Friday, February 2, 2024
Unveiling the Chase Ultimate Rewards: Why 23,363 Points in 2023 are Worth Celebrating
Thursday, April 30, 2020
What Are Chase Ultimate Reward Points And Why You Want Them
One of my favorite rewards programs is the Chase Ultimate Rewards. These are points you earn with a number of Chase credit cards including the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Preferred, FREEDOM, Ink and FREEDOM Unlimited. There are pros and cons of each card depending on your goals. You can read my past posts to research specific cards, but here I am going to focus on the rewards program as a whole.
Ultimate Rewards are just one of a few programs that are not tied to any one airline or hotel brand which means flexibility. You can transfer reward points at 1:1 to most airlines and hotels except Marriott Bonvoy which is 1:3:
Different airlines that include:
- Aer Lingus
- British Airways
- Jet Blue
- United
- KLM
- Southwest
- Air France
- Emirates
- Iberia,
- Singapore Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic.
Different hotels include:
- IHG
- Marriott
- Hyatt
Once you transfer to an airline or hotel, you can use these points to book on partner airlines or transfer to another program. For example, if you transfer Ultimate Reward points to Marriott Bonvoy, you can then transfer those same points to dozens of different airlines like American Airlines. Pretty awesome, right? And it gets even better because Marriott Bonvoy will give you a 5,000 mile bonus for the transfer.
What Are Chase Ultimate Reward Points And Why You Want Them
Another way to use the Ultimate Reward points are to book through the Chase travel portal. If you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred credit card, you get better than 1:1. Sapphire Preferred credit cardholders get 1:1.25 value and Sapphire Reserve holders get 1:1.50. Let's check it out.
In the portal with the Sapphire Reserve, the Springhill Suites in Durham is listed at 13,155 points per night or $197.33. If you booked the same hotel straight from Marriott, it would cost you 20,000 points per night or $158.90 per night.
So if you pay with points, you get more bang for your buck by using the portal, but if you paid cash, you would be better off booking straight from Marriott. However, if you transferred Chase Ultimate Reward points to Marriott and then booked your room, you would really get a sweet deal.
Look at this:
Ultimate Rewards transfer to Marriott Bonvoy at 1:3 so you would only need approximately 6,750 Ultimate Rewards points to equal 20,000 Marriott points and boom, FREE night.
Flexibility is key to this program. You can earn Ultimate Reward points pretty quickly too as most purchases earn 1 point per dollar, but travel and dining earn more.
When things are uncertain in travel like right now, I like the idea that I can accumulate points in a flexible program and be ready when I can travel again.
Thursday, December 8, 2022
90,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Bonus on No Fee Ink Cards - Wow!
Small Business Saturday just passed and in honor of that, let's talk about one of the best offers I've ever seen for the Chase Ink Business credit cards. The two FREE cards are offering 90,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points as a bonus and the $95 annual fee card is offering a whopping 100,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points as a bonus. Wowza!
I'll run down the difference between the cards in a minute, but first, I have to share with you why I love Chase Ultimate Reward points and what you can do with all those bonus points.
This past summer, I took my family to Ireland, you can check out my blog to read all about this amazing country and people.
But I used Chase Ultimate Reward points to erase the cost of all of our Airbnb stays during the trip, much of our dining and one plane ticket. I love these points because of how flexible they are. You can transfer them to dozens of airlines, Hyatt, Marriott and IHG. You can erase purchases just like a Capital One card. You can buy travel with them in the Chase Travel Portal. Plus if you have a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card, you can combine your Ink CUR points and get even more value.
So what's this new offer all about? and which card should you choose?
The Chase Ink Business Unlimited - No annual fee! 1.5% cash back or 1.5x points on every purchase.
The Chase Ink Business Cash - No annual fee! 5% cash back or 5x points at office supply stores, phone, internet, and cable. This is the card I have had for years! 2% or 2x points at gas stations and restaurants and 1% or 1x points at everything else.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred - $95 annual fee. 3% cash back or 3x points on shipping, advertising on social media sites, internet, cable and phone services and travel. 1% or 1x points on everything else.
Look at the types of purchases your business makes to determine which credit card makes sense for you to leverage your spending for maximum points. And remember, your "business" doesn't have to be a Fortune 500 company. A business can easily be selling items on Etsy or Ebay, freelance services, property management, vacation rentals and more.
You can hold all of these INK cards at the same time, but you can't get the bonus on any of these cards more than once every 24 months.
And you can transfer your the CUR points from your INK account to your Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve card and bam, almostFREEfamilytravel.
Amazing!
Please consider using our referral ink if you apply for any of these credit cards. Thank you for your support.
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
How I Booked Overwater Bungalows and Flights In Tahiti for $140
they decided on Tahiti. I was a bit surprised since my first thought was that’s where you honeymoon. But I was game. And they added, we would love to stay in those over the water bungalows. Makes sense!
So how do you get a family of 5 an almost FREE trip to Tahiti? It takes a lot of planning and time. I wanted to walk you through my process so you can see the strategy in action.
And I need to mention that if you are looking for help planning your next trip, I just launched the second cohort of my Travel Coaching Program. There are still a few spots open. And right now, I am donating 15% of all the proceeds to the Israel Emergency Fund.
But I'll share my process here so if you want to do it on your own, you can. Because my goal is that everyone can travel for almost FREE and enjoy those priceless experiences.
I start with research:
- Who flies to Tahiti
- Which islands should we visit
- What is there to do there
- Do we need a car
- Where will we stay
After doing the research, I decided for this trip:
- We should fly American Airlines - 70,000-80,000 miles per round trip
- We will visit Tahiti and Moorea - we can take a short ferry between these islands.
- We will need a car on both islands
- Besides the OWB, seems to be most cost effective for our family of 5 to stay in Airbnb
Now this is the way, we travel, but you might make different choices for your family. Now the fun part, earning all the points. For this trip, we will need approximately:
- 400,000 American Airlines miles for 5 r/t tickets
- 299,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points for 2 nights in an OWB bungalow and a garden room (we need two rooms for 5 people)
- Capital One points to erase the Airbnb, rental cars and tours
It sounds like a lot, but let’s break it down:
- Barclays American Aviator bonus offer 70,000 miles for $99 annual fee and one purchase - my partner and I each opened one of these
- Chase Ink Business Preferred bonus offer 100,000 Ultimate Rewards for a $95 annual fee and $8,000 minimum spend - my partner and I each opened one of these
- Several friends opened the Chase Ink Business Preferred using my referral link - bonus 40,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points for each one
- American Airlines Online Shopping portal
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Shopping portal
- Capital One points using my partners Capital One Venture X card and my new Capital One Venture X bonus.
So what did all of this get us:
- 240,000 American Airlines miles netted 3 round trip flights
- 128,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points netted 2 round trip flights
- 299,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points netted 2 nights in the OWB and 2 nights in the garden room
- 74,000 Capital One points netted 3.5 days in the Airbnb
So right now, I estimate the amount I saved using points and miles at approximately $11,000. Pretty good. I have spent $400 on annual fees and $340 on taxes, fees.
Between now and the actual trip, I will continue to earn Capital One points so I can erase the Airbnb, tours and rental cars.
And when I’m relaxing on the beach in Tahiti, I’ll enjoy it just a bit more because I didn’t spend an arm and a leg to have this dream vacation.
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
Yet Another Reason Why I LOVE Chase Ultimate Rewards
Woohoo! That means by transferring CUR to Hyatt at 1:1 cuts the number of points needed in half and has a value of $740. Nice.
It's simple to transfer CUR points to dozens of airlines and hotel chains. When you log into your Chase.com account and click on redeem points
When I transferred to Hyatt, the points showed up immediately in my new Hyatt account and I could book the hotel in Evanston. Amazing!
Yet Another Reason Why I LOVE Chase Ultimate Rewards
Right now, the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card is offering a 100,000 CUR bonus with a $8,000 minimum spend. It's a hefty minimum spend, but usually it is set at $15,000 so you might say this minimum spend is a bargain. If you have a big expense coming up or can handle the minimum spend, this bonus can be worth thousands of dollars.
We are hearing this bonus may end September 23rd.
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Woohoo! Another FREE Travel Success Story!
- Capital One points are always worth one cent per dollar. You can either book through the Capital One Travel portal or use the travel eraser to get a statement credit for the purchase. If you have the Capital One Venture X, the $300 travel credit kicks in if you book through the portal too. It's great to have Capital One points for tours, flights on budget airlines, independent hotels and more. You can also transfer the points to several hotel chains and more than a dozen airlines.
- Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be more valuable depending on which credit cards you have and how you use the points. For example, with the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, my points are worth 1.5%. When I book the flight through the Chase Travel Portal, it will only cost 56,374 points even though the price is $845.60. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, then your points are worth 1.25%.
You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Reward points to dozens of airlines and several hotel chains. You can read here about how to transfer points to Hyatt for sweet deals.
Just like the prices for flights increase and decrease depending on the day of the week and when you book, it's the same in the travel portals. So check several times before you finally book so you get the best deal. When I checked this flight the first time, it was priced at 56,374 points, but I wasn't quite ready to book. Then when I was ready to book, the price had jumped to 74,000 points so I waited a few days and it dropped again.
Sometimes the price drops on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so keep that in mind.
A benefit to booking flights through the travel portals is that taxes are included. Pretty nice! Some people are hesitant to book through travel portals because they are considered third party instead of booking directly through the airline. I have not had a problem, but it is a personal decision.
To book your flight through the Chase Travel Portal, login to your Chase.com account and click redeem points, click travel and then follow the prompts just like you would book through expedia or other third party platforms. When you get to the check out, click use points. You can even pay with a combination of points and cash.
If you want to start earning Capital One points, you can either apply for the Capital One Venture card with a 75,000 bonus, $4,000 minimum spend and $95 annual fee or the Capital One Venture X card with a 75,000 bonus, $4,000 minimum spend and $395 annual fee (this includes $300 travel credit, $100 Global Entry credit and Priority Pass Lounge membership).
If you want to start earning Chase Ultimate Reward points, we recommend you start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card with a 60,000 bonus, $4,000 minimum spend and $95 annual fee or the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card with a 60,000 bonus, $4,000 minimum spend and a $550 annual fee (this includes a $300 travel credit, $100 Global Entry credit and Priority Pass Lounge membership plus 1.5% point value in the portal).
If you decide to apply for any of those credit cards, please consider using my referral links.
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Last Chance To Get The 90,000 Chase Ink Business Bonus
You can read about how I use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for almost FREE family travel here.
If you apply for any of the INK credit cards, please use my referral link so I can continue to help you travel for almost FREE.
If you want help walking through this process, register for my Travel Coaching Program or book me for a 1:1 coaching session.
Ends Jan. 18th
Monday, May 30, 2022
Last Chance To Earn That 80,000 Chase Sapphire Preferred Bonus Offer
Last Chance To Earn That 80,000 Chase Sapphire Preferred Bonus Offer
Last Chance To Earn That 80,000 Chase Sapphire Preferred Bonus Offer
- spend $4,000 in three months
- $95 annual fee
- $50 annual hotel credit when you book through the portal
- 5x Chase points on travel booked through the portal
- 2x Chase points any travel purchases
- 3x Chase points on online grocery purchases
- Chase points are worth 25% in the travel portal and when redeemed through the pay yourself back tool in rotating categories
- 3x Chase points on dining
- 3x Chase points on streaming services
- 10% anniversary points boost
Thursday, October 20, 2022
My Favorite Credit Card Is Offering An 80,000 Point Bonus!
- For one, you can use them in the Chase Travel Portal where the Chase Sapphire Reserve makes the points worth 50% more.
- You can also transfer them 1:1 to dozens of airlines including United, Jet Blue, Southwest and more.
- You can transfer them to Hyatt, Marriott and IHG hotels at 1:1.
- Through the end of the year, you can use them to erase Airbnb and dining purchases.
Monday, June 27, 2022
How You Can Stay At An Airbnb For FREE
- Airbnb
- charitable contributions
- dining (with the Sapphire card only)
- membership fee (with the Sapphire card only)
- Log into your Chase.com account
- click on the card you want to transfer points FROM
- click redeem points
- then click on the three little lines at the top left
- scroll to the bottom
- click combine points.