Best Ways to Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (2026 Transfer Partner Sweet Spots)

Disclaimer: Award charts, transfer ratios, and partner availability change frequently. Verify current rates on each partner’s website before transferring points. Transfers are almost always irreversible.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is the most valuable transferable points currency in North America for one reason: Hyatt. Beyond that, the list of strong transfer partners is deep enough that almost any trip you want to take has a UR redemption behind it if you know where to look.

This guide covers the best ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards in 2026, the sweet spots on each transfer partner, and where the Chase Travel portal still makes sense.

Key facts: Chase Ultimate Rewards redemption value (2026)

• Hyatt transfers at 1:1 and delivers the most consistent 3-5 cent per point value across US and international hotels, with category 1-4 properties being the sweet spot
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Aeroplan, and Flying Blue each open up premium cabin redemptions that can exceed 6 cents per point on international routes
• Chase Travel portal redemptions are fixed at 1.25 cents per point (Sapphire Preferred) or 1.5 cents per point (Sapphire Reserve) with Points Boost promotions occasionally pushing portal value higher
• Points Boost on Chase Travel launched in June 2025 and targets specific routes with temporarily enhanced portal values, typically 1.75-2 cents per point
• Avios short-haul redemptions on American Airlines (Hawaii from the West Coast, flights under 1,150 miles) deliver some of the highest per-point values at under 10,000 points for flights that retail for $300+

How Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfers Work

Three cards earn what Chase calls “full” Ultimate Rewards that can transfer to partners:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95/year)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve ($795/year)
• Chase Ink Business Preferred ($95/year)

Other Chase cards (Freedom Unlimited, Freedom Flex, Ink Cash) earn Ultimate Rewards but their points can’t transfer directly. To use them with partners, pool them into one of the three cards above first. Chase allows free point transfers between cards in the same household via authorized user or combining accounts.

Transfer ratios: All Chase transfer partners are 1:1 (1 UR = 1 partner mile/point) with two historical exceptions. In 2026, all listed Chase transfer partners transfer at 1:1.

Transfer timing: Transfers to Hyatt, United, Southwest, and IHG are typically instant. Transfers to Air Canada, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France/KLM, Singapore, Iberia, and Emirates process in 15 minutes to a few hours. Transfers to JetBlue sometimes take up to 24 hours.

Chase Travel Portal: Worth It in Specific Situations

The portal guarantees a fixed value. With the Sapphire Reserve, 1.5 cents per point. With Sapphire Preferred, 1.25 cents per point. With Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex alone, 1 cent per point.

When the portal wins:

• Cheap economy flights where transferring points would waste value
• Flights where no award availability exists on your dates
• Hotels not in the Hyatt portfolio where no transfer produces better value
• Points Boost promotions on your specific route (introduced June 2025, these temporarily raise portal value to 1.75-2 cents per point on targeted routes)

When the portal loses:

• Premium cabin international flights (almost always better via transfer)
• Hyatt properties (transfer at 1:1 and redeem on the award chart for 3-5 cents/point value)
• Any luxury hotel where cash rates are high relative to points

Hyatt: The Single Best UR Redemption

World of Hyatt uses a category-based award chart. Each property is categorized 1 through 8, and each category has fixed point costs for standard rooms with three pricing tiers: off-peak, standard, and peak.

2026 Hyatt award chart (standard rooms, approximate):

Category	Off-peak	Standard	Peak
1	3,500	5,000	6,500
2	6,500	8,000	9,500
3	9,000	12,000	15,000
4	12,000	15,000	18,000
5	17,000	20,000	23,000
6	21,000	25,000	29,000
7	26,000	30,000	35,000
8	35,000	40,000	45,000

Where the value lives:

• Category 1-3 US properties: Park Hyatts outside major metros, Hyatt Regencies in secondary markets, and Hyatt Place properties in business districts. Often $200-400/night in cash, redeemable for 5,000-12,000 points. That’s 3-6 cents per point.
• Category 4-5 resort properties: Andaz Mayakoba, Grand Hyatt Kauai, Hyatt Regency Maui at 15,000-20,000 points/night vs $500-900 in cash. 3-5 cents per point.
• Category 8 peak redemptions: Park Hyatt Tokyo, Park Hyatt Maldives, Park Hyatt Zanzibar at 40,000-45,000 points/night vs $1,500-3,000+ in cash. 4-7 cents per point.

Tips:

• Book Hyatt Globalist members get late checkout, upgrades, and waived resort fees even on award stays. If you hold Globalist status (or Marriott Platinum via status match), Hyatt awards become significantly more valuable.
• Free night certificates from the World of Hyatt credit card are capped at category 4 but can be used on peak dates at those categories without penalty.
• Points + Cash bookings are allowed but rarely beat full-points redemptions for value.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: ANA First Class and Delta Sweet Spots

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club is a 1:1 Chase partner and has two signature redemptions:

ANA First Class between North America and Japan

• Cost: 120,000 points round-trip off-peak, 145,000 points round-trip peak
• What you’re booking: ANA’s “The Suite” first class, which regularly retails for $15,000-22,000 round-trip
• Value: 12-18 cents per point
• Catch: Availability requires booking essentially at award release (355 days out) or waiting for sudden opens 2-3 weeks before departure. One passenger per booking (no companion on same reservation) and spouses can only book together by calling.

Delta Domestic and International

• Flying Club prices Delta awards differently than Delta’s own program. Short-haul domestic flights can be 7,500-12,500 points each way versus 15,000+ on Delta SkyMiles.
• Delta One (business) to Europe is roughly 50,000-75,000 points each way, less than Delta’s own 85,000-100,000 SkyMiles prices.

Fuel surcharges on Virgin Atlantic apply to Virgin’s own flights and some partners. Always check the tax and fee total before transferring.

Air Canada Aeroplan: Star Alliance Sweet Spots

Aeroplan uses a distance-based chart with region pairs. Key sweet spots:

• North American short-haul (0-500 miles): 6,000 points one-way in economy, 12,500 in business. Flights like SFO-LAX or JFK-BOS.
• North American medium-haul (501-1,500 miles): 10,000 economy, 20,000 business. Covers most transcontinental US routes.
• Lufthansa First Class: 100,000-150,000 points one-way depending on region. Bookable only within 14 days of departure for non-Star Alliance elites, but availability is famously generous during this window.
• ANA Business Class to Asia: 75,000-87,500 points one-way. Releases are often 2-3 weeks before departure.

Why Aeroplan wins over United for some Star Alliance bookings:

• Dynamic vs fixed pricing: Aeroplan uses a fixed chart with reasonable bands. United’s MileagePlus moved to dynamic pricing, which often inflates premium cabin costs.
• Stopovers allowed for 5,000 points on one-way awards, making creative routings possible.

Flying Blue (Air France/KLM): Promo Rewards and Europe

Flying Blue runs Promo Rewards monthly. These are targeted discounts (typically 25-50% off) on specific routes and dates. Subscribe to the Flying Blue newsletter to see them when they drop.

Standard Flying Blue sweet spots:

• US to Europe in economy: 25,000-35,000 points one-way on Promo Rewards dates
• US to Europe in business: 60,000-85,000 points one-way on Promo Rewards dates, roughly half off regular prices
• Delta domestic: Often priced lower via Flying Blue than SkyMiles, especially on Delta-operated routes under 2,000 miles

Chase runs transfer bonuses to Flying Blue a few times a year, typically 20-25%. Stacking a 25% transfer bonus with Promo Rewards can turn 40,000 UR into a business class ticket that retailed for $4,000+.

British Airways Avios: Short-Haul US Champion

Avios uses a distance-based chart. Transfer is 1:1 from Chase. You can also pool Avios across BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Qatar, which sometimes helps when one program has better pricing than another for the same flight.

The signature Avios redemption for US travelers:

• US flights under 1,150 miles: 8,000-11,000 Avios one-way on American Airlines partner awards. Example: Chicago to New York on AA for 8,500 Avios. Cash equivalent is typically $250-450.
• Mainland US to Hawaii from the West Coast: 16,500 Avios each way in economy on AA (distance zone 1,151-2,000 miles). Cash tickets regularly $400-700.

Downsides:

• No bookings on routes longer than 2,000 miles without higher Avios cost
• AA availability can be tight on short-haul routes

United MileagePlus: Star Alliance Backup

United’s MileagePlus moved to dynamic pricing, which means award costs vary by demand rather than following a fixed chart. The result: premium cabin international awards are often more expensive via United than via Aeroplan for the exact same seats on the exact same flight.

When to use United anyway:

• United has Excursionist Perk, which lets you add a free one-way inside certain regions on a round-trip award. For a well-planned itinerary, this can save 20,000-30,000 points.
• Saver-level awards on United metal sometimes appear when partner bookings don’t.
• Same-day standby and same-day flight changes are flexible for United elites.

Southwest Rapid Rewards: Fixed Cash Equivalent

Southwest Rapid Rewards are unusual. They’re not an award chart. Each point is worth a fixed cash equivalent (roughly 1.3-1.5 cents per point) toward Southwest flights. Transfer 1:1 from Chase.

When Southwest wins:

• If you fly Southwest regularly and want to use UR to cover flights
• Companion Pass holders can effectively double the value by booking two seats for one

When it loses:

• For everyone not in the Southwest ecosystem, the 1.3-1.5 cent value is usually worse than transfer-partner options or the Sapphire Reserve portal at 1.5 cents per point

IHG One Rewards: Occasional Sweet Spots

IHG is a 1:1 partner. Award pricing varies by property but generally runs 25,000-60,000 points per night at the high end. Points value is typically 0.5-0.7 cents per point, worse than cashing out through the Chase portal.

When IHG works:

• Fourth Night Free perk on cash stays at InterContinental properties via the IHG Premier credit card can be better than points for luxury stays
• Specific IHG-branded resorts (Kimpton, Six Senses) occasionally produce 1+ cent per point value

Marriott Bonvoy: Usually Skip

Chase transfers to Marriott at 3:1 (you lose 2/3 of your points). Skip this transfer. Marriott has direct transferable point currency (Marriott Bonvoy cards through Chase and Amex) that make more sense than burning UR at a 3:1 rate.

Tracking Redemption Value Across the Stack

The hardest part of running a UR-heavy strategy isn’t finding the sweet spots. It’s tracking what your points are worth right now, which transfer bonuses are active, and which credits are about to expire on your cards.

Action Steps

1. Transfer only when you’re ready to book. Award availability disappears fast. Don’t transfer speculatively.
2. Check direct partner sites, not Chase’s search. Chase shows “recommended” awards but doesn’t search every partner’s availability. Go directly to United.com, AirCanada.com, Flyingblue.com, etc.
3. Use award search tools. Seats.aero, ExpertFlyer, and point.me search availability across partners. These speed up finding sweet spots dramatically.
4. Batch your transfers. Don’t transfer 30,000 UR for one booking then 50,000 for another a week later. Transfer the full amount you need plus small buffer in one go.
5. Set calendar reminders for card credits. The Sapphire Reserve’s $300 dining credit, $500 hotel credit, and $300 travel credit all expire annually. Missed credits are real dollars on the floor.

Sources

• Chase: Ultimate Rewards transfer partners — current partners and transfer ratios
• World of Hyatt: Award category chart — current category assignments
• The Points Guy: Monthly point valuations — valuation methodology
• Flying Blue: Promo Rewards page — current month’s targeted discounts

Related Resources

• Best Ways to Redeem Amex Membership Rewards: Sister guide for the other major transferable currency
• Best International Business Class Redemptions: Specific routes for premium cabins to Europe, Asia, and South Pacific
• Best Hotel Points Redemptions in the US: Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton sweet spots
• Best Credit Cards for High Earners: Which cards earn UR points
• Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: The core premium card comparison
• Hotel Elite Status for High Earners: How elite status makes award stays more valuable
• Credit Cards for High Net Worth Individuals: The HNW card stack
• Credit Card Optimizer Calculator: How much UR you’d earn with your spending