We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

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

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

    Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

    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!

    You Could Stay at the Incredible Park Hyatt New York by Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Hyatt!

    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

    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!

    You Can Book a Round-Trip Coach Flight to Hawaii From the Continental US on Delta by Converting 25,000 Chase Points to Korean Air Miles

    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.

    The Park Hyatt New York Is the Height of Luxury. It Can Be Yours for 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, Transferred to Hyatt

    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.

    We Took a Spin Through Wine Country in This Convertible After Receiving a Free Upgrade With Enterprise!

    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:

    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?

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)