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Here’s Exactly How I Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Travel During Peak Travel Seasons

  • Meghan Hunter

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    Why are Chase Ultimate Rewards points one of the best credit card rewards currencies to collect?  Because they’ll afford you flexibility, which is invaluable in the world of miles & points.

    Depending on which Chase Ultimate Rewards earning credit card you have, you can use the points you earn for cash back, transfer your points to fantastic airlines or hotel partners, or book travel through Chase’s travel portal.  You can essentially use your rewards when you want and how you want…for whatever you want!  It’s why many of the best credit cards for travel are Ultimate Rewards earning cards.

    I have found Ultimate Rewards points especially useful when it comes to saving money during peak travel times.  And over Christmas, I was able to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to fly my sister to Colorado to meet up with us for the holiday.  She didn’t know she’d have the time off work until a week prior, so it was nice to be able to use a stash of points to help save her cash!

    I’ll share how I did it and how you can do it, too!

    I Just Love Seeing My Sister and My Daughter Together!  It’s the Best Part About the Holidays!

    Using Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for a Ticket at Christmas

    When booking a flight, I always start with a quick search on Google Flights to compare the cash price of a ticket to the number of miles I’d need.  And in this particular situation, it made the most sense to save the cash and book an award ticket with United Airlines.

    The problem was, the ticket cost 25,000 United Airlines miles and I only had ~3,000 miles in my account.  But worry I did not!  This is precisely why it never hurts to stockpile those Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

    I was able to transfer 22,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points that I earned with my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to United Airlines, and get my sister her ticket.  It saved her over $500 on the trip!

    Transfers like this are almost instantaneous.  As soon as you click the transfer button in your Chase account, you’ll be able to login to your United Airlines account and have those miles available for use.  It’s awesome!

    You can read all about Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer partners here.

    I love giving the gift of travel.  And it’s all the more special when it means I get to help gather friends and family together.  What’s your favorite use for Chase Ultimate Rewards points?

    Want more tips & tricks to make travel more affordable and enjoyable?  Then subscribe to our newsletter and get them delivered daily.

    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! :)