AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are some of the most valuable points in the rewards ecosystem thanks to the many sweet spots in its transfer partner program. You can transfer Ultimate Rewards points at a 1:1 transfer ratio to 14 transfer partners (11 airline and three hotel programs). These include well-known programs like United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Hyatt.
But don't overlook Chase's international airline partners — like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. These international programs can be valuable for booking award flights within North America. Let's review all of the best ways to use Chase points for domestic U.S. and short-haul international flights.
If you want to build your balance of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, now's a great time to do so. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is currently offering a big signup bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
- 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Meanwhile the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is offering new applicants 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $120 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
Page Contents
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Airline Transfer Partners
- The Best Chase Ultimate Rewards Sweet Spots in North America
- Southwest award flights from 3,000 points
- Cheap flights through the Chase Travel portal
- JetBlue award flights under 5,000 points
- United award flights from 5,000 points
- Delta award flights from 7,500 points
- Alaska award flights from 7,500 points
- Award flights to Hawaii from 8,313 points
- American award flights from 12,000 points
- Bottom Line
Before we dive into the sweet spots, here's an overview of all 11 of Chase's airline transfer partners, their transfer times, and which U.S. airlines each partner with. Note that points transfer to all Chase Ultimate Rewards partners at a 1:1 transfer ratio.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Airline Transfer Partners
| Chase Airline Transfer Partner | ...which you can use to book award flights on: | Time for Points to Transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus AerClub (Avios) | (none directly) | Instantly |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | United | Instantly |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | Delta | Instantly |
| British Airways Club (Avios) | American, Alaska | Instantly |
| Emirates Skywards | United | Instantly |
| Club Iberia Plus (Avios) | American, Alaska | Instantly |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | JetBlue | Instantly |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | United, Alaska | 1 Day |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | Southwest | Instantly |
| United MileagePlus | United | Instantly |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Delta | Instantly |
Related: How to Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points: A Step-By-Step Guide
The Best Chase Ultimate Rewards Sweet Spots in North America
Southwest award flights from 3,000 points
Southwest has recently implemented variable award redemption pricing for its award flights. Rapid Rewards points used to offer a fixed value that required around 86 points per dollar of the flight's base fare (before taxes and fees). Now, the redemption rate of Southwest Rapid Rewards varies based on flight demand and other factors.
Despite the changes, you can pay a surprisingly low number of Rapid Rewards points for Southwest flights when fares are cheap. For example, flights within Hawaii can be found starting at $60 or just 4,000 points plus $5.60 in taxes and fees:
Some routes may be even cheaper, such as this Las Vegas (LAS) to Los Angeles (LAX) flight for just 3,000 points each way:
Despite all the changes on the horizon at Southwest, its award flight prices can be incredibly low in the right circumstances.
Related: How to Avoid Seating and Bag Fees with a Southwest Credit Card
Cheap flights through the Chase Travel portal
The rest of this post focuses on redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards for award sweet spots by transferring to partners. However, it's important to remember that this isn't the only way to book flights with Chase points. Sometimes, the best deal is to buy paid flights through the Chase Travel portal.
The value that you get from your Ultimate Rewards points depends on which card you redeem points through:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees): 1.5 cents per point.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees): 1.25 cents per point.
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees): 1.25 cents per point.
When a flight is cheap, you can book it for an incredibly low number of points. For example, Sapphire Reserve cardholders can fly between Las Vegas (LAS) and San Francisco (SFO) for just 4,553 points. Sapphire Preferred and Ink Preferred cardholders will pay 5,464 Ultimate Rewards points:
JetBlue award flights under 5,000 points
JetBlue utilizes a revenue-based redemption system for flights it operates. However, award prices aren't as formulaic. That means some redemptions are better than others.
For some short-haul flights, you can find great deals using JetBlue TrueBlue points. For example, you can fly from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Cancun, Mexico (CUN) for only 3,400 TrueBlue points each way.
It's even possible to fly across the country — from Boston (BOS) to San Francisco (SFO) for only 8,000 points one-way.
United award flights from 5,000 points
Chase cardholders can use Ultimate Rewards to book United award flights through a few programs. However, after recent changes, the first place to check is United itself.
United has transitioned to a dynamic award pricing system where the price of an award is loosely based on demand. And you can book some routes for as few as 5,000 United MileagePlus miles — such as Chicago (ORD) to Pittsburgh (PIT):
Longer flights can be booked for a reasonable number of miles also — like this Houston (IAH) to Mexico City (MEX) flight starting at 7,300 United miles.
Unfortunately, these short-distance United award flights used to be readily available at even better prices when booked through Air Canada Aeroplan. However, Air Canada's recent award chart adjustment for United-flown flights made these prices dynamic — and not as enticing.
Related: Do Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Expire?
Delta award flights from 7,500 points
The best way to book Delta award flights using Chase Ultimate Rewards points is through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Virgin uses a distance-based award chart for Delta awards (except those to/from mainland Europe) at the following rates:
- 0-500 miles: 7,500 points
- 501-1,000 miles: 11,000 points
- 1,001-1,500 miles: 16,500 points
- 1,501-2,000 miles: 18,500 points
In addition to short-haul flights within the U.S., you can use this award chart to fly to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, or Mexico for cheap. For example, you can fly from Atlanta (ATL) to Nassau (NAS) for 11,000 Virgin points:
The same flight is also bookable with fellow Skyteam member Air France. In this case, only 9,500 Flying Blue miles will get you this flight to the Bahamas. The fees are slightly higher at $34.
Booking directly through Delta would be 28,000 SkyMiles in main cabin!
It should be noted, however, that Virgin Atlantic charges for each segment you fly. For instance, adding a flight from Charlotte (CLT) to Atlanta, then Nassau in our above example, still covers less than 1,000 miles in distance. But Virgin prices CLT-ATL and ATL-NAS as two separate awards. That means you'll have to pay 18,500 Virgin points each way:
For these connecting flights, you may be better off booking a paid flight through the Chase Travel portal. The non-stop options will work best from Delta's hub airports.
When comparing all these Skyteam partners, factors besides cost — like cancellation policies and potential transfer bonuses — could help determine the best program to book through.
Alaska award flights from 7,500 points
Alaska has a unique non-alliance partnership with Singapore KrisFlyer. And, after recent devaluations to Avios award charts, KrisFlyer is now the best way to book Alaska awards. Rather than using a distance-based award chart, Singapore splits the U.S. into five regions for Alaska Airlines award flights.
Awards between certain regions start at just 7,500 KrisFlyer miles each way — such as flights between Arizona or New Mexico and Canada. The downside with this sweet spot is that you'll need to call Singapore KrisFlyer to book these awards. You can see which destinations fall into each of the five regions here (caution: PDF link).
You can use the British Airways award chart to book nonstop Alaska award flights up to 650 miles in distance for 12,000 Avios, or flights between 651 and 1,151 miles in distance for 16,000 Avios. This can be handy for flights such as Seattle (SEA) to Juneau (JNU):
Award flights to Hawaii from 8,313 points
If you're looking to visit Hawaii, Chase Ultimate Rewards points offer plenty of options. Southwest is potentially the best option. If you're able to find a cheap enough cash flight, you can book Southwest award flights to Hawaii with just 8,313 Rapid Rewards points:
Alternatively, United Airlines flies extensively to Hawaii. It will be worthwhile to compare United to other Chase Star Alliance transfer partners, like Air Canada Aeroplan. Air Canada has added United to their list of partners with a dynamic award chart, so the award price will vary.
In this case, this United flight is cheapest through Air Canada, at 15,000 miles
Consider booking American and Alaska award flights to Hawaii through British Airways. Nonstop award flights up to 3,000 miles in distance cost 20,000 Avios each way. That covers Alaska and American award flights to Hawaii from the U.S. West Coast and as far inland as Phoenix (PHX):
This gives travelers several options to use Chase Ultimate Rewards to get to Hawaii, helping save money on an otherwise expensive vacation.
Related: The Best Points and Miles for Free Flights to Hawaii
American award flights from 12,000 points
Despite several recent devaluations, the best way to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for flights on American Airlines is by booking through British Airways Club. Nonstop American Airlines flights up to 650 miles in distance cost 12,000 Avios each way. If you can't find better rates elsewhere, this is a good option to keep in your back pocket.
For example, you can fly from Dallas (DFW) to Denver, Colorado (DEN) for just 12,000 Avios one-way in economy, or 24,000 Avios in domestic first class:
While domestic U.S. award might not provide the best redemption rate, you can also fly internationally using the same distance-based award chart. For example, fly between Miami (MIA) and Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) for 12,000 Avios each way in economy or 24,000 Avios each way in first class:
Nonstop award flights between 2,001 and 3,000 miles in distance cost a bit more at 20,000 Avios each way, which could cover flights between Charlotte (CLT) and Los Angeles (LAX). It's a solid option to get across the country if you can't find cheaper rates elsewhere. Like Virgin Atlantic, British Airways prices awards per segment, so finding non-stop American flights will be your best bet.
Bottom Line
When considering how to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, it's natural to default to the most well-known airline programs: United, Southwest, and JetBlue. However, don't overlook Chase's other airline partners. Otherwise, you may miss out on an even cheaper way to book the same award.
Hopefully, this list of Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots helps inspire you on how to maximize your points. And, if you need to build up your balance of Ultimate Rewards points, don't forget that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is offering an amazing 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
- 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Or, if you're looking for even more extensive travel benefits, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is offering 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $120 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Member FDIC
- Rates & Fees
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.