A Luxury Hyatt, Round-Trip Flights to Paradise, and a Fancy Convertible in Wine Country: Top 3 Most Fun Ways I’ve Used Chase Points

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Some of my favorite travel experiences have been thanks to Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  For the last 5 years, I have been redeeming points and miles to get Big Travel with Small Money.  And I can safely say that Chase Ultimate Rewards points are among the most valuable and versatile rewards currencies on the planet.

I’ve made some pretty incredible memories using Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  And you can, too!

If you’re just getting started, here’s a quick primer on how you can earn Chase points and 3 fun ways you can spend them.

Here’s How to Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Our favorite card for folks just starting out in our hobby!
• Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card – Our favorite business credit card for travel
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® – Our favorite travel credit card for folks who know they’ll travel a lot

• Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card – Our favorite no-annual-fee business credit card
• Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card – Another great no-annual-fee business credit card
• Chase Freedom® – No annual fee
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® – No annual fee

My Top 3 Travel Experiences Using Chase Points

1.   Free Round-Trip Flights to Maui

Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Korean Air is the best way to book flights to Hawaii on Delta, thanks to their generous redemption rates.  For most folks in the continental US, booking directly through Delta will cost you 45,000 Delta miles round-trip in coach and 80,000 Delta miles in Business Class for “Saver” level flights.

But by booking through Korean Air, those same round-trip flights will only cost you 25,000 Korean Air miles in coach and 45,000 Korean Air miles in Business Class!

To get to Maui, I started by searching for low-level Delta award seats.  Once I identified the award seats and dates I wanted, I converted the 50,000-point sign-up bonus from my Chase Sapphire Preferred card into Korean Air miles.  From there, I signed into my Korean Air account and booked 2 round-trip seats in coach without having to pay for fuel surcharges!

Before you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Korean Air, make sure you do your homework, because booking a Delta flight through Korean Air is not a straightforward process.

2.   Free Stay at the Park Hyatt New York

My wife and I consider ourselves budget travelers, but when we visit New York City, we like to live it up.  One of my all-time favorite stays was at the Park Hyatt New York, where we enjoyed unparalleled luxury in a city view king room.  The base rate for this room is ~$895 per night but we paid exactly $0.

All I had to do was transfer 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my Hyatt account on the Chase website.  I booked a king room and, when we arrived, we received a complimentary upgrade to a room with a spectacular view of the city.  After booking this free night, we didn’t feel so bad about splurging on a romantic dinner and Broadway tickets.

3.   Free Convertible Rental to Wine Country

I normally prefer to spend my miles and points on plane tickets and hotel stays, but I occasionally use them to book rental cars.  With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll get a value of 1.25 cents per point when you book flights, hotels, rental cars, or other activities through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal.   Still, after booking flights and hotels for our week-long trip to San Francisco, I found myself with just enough points to snag a 3-day car rental for an excursion to the Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

Using my Chase Sapphire Preferred, I was able to book an Enterprise rental car for ~15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the portal.  We booked an economy-class car but, as luck would have it, we were upgraded to a sporty convertible once we got to the counter.  A free upgrade isn’t a guarantee but it happens more often than you’d think, especially if you are a new customer.

Bottom Line

Using a simple credit card rewards strategy to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can quickly earn enough points to make your travel dreams a reality.  You can earn these incredibly valuable points with these cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Our favorite card for folks just starting out in our hobby!
• Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card – Our favorite business credit card for travel
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® – Our favorite travel credit card for folks who know they’ll travel a lot

• Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card – Our favorite no-annual-fee business credit card
• Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card – Another great no-annual-fee business credit card
• Chase Freedom® – No annual fee
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® – No annual fee

I redeemed the sign-up bonus from the Chase Sapphire Preferred for 2 round-trip tickets to Hawaii!  And splurged on a luxury hotel in New York City and a convertible car rental in wine country.

What’s been your favorite way to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points?