3 Best Ways to Use 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

If you’ve been eyeing the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, now’s the time to make a move. The current welcome offer is pretty sweet: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Even if our favorite card isn’t sporting an elevated offer, when it comes to travel rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards® points remain one of the most valuable currencies in the game. Thanks to flexible redemption options and top-notch transfer partners, your points can stretch far beyond a simple cash-back redemption.

Sure, you could redeem those points through the Chase Travel℠ portal — and with the new Points Boost program, you might be able to get up to 2 cents per point on select premium flights and hotels. That’s a potential $2,000 in travel value from the current bonus. Not bad at all.

All Chase partners transfer at a 1:1 ratio, but some offer much better bang for your buck.

Here are three of the best ways to maximize 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

New Points Boost Program

Chase has launched a new program called Points Boost, replacing the traditional 1.25x value you’d get on travel redemptions with the Sapphire Preferred.

With Points Boost, select hotel stays and flights booked through Chase Travel can now unlock up to 2 cents per point in value, especially for premium economy, business class, or luxury hotels. You’ll see eligible offers directly in the Chase Travel portal. You can also use Points + Cash to book, which offers more flexibility when you’re low on points.

Transfer Your Points to World of Hyatt for High-Value Hotel Stays

When it comes to Chase’s three hotel transfer partners — Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, and IHG One Rewards — World of Hyatt consistently delivers the highest value.

While Chase points transfer 1:1 to all three programs, award nights for comparable Marriott or IHG hotels can often cost double or even triple the amount of points compared to Hyatt’s rates.

How World of Hyatt’s Award Chart Works

The World of Hyatt program uses an award chart that prices properties from Category 1 to 8, with off-peak, standard, and peak rates. One of the best aspects of using points with Hyatt is that if you stay at a resort property, resort fees are waived. 

You can also redeem points directly for suites and club lounge access, or book all-inclusive resorts under a separate award chart.

How Far 100K Points Can Go

To really stretch your points and book the maximum number of hotel nights possible, staying at a Category 1 Hyatt hotel on off-peak nights is the way to do it. Off-peak Category 1 rates are 3,500 points per night, which would equal 28 nights for 98,000 points.

While many Category 1 properties are airport hotels or suburban locations outside of the city center, there is plenty of value to be had. You can stay beachfront at the Hyatt Place Los Cabos, explore one of Europe’s most charming cities with a stay at the Hyatt Place Krakow, or even experience a bit of luxury with stays at the Grand Hyatt Amman or the Hyatt Regency Cape Town.

On the opposite end of the range, upper-category hotels also offer immense value for five-star luxury accommodations. Some of the top Category 8 hotels include Alila Ventana Big Sur, Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort Costa Rica, and the Park Hyatt New York.

You’ll pay 35,000 points off-peak, 40,000 points standard, and 45,000 points peak for Category 8 hotels. But keep in mind that these hotels often cost upwards of $1,000 per night, meaning you could easily get 2.5 cents or more per point using the standard award rate — far better than even the new Points Boost pricing in some cases.

Transfer Your Points to Emirates Skywards

One of the most luxurious ways to fly is in a premium cabin seat on Emirates. And you don’t have to go all the way to Dubai to experience it.

Emirates operates two Fifth-freedom flights to Europe departing from the United States: New York City (JFK) to Milan, Italy (MXP) and Newark (EWR) to Athens, Greece (ATH). A fifth-freedom flight is when an airline flies between two countries that aren't its home base.

Emirates Skywards Sweet Spots

You can use 87,000 Chase points to fly Emirates business class one-way from JFK to MXP or EWR to ATH (or vice versa). Or even better, if you can book the more difficult-to-find saver award space, the redemption costs 108,000 points round-trip. 

The Milan flight is on an Airbus A380, which has an onboard bar. The A380 also features showers, but these are only available to first-class passengers, which can be booked for 102,000 points one-way. 

Cross the Atlantic with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Fancy a trip across the pond? Virgin Atlantic flies nonstop from 11 U.S. cities to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), and your Chase points can get you there for as few as 6,000 points one-way in economy. If you’re traveling as a family of four, you would only need to redeem 48,000 points for your round-trip flights. You’d still have more than 50,000 points left over, which you could transfer to World of Hyatt and redeem for a hotel stay.

If you’re looking to fly a little more comfortably, premium economy can be booked for as low as 10,500 points, and Upper Class, Virgin’s business-class cabin, can go for as low as 29,000 points.

Virgin Atlantic’s award chart is dynamic, which means the rates fluctuate based on demand. Having flexibility with your travel dates can help you secure the lowest-priced award flights with Virgin Atlantic.

Bottom Line

One of the top travel rewards credit cards, the Sapphire Preferred, is currently offering a welcome bonus of 75,000 points. This welcome offer is one of the quickest ways to earn some of the most valuable points for travel.

Now with the Points Boost program, your Chase points can go even further, especially for premium award redemptions. And for those who prefer the transfer partner route, Hyatt, Emirates, and Virgin Atlantic continue to offer unbeatable value for high-end flights and hotel stays.

No matter which route you choose, this is a solid time to stock up on Ultimate Rewards.