The Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal is one of the best features of having a Chase credit card. Earning Ultimate Rewards® with credit cards like Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® can deliver big value if you know how to navigate the Chase travel portal.

Much like third-party booking sites like Orbitz or Expedia, you can use the Chase travel portal to book flights, hotels and cruises, among other things. You can redeem points to offset the cost of the trip or pay in cash. You won’t have to worry about blackout dates or award inventory caps like you may find when using airline miles or hotel points for the same trip since you are essentially buying travel with cash.

Within the portal, you can also redeem points for merchandise or transfer them to other travel loyalty programs if you are short on miles and points there. In short, having a flexible points currency like Chase Ultimate Rewards® is one of the smartest routes you can take in the miles and points game. Booking travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® is simple. Here’s what you need to know about the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal.

Who can use the portal?

Not all Chase cards have the same benefits. Only some cards earn Ultimate Rewards® points; others may earn loyalty miles and points with an affiliated partner. For example, the United℠ Explorer Card earns United MileagePlus miles.

These are examples of cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® and give access to the Chase travel portal:

Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

Chase Freedom Flex℠.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card.

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

NerdWallet Rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.

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Chase Sapphire Reserve®

NerdWallet Rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.

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on Chase's website

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

NerdWallet Rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.

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on Chase's website

Chase Freedom Flex℠

NerdWallet Rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.

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on Chase's website

Annual fee

$95

$550

$0

$0

Rewards

• 5 points per $1 spent on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

• 3 points per $1 on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout).

• 3 points per $1 on select streaming services.

• 3 points per $1 on online grocery purchases (not including Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).

• 2 points per $1 on other travel.

• 1 point per $1 on other purchases.

Point value in Chase travel portal: 1.25 cents apiece.

• 10 points per $1 spent on Chase Dining purchases through Ultimate Rewards®.

• 10 points per $1 on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Ultimate Rewards®.

• 5 points per $1 on air travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®.

• 3 points per $1 on other travel.

• 3 points per $1 on dining not booked with Chase.

• 1 point per $1 on other purchases.

Point value in Chase travel portal: 1.5 cents apiece.

• 5% cash back (5 points per $1) on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

• 3% back (3 points per $1) on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services.

• 3% back (3 points per $1) on drugstore purchases.

• 1.5% cash back (1.5 points per $1) on everything else.

Point value in Chase travel portal: 1 cent apiece.

• 5% cash back (5 points per $1) in quarterly bonus categories on up to $1,500 in combined spending each quarter. Activation of bonus categories is required.

• 5% cash back (5 points per $1) on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

• 3% back (3 points per $1) on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services.

• 3% back (3 points per $1) on drugstore purchases.

• 1% cash back (1 points per $1) on everything else.

Point value in Chase travel portal: 1 cent apiece.

New cardholder bonus offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Unlimited Matched Cash Back. Chase will automatically match all the cash back you earned at the end of your first year! There is no limit to how much cash back you can earn.

Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

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Benefits of booking travel in the portal

Earn points on paid reservations

The primary reason you may want to book travel via the Chase travel portal is that you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® on paid reservations. You can earn 5x points on airfare booked within the portal and 10x points on hotels and car rentals.

That can really add up, but beware that when booking hotels through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, you are not eligible to earn points with the hotel loyalty program or reap elite status benefits since it is using a third-party service. The tradeoff can vary by property, but using the Chase travel portal is especially helpful when booking unaffiliated hotels or hotel brands where you usually do not collect points or have elite status. In those instances, you are less likely to be passing up the perks of points earning and elite status.

Earn points on airfare even for redemptions

When booking airfare through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, you do earn miles no matter if you pay with cash or points. This makes using points for airfare via the Chase travel portal more beneficial than redeeming for a hotel.

Earn bonus points for restaurant bookings

You can even earn bonus points when making restaurant bookings through the portal. This can be a great way to enhance your trips with great dining in advance rather than chatting with your hotel concierge.

Shop for the best value redemption

Since the value per Chase Ultimate Rewards® points is relatively constant, using the travel portal may not always be the best option. You may be able to spend fewer points if you book the same trip with the specific airline or hotel's points instead of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. This is more common with itineraries with high cash prices, like a hotel night that's particularly expensive. Always compare the cost of using traditional miles and points over using Chase points to see which offers better value. In some cases, you may want to transfer Chase points to partner programs to squeeze more value from them.

One example where that could be exceptional value is for expensive business class tickets that also have award availability. Let’s say you’re looking for a United business class ticket between Newark and London. If the cash cost of a one-way ticket is $2,505, that will cost you 250,500 Ultimate Rewards® points when redeeming at a value of one penny per point. In this example, it may be worth redeeming MileagePlus miles instead.

For this flight, the one-way mileage cost is 91,700 miles. Even if you don’t have enough United miles, you could transfer that amount from Chase Ultimate Rewards® (since they are partners), and save yourself a nice chunk of Chase points in the process. It is always best to compare the cash cost with the redemption cost using both Chase and the airline or hotel’s own loyalty program.

Is the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal worth using?

The Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal can be worth using in specific scenarios.

Redemptions: You hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and want to make a redemption. The first two cards get an elevated point value of 1.5 cents apiece when redeeming points and booking travel in the portal; the latter gets 1.25 cents apiece.

Bookings. You hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and want to earn bonus points. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® earn 5x points per $1 spent on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 5-10 points per $1 spent on Chase Dining, hotel stays, rental cars and air travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®.

Otherwise, you might be wise to book travel directly with the airline, hotel or rental car company, which can simplify cancellations or changes to your bookings. You can do this with cash, card or by transferring points to one of Chase's transfer partners.

Does the Chase travel portal price match?

Despite being powered by Expedia — an online travel agency that includes a Price Match Promise — the Chase travel portal does not offer customers a price matching benefit.