, Ultimate Rewards points are worth a fixed 1.25 cents on the Chase Travel portal for Sapphire Preferred cardholders.
Depending on the booking you're considering, this could outperform the value you'd receive by booking through the transfer partner's own program. And 1.25 cents per point is often better than the per-point value of IHG One Rewards or Marriott Bonvoy points.
For a sample booking at the Courtyard Miami Beach South Beach, the total price on Chase Travel comes to $233, or 16,324 Ultimate Rewards points + $29.
If you booked directly through Marriott Bonvoy, you'd need to pay 30,000 Bonvoy points + $33.06 for the same reservation.
So by using Chase Travel instead of transferring your points to Marriott, you'd save over 13,000 of your Ultimate Rewards points. Plus, keep in mind that Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders get a $50 annual hotel credit for hotels purchased through Chase Travel. So that's additional value that can only be realized through the platform.
While it's true that with international flights you're likely to get more value for your points by transferring them to partners, it's not as much of a sure thing with domestic flights. And it's worth noting that while you typically lose benefits by booking hotels through Chase (more on that next), the opposite is true with flights, as you could gain the ability to earn frequent flier miles.
If you book a Southwest flight with Rapid Rewards points, for instance, you can't earn Rapid Rewards points for that flight. But if you book that same flight through Chase and add your Rapid Rewards number to the reservation, you'll earn points from Southwest because it will be viewed as a revenue fare (even if you paid with Ultimate Rewards points). Those additional rewards simply add more value to the 1.25 cpp you're guaranteed to receive.
Winner: Transfers to travel partners
If you've earned elite status with Hyatt, IHG or Marriott, you're entitled to exclusive benefits. While those benefits will vary by hotel and the status level you've achieved, common examples include:
Some of these benefits could add significant value to your stay. But you won't be eligible to receive them on a Chase Travel booking, as hotels don't provide status benefits to members who book through third-party platforms.
Winner: Chase Travel
You don't have to worry about award inventory when using Chase Travel. If there's an empty seat on the plane or a vacant room at the hotel, you can book it since it's just like a cash reservation.
This is a major advantage over award bookings made with the airline's or hotel's own points or miles, as they often limit the number of seats or rooms that are made available for award bookings. Take, for example, this sample booking for the Hyatt Place across from Universal Orlando Resort. I can see that it has rooms available when I'm trying to book with cash.
But when I switch to using World of Hyatt points, it shows no availability.
On Chase Travel, I can book this hotel on the same date with no issue using my Ultimate Rewards points.
Even when you can find award availability with hotels, there may not be as many options as with a paid stay. Going back to our sample Hyatt Regency Dallas booking, I was given several room types to choose from for a cash booking.
But when I toggled the 'Points' switch, my options suddenly dropped to just a two Queen Beds room.
That's not exactly ideal if you're trying to book a romantic getaway. But the full menu of room types are available on the Chase Travel portal to book with Ultimate Rewards points.
Winner: Transfer to partners
Generally, hotels and airlines provide generous cancellation policies on award bookings. But since Chase Travel bookings are viewed as cash purchases, they may not have the same refundability, or may charge extra for it.
For example, all United award flights are refundable with no fee provided you cancel before departure ('no shows' are charged a $125 fee). But if you try to book a United flight with Chase, you'll see that you have to pay $45 more for the privilege of refundability.
You'll typically see something similar with hotel bookings. The lowest-price option is often nonrefundable, and then there will be a refundable option that has a bit of an upcharge.
If you're using the hotel's points system, however, it won't typically charge you extra for a cancellation period. Going back to our earlier example of the sample booking of the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, you automatically get the right to cancel up to 48 hours prior to your scheduled arrival, included in your award booking price of 9,000 World of Hyatt points.
While airline and hotel programs are generally more cancellation-friendly, there is a downside to keep in mind. Even if you're allowed to get a refund of your points or miles, you won't be able to transfer them back to Chase Ultimate Rewards, as points transfers from Chase are one-way.
This means there's a higher potential for refunded points or miles to become 'orphaned,' with no way to use them until you're ready to book another reservation with the specific provider. Whereas if you receive a refund from Chase Travel, those points can be used in a variety of ways, including toward future Chase Travel bookings, transfers to partners or even for cash-back redemptions.
Winner: Chase Travel
With Chase Travel, you'll have access to a broader range of hotel options. Rather than being limited to Hyatt, IHG or Marriott hotels, you can book with other popular brands like Hilton or Choice Hotels, or even with independent, boutique hotels.
The same goes for flights. You'll have no problem booking a flight with Delta or American Airlines, for example, even though neither is a Chase transfer partner.
Winner: Transfers to partners
If you need to make changes to a reservation made through Chase Travel, you'll have to go through the Chase Ultimate Rewards customer service team. This can sometimes add an extra layer of friction, especially if you're facing a time-sensitive issue or need quick assistance.
By contrast, booking directly through an airline or hotel's loyalty program allows you to manage changes with the provider directly. This can result in faster resolutions and more flexible options.
Winner: Chase Travel
Navigating loyalty programs and tracking down award space can be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. For travelers who aren't interested in diving deep into the world of points and miles, the sheer complexity can be a barrier.
Chase Travel provides a much simpler alternative. You don't need to be an expert who's fluent in airline award charts to get solid value for your points—you just search and book your flight or hotel like you would on Tripadvisor (which powers Chase Travel). It's an intuitive, user-friendly option.
Consider a hybrid approach when deciding how to redeem your points.
To identify high-value transfer redemptions from partners, consider using an award search tool like PointsYeah or AwardTool. These platforms can help you uncover premium flight and hotel options that maximize the value of your Ultimate Rewards points.
Just remember: Once you transfer points to a travel partner, that transfer is final. Always confirm availability and pricing before moving your Ultimate Rewards points.
Find the best travel credit card for your travel needs.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred's 100,000 bonus offers an abundance of reward riches, and understanding the pros and cons of its two travel redemption paths can help you make the most of every point. Match your strategy to your travel goals and you'll be well on your way to an unforgettable trip at an incredible value.