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Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Are Best If You Don’t Live Near a Major Airport (Like Me!)

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    I love earning flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®.  As someone who doesn’t live near a major airport, collecting Chase Ultimate Rewards points is the BEST way to save money airfare.  

    For me, it’s super easy to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points directly to airline partners to book award travel.  And it’s even easier to redeem points through the Chase travel portal to book without having to worry about blackout dates. 

    Living in Aspen, Colorado, I Don’t Have Many Options for Redeeming Frequent Flyer Miles. That’s Why I Love Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points! Because They’re Flexible and Allow Me to Save on Airfare!

    I exclusively use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for all of my travel.  My typical award booking strategy involves transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines.  Then, booking an award flight directly through United Airlines.

    For United Airlines award flights, you use the same number of miles regardless of your departure city and if you have to stopover somewhere.  So even though I live near a tiny airport, I’m not penalized for it and can typically fly anywhere within the US for 12,500 miles each way.

    If I can’t find award flights, I love having the flexibility of booking through the Chase travel portal.  As a Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholder, my points are worth 1.5 cent each toward airfare, hotels, or rental cars through the Chase portal.  Booking is so simple, even my mom has gotten the hang of it (and she’s not very tech savvy!)

    Here are the best cards to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

    CardSign-Up Bonus & Minimum Spending RequirementsOur Review
    Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
    		60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your accountThe #1 card for beginners
    Chase Sapphire Reserve®50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account
    		Lots of folks love this premium credit card because of the ongoing perks!
    Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card
    		80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of opening your accountRead why this is the top card pick for small business owners

    Be sure to check out our guides to transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points and booking travel through the Chase portal.

    Do you live near a small airport?  How do you transfer your reward points?  Comment below!

    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! :)