Transfer to World of Hyatt
One of the best things you can do with your Chase Ultimate Rewards is transfer to World of Hyatt for your next hotel reservation. While Chase has three hotels, Hyatt is where you can get the most value for your points. Category 1 hotels start at 3,500 World of Hyatt points per night, while most popular hotels can be booked for 21,000 to 45,000 points per night.
For example, if you want to book a night at the Andaz Maui in Wailea, Hawaii, which is normally $1,150 per night, you’ll need to transfer 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt. Compare that to the 95,500 points you’d need to transfer to Marriott Bonvoy to book a night at the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort, where a night will set you back about $1,127.
Using your points at Hyatt properties also eliminates resort fees, helping you save more on that vacation. If you also have a premium membership with Hyatt, the parking fee will be waived for you at the same time.
Transfer to Air France/KLM for Flights to Europe
Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France/KLM, has regular promotions where the price of air tickets is reduced by up to 50% on flights that change on the first day of each month. If you can find your destination now, you can take advantage of the reduced rates to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards, which are instant, to book flights to Europe with fewer points than usual.
Although the destination changes every month, some of the most recent ones have included trips from Boston, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Houston. These flights can be booked for up to 11,250 to 16,875 points, all followed by using 25% fewer points than it would take to book flights departing from these cities and flying to Paris with Air France or Amsterdam with KLM.
Transfer to British Airways on domestic US flights
Take advantage of British Airways’ mileage-based redemption charts for short-haul flights within the US Although British Airways doesn’t fly any flights within the United States, its partners American Airlines and Alaska Airlines do — and it only takes 9,000 British Airways Avios each way to redeem flights of at least 1,151 miles.
For example, flights from Seattle (SEA) to Denver (DEN) on Alaska Airlines, or New York (JFK) to Miami (MIA) on American Airlines are less than 1,151 miles, and you can transfer 9,000 Ultimate Rewards from Chase to your British Airways Avios account to book those flights, which always cost hundreds of dollars. Redeeming flights using Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles or American Airlines AAdvantage miles may cost more miles, and you cannot transfer Ultimate Rewards to those programs.
Iberia Transfers for Flights from the East Coast to Europe
Another Chase partner that brings big redemption is Spanish flag carrier Iberia. This Madrid-based airline flies to the United States, and because it buys awards on a distance-based chart, there’s a sweet spot for flights in and out of Chicago, New York, Washington DC and Boston, all at low prices starting at 34,000 Iberia Avios each way in business class.
Considering that a business ticket on the Atlantic Ocean usually runs around $2,000 and up each way, being able to transfer as few as 34,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards to Iberia Avios is a great use of those points.
