Shop Through Chase guide

Credit card rewards are extremely valuable – from helping you book award tickets for your next trip to helping pay off a purchase, there are myriad ways to leverage them. If you’re looking to get even more out of your rewards credit card, shopping issuer portals can offer immense value. The Shop Through Chase program allows cardholders to accrue additional points from their regular purchases when they link through the program. If you have an eligible Chase credit card, the Shop Through Chase program can help you to earn even more rewards and additional deals on your routine online shopping.

What is Shop Through Chase?

Shop Through Chase is the online shopping portal for Chase Ultimate Rewards. This program rewards you for shopping with hundreds of participating retailers. When you visit the program portal, you’ll find offers from hundreds of participating retailers. Deals can include discounts on your purchases as well as opportunities to earn additional Ultimate Rewards points for your order. For example, you may receive 3x points per dollar spent on your order with a retailer such as Best Buy. The program also aggregates retailer sales, offering easy ways to see the best promo codes to use for an additional discount.

How much can you earn with Shop Through Chase?

The program’s catalog of retailers and promotional offers changes often, so exact reward rates can vary. You’ll typically see offers to earn anywhere from 1X to 8X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent, but offers mostly range from 1X to 4X points per dollar. This is a solid deal since Ultimate Rewards points are among the most valuable rewards. According to Bankrate’s latest valuations, they can be worth around 2.0 cents apiece, depending on the card.

The best part is that you can earn unlimited points with Shop Through Chase as it can scale to your order total. If you choose to use your Ultimate Rewards card at checkout, you can also earn your standard rewards rate on top of the Shop Through Chase bonus offer. Unless there’s a merchant-specific restriction on a deal (you might not be able to buy gift cards, for instance), no spending limit means you could earn considerably more points on a large purchase just by clicking the retailer’s Shop Through Chase link.

Who is eligible to use Shop Through Chase?

You must be an active Chase credit cardholder with access to the Ultimate Rewards program to use Shop Through Chase. To access the site, log into the Ultimate Rewards website and visit the Shop Through Chase section to see available offers. Chase co-branded cards, such as those with airline and hotel brands, are not eligible for the Shop Through Chase program.

How Shop Through Chase works

Using Shop Through Chase is a breeze since it essentially works like a promo referral link. All you have to do is:

1. Log in to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account online or via the Chase mobile app.
2. Once logged in, if you have multiple eligible Chase credit cards, you will be asked to select the card you want to access the program through. Click “Shop & earn bonus points” under the “Shopping & Experiences” tab.

1. Browse for a retailer. There’s a search box in the upper right corner, or you can browse the featured offers or click “Stores” for a list of all the current merchants.
2. Once you find the special offer you’re looking for, click “Shop Now,” which will redirect you to the retailer’s site to complete your purchase.
3. After you’ve wrapped up your shopping, your bonus Shop Through Chase points will appear in your account by your next statement.

With access to the portal, you can either search for merchants or see top stores/offers at a glance from the portal homepage.

Which stores are on Shop Through Chase?

Shop Through Chase merchants and offers change frequently, but the store list contains hundreds of top retailers. Some examples of the types of retailers in the program include:

• Department stores (examples include: Macy’s, Kohl’s and Sears)
• Apparel (examples include: Nike, Adidas, L.L. Bean and Lululemon)
• Beauty and accessories (examples include: Ulta, Ray-Ban and Sephora)
• Electronics (examples include: Microsoft, Apple and Lenovo)
• Home improvement (examples include: Ace Hardware, Home Depot and Lowe’s)
• Services and subscriptions (examples include: Verizon and BlueApron)
• Business expenses (examples include: FedEx, VistaPrint and Staples)

Keep in mind that deals and retailers in the program can change at any time. If you see a deal you like, it can be wise to use it soon, especially in the case of discount offerings. For example, at the time of writing, Shop with Chase was offering 3 Ultimate Rewards points per $1 spent at Adidas, in addition to sharing a sale promo code offering up to 60% off.

Shop Through Chase vs. Chase Offers

In addition to the Shop Through Chase program, Chase also runs Chase Offers. Chase Offers is a program that allows you to receive cash back with retailers and can help you “stack” your rewards. Instead of bonus points on virtual mall purchases, Chase offers a limited-time cash back rate on each offer you activate for select physical and online merchants. For example, you could activate a 5% cash back on Lyft rides or even $10 cash back from TurboTax. Past offers have included ones for Amazon, Panera and Disney Plus.

Chase Offers do not require you to make your purchase through a specific link – you just need to add the offer to your card and it will automatically be applied if you meet the terms of the offer. Chase Offers is available to all Chase credit cards, not just those that earn Ultimate Rewards points, unlike the Shop Through Chase program. You can use both Shop Through Chase and Chase Offers to maximize your shopping rewards across a wider range of spending categories.

Tips for earning the most from Shop Through Chase

When used effectively, Shop Through Chase can be a helpful tool for accumulating points more quickly. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Check regularly. Shop Through Chase promotions are always changing, so keep your eyes peeled for an opportunity worth pairing with a planned purchase.
• Read the offer terms carefully. Although the bonus points earned from Shop Through Chase are unlimited, each merchant may apply restrictions to their bonus offers, such as how many points you can earn or what you can purchase.
• Look for an offer before a large purchase. If you have sizable purchases coming up that can be made online — like your holiday shopping — check Shop Through Chase first to rack up easy points.
• Stack other rewards opportunities. When using Shop Through Chase, check if you can maximize your reward by pairing it with a Chase Offers deal, if available.
• Boost your rewards for travel. If you hold one of the Chase Sapphire credit cards or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can bump up the value of your points by 25 percent to 50 percent when you redeem them for travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal.

Best credit cards to use with Shop Through Chase

Determining the best Chase credit cards for your Shop Through Chase rewards boils down to which cards fit your spending habits and preferred redemption options. After all, a shopping portal is useless if there’s nothing you want to buy.

Here are some example Chase cards that you can use to earn and maximize rewards points on Shop Through Chase purchases:

If you’re looking for the most consistent rewards, the Chase Freedom Unlimited guarantees at least 1.5 percent cash back on all Shop Through Chase purchases. However, a rotating bonus category card like the Chase Freedom Flex could earn you up to 5 percent cash back (up to $1,500 each quarter in an activated category, then 1 percent). The trade-off is that you’ll have to make sure that there is a Shop Through Chase offer that aligns with your bonus categories.

Although Chase’s travel cards aren’t as effective for Shop Through Chase retailers’ bonus categories, the Chase credit card trifecta can maximize your bonus shopping points if you’re saving up rewards for a future getaway. Remember, the Chase Sapphire Reserve boosts the value of your points by 50 percent when you redeem them for travel through Ultimate Rewards.

The bottom line

Shop Through Chase can be a valuable program to gain additional Ultimate Rewards points for your planned purchases. While it does require purchasing via specific links, it can be well worth the time to search the portal before making a purchase. The rewards aren’t always on par with your credit card’s rewards rates, but unlimited 1X to 10X points back on a large purchase can make a difference when redeemed for cash back or travel.

Issuer-required disclosure: The information about the Chase Freedom Flex℠ has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.