When it comes to credit card points or airline miles, it doesn't get much better than Chase Ultimate Rewards.
The points you earn from cards like the *chase sapphire preferred* and *chase sapphire reserve* are simply more valuable and versatile than almost any other points you can earn. Using the points you’ve earned to book flights directly through the Chase Travel℠ is just one option – and booking a cheap flight is one of our favorite ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
But if you want to take things to the next level, you can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points directly to 11 airlines and three hotel brands. That includes multiple U.S. airlines, a handful of incredibly valuable foreign airline programs like Air Canada Aeroplan and Air France/KLM Flying Blue, and arguably the single-best hotel loyalty points currency on the planet.
All those options give your points immense flexibility that shouldn’t be overlooked. And in many cases, sending your points to Chase transfer partners can get you far more value – especially if you're looking to fly first and business class.
We'll give you a rundown of how to transfer Chase points and the best ways to do it right.
Read more: 60K Points are Not Worth $600 – How to Get More From Your Points & Miles
All the Chase Transfer Partners
Before we get into the “how?” we need to cover the “where?” As in, where can you transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points?
The list is long: You can send your Chase points directly to 14 different Chase transfer partners, as of publication. That includes 11 airlines – three major U.S. carriers as well as some excellent (and arguably much better) foreign airline programs – as well as three different hotel chains, too.
It's worth noting that every single one of these 14 current Chase transfer partners has a 1:1 transfer ratio. That means 10,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points can become 10,000 United MileagePlus miles. Or 10,000 Virgin Atlantic miles. Or 10,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points. Or 10,000 World of Hyatt points.
That's the versatility that makes Chase points shine. One other thing to keep in mind: You have to transfer points in increments of 1,000. So you won't be able to top-up one of your airline mileage accounts if you're just a few hundred miles short.
Below are the current options, as well as how long it takes to move points to each Chase transfer partner.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Airline Transfer Partners
| Program | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | 1:1 | Instant |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 | Instant |
| Air France/KLM | 1:1 | Instant |
| British Airways | 1:1 | Instant |
| Emirates | 1:1 | Instant |
| Iberia Plus | 1:1 | Instant |
| JetBlue | 1:1 | Instant |
| Singapore Air | 1:1 | 12-24 hours |
| Southwest Airlines | 1:1 | Instant |
| United Airlines | 1:1 | Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic | 1:1 | Instant |
Chase Ultimate Rewards Hotel Transfer Partners
| Program | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|
| World of Hyatt | 1:1 | Instant |
| IHG | 1:1 | 1 day |
| Marriott Rewards | 1:1 | 2 days |
The Best Chase Transfer Partners & Redemptions
There's a reason we consider Chase points so valuable. There are a lot of sweet spots here to highlight.
- Want to fly to Europe? Transferring your Chase points to Iberia opens up one of the cheapest ways to get to Europe – in either economy or business class. For just 34,000 miles, you can get to Madrid (MAD) and back almost any time of the year. Iberia's business class starts at only 68,000 miles roundtrip from the East Coast or Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), less than what most airlines charge to fly economy!
- British Airways is now one of the best ways to book the world's best business class seats, Qatar Qsuites, starting at just 70,000 Avios each way. But you can also transfer your British Airways miles with all the other airlines that use Avios, including Qatar Airways, Finnair, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. That means you can send Chase points to Finnair via British Airways and book some dirt-cheap American Airlines flights to Hawaii or the Caribbean; fly Finnair business class to northern Europe; or even book Cathay Pacific business class for less.
- Air France/KLM's joint program, Flying Blue, has become absolutely invaluable. While other airlines on this list have raised award rates, Flying Blue actually cut them: down to just 50,000 points for a one-way to Europe in business class! And unlike others, finding the award availability to actually book those lie-flat seats is generally much easier.
- Virgin Atlantic was long one of our favorite ways to save SkyMiles and book flights on Delta. Though it's taken a hit after a major devaluations – including gutting 50,000-point Delta One redemptions to Europe – there are still some amazing ways to redeem Flying Club points. That includes flying ITA Airways business class to Italy, Air New Zealand business class to Auckland (AKL), ANA business or first class to Japan, and many more.
- With cheap domestic flights starting at 5,000 miles each way, round-trip to Europe for 60,000 miles, and 35,000 round trip to the Caribbean, United can be a competitive option. Just keep in mind that United has switched to an unpredictable dynamic award system, so prices can vary wildly.
- Aeroplan is Chase's newest addition, and it's arguably the strongest one. You can use Air Canada Aeroplan points to book cheap United flights across the country, get from the West Coast to Hawaii and back for as low as 25,000 miles, book business class to Europe as low as 60,000 points each way, or even book partners like Singapore business class or Emirates, too.
- Want to fly in serious style? Transferring points to Emirates is easily the best way to book Emirates first class, whether you want to fly from the U.S. to Dubai (DXB) or hop on a fun fifth-freedom route to Europe instead! Read more on booking with Emirates miles!
- Hyatt is far and away one of the best Chase transfer partners, period. That's largely because the hotel chain's low award rates make it easy to get an outsized value on amazing hotels worldwide.
Need some ideas on how to use these transfer options? Check out our guide on the best ways to redeem a big stash of Chase points!
What About Transfer Bonuses?
Transfer bonuses make things even better.
Think of them as a way to get some free airline miles (or, occasionally, hotel points): Instead of transferring points on a 1:1 basis, the bank will give you a bonus of 10% to as high as 40% or even more when sending points to select partners.
For years, Chase looked stingy compared to other banks when it comes to offering transfer bonuses. That has changed.
Here's a look at what we've seen in the last few years:
- As of publication, you can get a 30% bonus when transferring Chase points to British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus
- There's also currently a 50% transfer bonus to Marriott available as of publication
- 30% Chase transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic typically crop up at least a few times a year
- We've seen a 20% transfer bonus (or even more) when transferring Chase points to Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM has seen several transfer bonuses from Chase of 20% or 25%
- A 60% bonus on transfers to IHG hotels
- A 20% bonus on transfers to Southwest Rapid Rewards points
Fingers crossed that Chase continues offering these bonuses, as they're one of the best ways to get even more out of your points.
How to Transfer Your Chase Points
Now you know where and why, here's how to send your points to all the different Chase transfer partners. No matter which airline or hotel chain you've got in mind, the process looks the same.
You’ll need an account with that airline or hotel chain before you start the transfer. Creating one is free and only takes a few minutes.
From there, you’ll need to log in to your Chase account and click on your Ultimate Rewards balance. Once you’ve done that, click on “Travel” and choose the option to “Transfer points to partners.”
From here, you can select your preferred partner from the list, then enter how many points you’d like to transfer over. As laid out above, most transfers from Chase will be instantaneous, but transfers to Singapore may take up to a day or longer.
Just beware: Once your transfer goes through, you can’t pull those miles back into your Chase account. That makes it critical to do your research and make sure sending your miles to that partner is the best way to go beforehand. That includes making sure there's award space for the flights you want to book.
Read next: When Does it Make Sense to Speculatively Transfer Your Points?
If you haven't already linked your Chase account with the airline or hotel program, you'll need to enter your membership number.
After you've verified your account, you'll be able to enter how many of your Chase points you'd like to transfer. Remember: You have to transfer points in increments of 1,000.
From there, Chase gives you one last chance to review your transfer before hitting submit. Unfortunately, Chase doesn't factor in any ongoing transfer bonuses for how many airline miles or hotel points you'll get – you'll have to do that math yourself.
Don’t forget that you can also pool points balances with significant others and family members – though it's gotten much harder within the last year. For years, you could easily combine points with a household member online.
Unfortunately, that's no longer an option … at least online. You can still call Chase (at the number on the back of your card) to initiate a household points transfer. Chase simply requires that the billing addresses match on both accounts.
How to Build Your Chase Points Balance
These strategies don’t mean a thing if you don’t have any Chase Ultimate Rewards points to your name. Luckily, it's easy to pile up Chase points.
The *csp* is easily one of the best travel credit cards on the market right now. bonus_miles_full
You'll also earn 3x points for every $1 spent on dining, including eligible delivery services. You'll earn 3x points per dollar spent on online grocery purchases, and 3x points per dollar spent on select streaming services, and 2x points per dollar spent on travel purchases.
With just a $95 annual fee, that's a ton of value for a cheap travel credit card.
Read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred!
Learn more about the *csp*.
For the more seasoned traveler looking for premium perks, the *chase sapphire reserve* is hard to beat. That’s because it comes with an outstanding set of benefits like an easy-to-use $300 annual travel credit, a free Priority Pass lounge membership, up to $120 toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS enrollment, and much more. Those perks can easily outweigh the $550 annual fee.
bonus_miles_full
If you hold the Sapphire Reserve, every point gets you 1.5 cents when booking directly through Chase Travel℠. You’ll also get 3x points on every travel and dining purchase.
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
Unfortunately, you can’t stack both bonuses. Chase restricts cardholders to just one card at a time, and you can’t earn the bonuses within 48 months of each other. These (and most Chase cards) also fall under the dreaded Chase 5/24 rule, which means you won't get approved if you've opened five or more credit cards from any bank within the last 24 months.
Need help deciding which Chase Sapphire card is right for you? Read why we think the Preferred Card is a much better choice right now!
If you want to go further with Chase points, there are two slam-dunk options: The Chase Freedom Flex℠ or the *freedom unlimited* cards, some of our top no-annual-fee cards. They complement the Sapphire cards perfectly, as you earn bigger bonuses on everyday spending categories than you would by continually swiping your Preferred or Reserve Card.
While they're technically cashback cards, having a Sapphire card in your wallet allows you to transfer that cashback into points. That means $200 in cash back is also worth another 20,000 Chase points.
Got a small business or even a side hustle? You might be eligible for a Chase business card without realizing it. If so it's worth looking at either the *chase ink cash* or the *chase ink unlimited*, two no-annual-fee business cards that both come with big bonuses.
With the current offers, you can earn up $750 cash back (or 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points). But exactly how the bonus works will depend on which version of the card you choose.
- With the *chase ink unlimited* you can earn $750 (or 75,000 points) after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- With the *chase ink cash*, it's broken up into two tiers. You can earn $350 (or 35,000 points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 (or 40,000 points) after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.
So long as you can responsibly meet either card's $6,000 spending requirement, you won't find a better or cheaper way to earn a big bonus.
While these cards also technically earn cash back, you can turn that cash back into valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points as long as you hold a card that earns them. That includes the *chase sapphire preferred* and *chase sapphire reserve* or even the *chase ink preferred*.
Read more: Already Got a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card? Here's Your Next Move…
Bottom Line
Transferring Chase points is one of the best ways to use them. It can take a while to learn the ins and outs, but once you do, you can get some serious bang for your buck.
You noted A 60% bonus on transfers to IHG hotels. Can you tell me how that works?
I’m a little confused. If I book a ticket on Chase Sapphire Reserve and the ticket is 75000 points, I only pay 50,000. If I transferred the points to Virgin Atlantic, it would only be a 30% bonus. Why would I ever transfer points if I get a better deal by using the points on Chase Travel site? Am I missing something?
Good question, Steve. The issue is that you’re comparing apples (Chase travel portal) to oranges (booking via Virgin). Because they price things very differently.
With the Chase travel portal, it’s based just on the cash cost. So that $750 ticket – let’s just say it’s from Minneapolis to Amsterdam flying KLM economy – is, indeed, 50,000 points.
When you redeem Virgin Atlantic points, it has nothing to do with the cash cost but the airline’s award charts, which is what actually determines how many miles you need. In this case, the award chart says those same roundtrip flights from Minneapolis to Amsterdam are as low as 30,000 points. With a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin, you only need to transfer 24,000 Chase points to Virgin – half the cost of the Chase portal.
That’s just one example, and it won’t always work out that way. But it’s one of many examples where you can come out far ahead.
In order to transfer points under the same billing address, do both people need an annual fee card? would like to sign my mother up for a card and transfer her points to me
You can transfer from the no annual fee freedoms to an account with a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve. You just have to share a billing address.