The way to get flights and hotel stays with Chase Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to partner airlines and hotels.
But what if you’d like to take a cruise? Is it worth using your points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal?
You can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for more than just airlines and hotels. They are also great for booking rental cars and cruises!
How to Book a Cruise With Chase Ultimate Rewards
You can redeem the Chase Ink Plus 70,000 sign-up bonus for cruises at 1.25 cents per point. Booking is easy, but you can’t do it online! You’ll have to call to make your reservations.
Note: The Chase Ink Plus 70,000 point bonus offer ends on October 19, 2014.
You can pay for the entire trip with points or you can pay a portion with points and the rest with your credit card.
If you use a credit card, remember the Chase Sapphire Preferred counts cruises as travel. So you will earn 2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent.
And when cruising to foreign countries, you won’t have to pay foreign transaction fees when you shop with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus!
How Much Can You Save?
If you book a $600 cruise through Chase Ultimate Rewards, it would cost 48,000 points. But if you paid for the cruise on another site and then redeemed your points for a $600 statement credit, it would cost 60,000 points.
So you will save 20% on your cruise by booking directly instead of using your points for a statement credit.
However, you will really only save 20% if Chase Ultimate Rewards charges the same price for cruises as you can find on other sites. So I did some digging to find out…
1. 4 Night Bahamas Cruise
A 4 night cruise for 2 in an ocean view room costs ~$705 through Priceline. If you used your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for a statement credit to cover this cost, you would need 70,500 points.
Chase Ultimate Rewards charges the same price for this trip, which means it will cost ~56,400 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. That’s a 20% discount!
You’ll also get the added bonus of a $25 on-board credit when you book with Chase.
2. 4 Day Pacific Coast Cruise
You could also take a 4 day cruise for 2 from San Diego to Vancouver.
You can use ~84,700 Chase Ultimate Rewards points as a statement credit to cover the cost of your trip.
However, if you booked the same trip with Chase Ultimate Rewards you could save some points! The cash price for this cruise is also ~$847. But when you book with Chase your points are worth 1.25 cents per point so it will only cost you ~67,760 points.
No on-board credits were offered with this cruise.
3. 4 Day Cruise to Baja Peninsula
A 4 day cruise for 2 to Baja, Mexico on Carnival Cruise Lines costs ~$774 when you book through Travelocity. You could redeem 77,400 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for $774 statement credit to pay for this cruise.
This cruise will cost the same if you book through Chase Ultimate Rewards, but you will save points. That’s because it will only cost you 61,920 points. This is 15,480 points (20%) cheaper than booking through Travelocity (77,400 points for a statement credit – 61,920 points booked through Chase).
You also be able to get on-board credits depending on when you book the trip.
Bottom Line
You can use the Chase Ink 70,000 point sign-up bonus towards a cruise for 2 to the Bahamas, the Baja Pennisula, or Vancouver.
You can redeem the points for cash back to cover the cost of the trip. But you will save 20% if you book directly through Chase Ultimate Rewards by calling 866-951-6592.
In addition to the points you will save booking your cruise with Chase, you may also get on-board credits that you won’t find booking on other sites.