When you start racking up rewards as a Chase credit card holder, you’ll naturally want to start redeeming those points for different things whether it’s for cash back, travel, Apple products or even gift cards.

If you’re not exactly sure how to redeem your Chase points or which redemptions fetch the most value, this quick guide will show you how to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, plus give you some tips about getting the best value out of your redemption choices.

How can I redeem my Chase points?

You can view, manage and redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points through your Chase account. If you haven’t yet signed up for an account, be sure to do it as soon as possible to begin accessing your points.

Access the Ultimate Rewards portal

You can log in to your Chase account either on your desktop browser or mobile Chase app and navigate to the Ultimate Rewards portal from your account. When you click on the link to the Ultimate Rewards portal, it will launch as separate from your Chase account.

Once there, you can choose from multiple menu options to redeem points. Your choices range from cash back, Chase Dining, gift cards, Pay Yourself Back and more. Once you choose your redemption option, you can follow the screen prompts to complete the process of redeeming your points for the selected award.

If you have multiple Chase accounts that earn Ultimate Rewards points, choose the card you want to access, and you’ll see how many points are available to redeem. There is an option to toggle between your different card accounts and switch cards as needed. If you don’t have enough points for your preferred redemption options, you can transfer points from one card to another within the Ultimate Rewards portal with the “combine points” feature.

Review your redemption options

Once in the Ultimate Rewards portal, you should be able to see various redemption options on the side menu or when you click “Earn / Use” at the top:

  • Cash back
  • Dining
  • Gift cards
  • Pay with points with Amazon.com or PayPal
  • Shop through Chase
  • Apple Ultimate Rewards Store
  • Pay Yourself Back
  • Travel
  • Transfer to travel partners

Here’s a quick breakdown on these options along with their value compared to other available redemption options.

Cash back

Unlike many travel credit cards, choosing cash back doesn’t lower the value of your points. You’ll get 1 cent per point for your rewards, plus the option to deposit your cash into an account of your choice or as statement credit on the card you earned the points with.

Dining

Chase Sapphire, Freedom and Ink cardholders can also redeem rewards with Chase Dining, though those with a Sapphire credit card also have access to the Sapphire Private Dining Series. You can use your points toward curated dining experiences, home meal kits and more. Redemption values and options vary.

Gift cards

Generally, you’ll get 1 cent per point for gift cards, but there are often special promotions where these cards go on sale. For example, you might get a $100 gift card for 9,000 points instead of 10,000 points if there’s a 10 percent off sale that week.

Pay with Points with Amazon.com or PayPal

Pay with Points lets you redeem your points for purchases made through Amazon.com or PayPal at the checkout screen. However, this redemption option is only worth 0.8 cents per point, meaning 100 points add up to 80 cents. It’s a nice option to have but not necessarily the best way to redeem your points.

Shop through Chase

Located under the “Earn Bonus Points” section, Shop through Chase has opportunities for you to earn even more points by shopping with certain brands and retailers. For example, you can earn points on fitness apparel brands or online florists during a given promotional period.

Shop through Chase also frequently features point-earning options with department stores like Macy’s and Neiman Marcus. The deals change frequently, so it’s best to sign up for the email list to stay updated on the promotions offered and when.

Apple Ultimate Rewards Store

You can also use your points towards Apple products like Apple Watches, Airpods, iPhones, iPads, Macs and accessories. As long as you have 20 percent of the purchase price in Chase points, you can use cash for the remaining points portion of your purchase.

The good news is the prices on the Apple Ultimate Rewards Store are comparable to the prices on the Apple site. However, occasionally there are promotions, especially around the holiday season, that offer a boost for your points’ value when you redeem them for Apple products. The most recent promotion added 50 percent more value to points redeemed for Apple products.

Chase Pay Yourself Back

Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature allows you to increase the value of your rewards by redeeming points or cash back for statement credits toward eligible spending categories, including grocery purchases and charitable donations. The Chase Pay Yourself Back categories change often and differ based on the card you have, so check your Ultimate Rewards portal regularly. The main advantage of Pay Yourself Back is that your points will be worth more in dollars than if you redeemed them for statement credit using the cash back method.

Travel

You can book travel accommodations from hotels to airlines to rental cars through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. If you’ve got the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you’ll get a boost in points value when booking travel through the portal.

With your Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll earn 10X on travel booked through the portal, and your Chase Sapphire Preferred Card allows you to earn 5X on travel booked through the portal. It’s important to remember you don’t need the full amount of points to book travel on the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal – you pay fully in points, fully in dollars (and earn points that way) or split the cost between points and dollars.

Transfer to travel partners

Lastly and arguably the most valuable of them all, you can transfer your points to a number of travel partners starting at 1 cent per point. Sometimes your points are worth even more with a variety of Chase travel partners, which are a nice mix of domestic and international airlines and hotel brands.

What’s the best way to redeem my Chase points?

The nice thing about using the Ultimate Rewards portal is that under the “Ways to Use” section, you can see all the ways you can use your points, plus the value you’ll get for that particular redemption option.

For instance, let’s say you have a card with about 5,678 Ultimate Rewards points available with your Chase Sapphire Preferred. You’ll see the following options listed:

Redemption type Point value
Travel $70.98
Pay Yourself Back $70.98
Gift cards $56.78
Chase Dining $56.78
Cash Back $56.78
Pay with Points $45.42

This is a quick, convenient way to see how many points you have and how much they’re worth when redeemed. Plus, you can compare your redemption options at a glance.

What is the best use of your Chase points?

It really depends on your needs at the time. In most cases, redeeming points for travel or transferring to travel partners presents the highest value for your points. However, if you are continually traveling, then this redemption option won’t be as valuable to you. In that case, redeeming your points for cash back, statement credits or gift cards might make the most sense.

Redeeming your points at checkout with Amazon.com or PayPal fetches the lowest value for your points, but there may come a time when this particular redemption makes sense for you, such as during the holiday season or when making a big purchase.

The bottom line

Earning credit card rewards is a great way to get discounts and deals on some purchases you would have made anyway. Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the most popular and flexible credit card rewards programs out there, so knowing the ins and outs of redeeming your points can help you get the most value out of your rewards. You worked hard to earn them, so you might as well enjoy them.