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Dream, discover, book with Chase Travel

Go further when you book with Chase Travel

Competitive rates.

Take advantage of competitive rates at thousands of hotels and resorts, with no booking fees.

Seamless booking

Smoothly plan and book your whole trip, from coveted hotels and convenient flights to cars and must-do local experiences.

Premium benefits

Make the most of your card rewards. Access exclusive benefits and earn and redeem like never before.

Find inspiration

Don’t just dream it. Discover your next adventure with help from fresh trip recommendations and curated picks for unforgettable stays.

Get rewarded

Earn and redeem Ultimate Rewards points with your eligible Chase card, including Chase Sapphire, Freedom, Ink Business credit cards and more.

Earn up to 8,000 bonus points or more

Eligible cardmembers can purchase a trip through Chase Travel with their eligible Chase credit card and get rewarded with 5,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points when purchasing 2 qualifying travel components, or 8,000 when purchasing 3. Choose from hotels, flights, cars and cruises.

Haven’t traveled with us in a while? You may be eligible for an extra 2,000 bonus points.

Activate and book March 1 to May 31, 2024 for stays through the end of the year.

How to use the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal

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Key takeaways

• If you have a Chase credit card that earns cash back or travel points, you can use your rewards to book airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises and more through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.
• Where most travel bookings through Chase offer 1 cent per point in value, premium Chase travel credit cards let you get 25 percent or 50 percent more value for your rewards.
• The Chase travel portal lets you book travel with points, cash or a combination of the two. You can even earn bonus cash back or points when you book paid travel through Chase.

Most credit card rewards programs let you redeem your points or cash back in several different ways, and this is definitely the case with Chase Ultimate Rewards . These points are some of the most dynamic and versatile among all rewards programs available today, mostly because you can redeem them for cash back, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise and travel through Chase.

Some premium travel credit cards from Chase even let you get 25 percent to 50 percent more value for points when you redeem for travel through Chase, and the same selection of cards allow 1:1 point transfers to Chase airline and hotel partners.

If you’re interested in booking travel directly with your rewards, however, you should know that this is an option for their travel credit cards as well as cash back credit cards associated with the brand. All rewards cards offered through the bank let users book travel the exact same way — through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

To use the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you need to have a Chase credit card and an online account with Chase.com. Once you log in to your account, you only need to click on the side of the page where your rewards points are displayed to access the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal.

Once you click on your rewards total to get to the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, you’ll be asked which one of your Chase card accounts you want to access. This part is important since some Chase credit cards offer more value when you redeem points for travel through Chase.

Specifically, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offer 25 percent more value when you redeem points for travel through Chase, whereas the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers 50 percent more value.

Once you are logged in to your rewards account, you can see all the different ways you can redeem your points or cash back. Your options will vary depending on the Chase credit card you have, but they can include:

• Pay with points options
• Chase Pay Yourself Back
• Transfers to travel partners
• Experiences

To book travel through the Chase travel portal, you’ll click on the option that says “Travel.”

At this point, you’ll be shown all the different ways you can use your points directly for travel through Chase. These can include airfare, hotels, car rentals, experiences, cruises and more.

Using Chase Ultimate Rewards travel is a lot like booking travel through any other site given you search for the travel you want, compare prices and options and proceed by making a booking based on whatever you decide. The difference is, you can pay for airfare, hotels and other travel with Chase points, cash or a combination of cash and points.

The fact Chase lets you book with a combination of cash and points makes it really easy to use up small amounts of points you have on your card, especially since there are no minimums to redeem this way.

Who can access the portal

To access the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you need to have a credit card that earns rewards with the card issuer. This means co-branded airline and hotel credit cards offered through Chase will not work, and you’ll need a Chase credit card that earns cash back or travel rewards instead.

Credit cards that give you access to the Chase travel portal include:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® *
• Chase Freedom Flex℠ *
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Benefits of booking through Chase Ultimate Rewards

While many experts believe you should always transfer points to airlines and hotels before booking travel with rewards, there are plenty of reasons to use the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal instead — at least part of the time. Here are some of the benefits you can get for doing so.

Earn a ton of rewards when you book paid travel through Chase

While the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal lets you redeem points or cash back for travel through Chase, you can also pay for travel through the portal and earn more rewards when you do. The fact is, all Chase credit cards offer a minimum of 5 percent back or 5X points on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 10X points on hotels and car rental bookings made through Chase.

You can still earn airline miles

Also note that you’ll still earn airline miles for flights you book through the Chase portal, and that’s true whether you pay with Chase points, cash or a combination of the two. In order to double dip and earn airline miles, you just need to add your frequent flyer number to your booking with the airline after you pay.

Get 25% to 50% more value when redeeming your points

As we mentioned already, some Chase credit cards offer more than 1 cent per point in value when you use rewards to book travel through Chase. Where the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred offer 25 percent more value when you redeem points for travel through Chase, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 50 percent more value.

Ultimately, this means you get 1.25 cents per point for travel with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred, and 1.5 cents per point for travel with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Book any travel you want

Booking through the Chase travel portal also lets you avoid dealing with complex loyalty programs and limited award availability often found with hotel and airline programs. When you book travel through Chase, you get to pick from any hotel brand, airline, car rental company or travel provider that’s available for your destination and dates.

Combine your Chase points in one account

Also note that Chase lets you pool rewards from multiple cards into one account for premium travel redemptions. For example, you can earn cash back with a card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited, use a business card like the Ink Business Preferred for all your business spending and utilize the Chase Sapphire Preferred for all your travel, dining and online grocery purchases. From there, you can combine all your points into your Chase Sapphire Preferred account to get 25 percent more value when booking travel through Chase, or for 1:1 point transfers to Chase airline and hotel partners .

Is the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal worth using?

The Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal is definitely worth using in a wide range of scenarios, and that’s true if you also transfer points to airlines and hotels part of the time. The fact is, the Chase portal gives you another way to book the travel you want if you cannot find award availability with an airline or hotel program, want to book travel you don’t have other points for or if you need extra flexibility due to where you’re traveling or when.

Also note that you can use Chase points to book other types of travel you can’t book with airline miles or hotel loyalty points. For example, you can use the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal to book airport transfers in your destination or to book snorkeling tours, guided museum tours and other excursions through the portal’s “activities” tab.

That said, there are certainly situations where the Chase travel portal is not the best deal, or when you’ll be a lot better off paying cash for travel directly or transferring points to airline and hotel partners. At the end of the day, the Chase travel portal is just one tool you can use to maximize your rewards and your travel budget.

The bottom line

Now that you know how the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal works, you should spend some time getting acquainted with all the ways you can use your points. The fact is, Chase lets you book airfare, hotels, rental cars, cruises, activities and more using points, cash or both, giving you a lot more flexibility when it comes to using your rewards.

Bankrate’s travel toolkit can help you learn more about Chase Ultimate Rewards points and other travel programs, so consider continuing your research there.

*The information about the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom Flex has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

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Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal review: A messy trip, but not their fault

Chase Sapphire Reserve: How to get 50% off travel through the Chase portal

• What is the Chase Travel Portal?

Benefits of Using the Chase Travel Portal

Chase ultimate rewards credit cards.

• Points Value
• How to Use the Portal to Book Travel

Chase Travel: Explore Destinations and Savings with Chase Ultimate Rewards

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews .

The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: Chase Freedom Flex℠, Chase Freedom® Student credit card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.

• The Chase Travel℠ portal works just like an online travel agency.
• You can use points, cash, or a combination of both to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and more. 
• Several Chase cards offer better redemption values or bonus points when you book through the portal.

The Chase Travel Portal℠ is an online booking platform for flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, activities, and vacation rentals, similar to an Online Travel Agency (OTA). If you're a Chase Ultimate Rewards® cardholder, you can use points to book travel through the portal — or pay with your card or a combination of points and cash.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the most flexible and lucrative credit card rewards programs, and its benefits can be even greater depending on the Chase cards you have. With a no-annual-fee card like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ or Chase Freedom Unlimited® , your points are worth 1 cent each toward travel booked through the portal.

But if you have a Chase travel credit card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® , Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card , or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card , you'll get 25% to 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel, plus the ability to transfer your points to Chase airline and hotel partners . 

Some Chase cards also offer bonus points for paid bookings you make through the portal. Chase added lucrative new bonus categories to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, including certain types of travel booked through the portal.

Here's everything you need to know about booking airfare, hotels, and more through the Chase travel portal — and how to make the most of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

What Is the Chase Travel Portal?

The Chase Travel portal works like any other Online Travel Agency (such as Travelocity or Priceline), and the searches you do for hotels, airfare, and more will produce similar results to what you see on that OTA. 

You must be a Chase credit card customer to use Chase travel to book with cash or with points. In fact, you'll only access the Chase Travel portal when you log into your account management page with Chase.

Chase travel lets you book travel directly with Chase Ultimate Rewards points, use your credit card to pay, or combine the two. This is one of the main benefits of using Chase travel — you can spend the rewards points you earn directly on the travel you want without having to worry about dealing with specific hotel or airline loyalty programs. 

There are a few other key benefits to know:

• You'll still earn airline miles and work toward elite airline status: You won't earn points or elite night credits when you book a hotel stay with Chase travel because it's considered a third-party booking. However, you can earn airline and elite-qualifying miles on flights you book as long as your frequent flyer number is attached to the reservation. 
• Your points are worth more with certain Chase credit cards: Also be aware that some Chase credit cards give you more than the standard rate of 1 cent per point when you redeem your rewards for travel through Chase. We'll go into more detail on the cards that offer this perk below.
• The Chase Travel portal is easy to use: If you don't want to deal with a bunch of hotel and airline award charts, booking through Chase travel can help keep your rewards game simple. You'll always be able to use your points for any booking you want without having to worry about blackout dates or capacity controls you would normally encounter with loyalty programs.

To be eligible to use the Chase Travel portal, you'll need a Chase credit card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points . 

No-annual-fee Chase cards open to new applicants (points are worth 1 cent each through the Chase Travel portal):

• Chase Freedom Unlimited® (read our Chase Freedom Unlimited review )
• Chase Freedom Flex℠ (read our Chase Freedom Flex review )
• Chase Freedom® Student credit card (read our Chase Freedom Student review )
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (read our Chase Ink Business Unlimited review )
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (read our Chase Ink Business Cash review )

Chase travel rewards cards open to new applicants (points are worth more with Chase travel, plus these cards allow you to transfer points to airline and hotel partners):

• Chase Sapphire Reserve® (read our Chase Sapphire Reserve review )
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (read our Chase Sapphire Preferred review )
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (read our Chase Ink Business Preferred review )

If you have more than one Chase card, you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points between accounts. It makes the most sense to pool your points in the account that gives you the best redemption value — for example, if you pair the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Chase Sapphire Reserve®, moving all of your Chase Ultimate Rewards to your Sapphire Reserve account will increase the value of your points when you redeem through the Chase Travel portal.

To pool your points onto one card, log into your Chase online account, navigate to the "Redeem" section for your Chase Ultimate Rewards card, then select the option to combine points in the "Earn/Use" tab:

From there, you can move your Chase points between accounts in any increments you want. 

Points Value in the Chase Travel Portal

Some Chase credit cards give you a bonus when you redeem points through the Chase Travel portal. Here's a summary of how much your points are worth with each Chase card:

It's important to note that Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth, on average, 1.8 cents apiece based on Personal Finance Insider's points and miles valuations . That's because it's possible to get outsized value when you transfer points to partners for award travel.

How to Use the Chase Travel Portal

Using the Chase Travel portal is a breeze, but it all starts with logging into your online account management page. From there, you'll click on the right side of your screen where it shows your Chase Ultimate Rewards account balance. 

Once you click on the account balance, you'll have the option to select the card you want to access. And remember, this step can be important because some cards give you more value from your points when you redeem them for travel.

How to book a flight through Chase travel

Once you are logged into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account, you'll see different travel options to search for at the top of the page.

To search for a flight, make sure the prompt is on "Flights" and begin searching for the flight you want. Enter your departure airport, destination, travel dates, and the number of passengers.

Once your flight options pop up on the screen, you can filter your results by the number of stops, the airlines you want to fly, and arrival times.

Note that each of your flight options will include a payment amount in points as well as a cash price. 

You can also click on "Details and baggage fees" in order to find out the cost of carry-on luggage or checked baggage, as well as whether your flight charges any change fees.

When you click to "Select" a flight option, you'll get a rundown of what is and isn't included in the fare you selected. You may also get a note that you can upgrade before you check out.

Once you settle on a flight you want, you'll be taken to the "Trip Details" page that shows the final cost of your flight in points or in cash, as well as a summary of the added costs you may be charged for baggage or change fees.

After you agree to the terms, you'll be taken to a final payment page where you can decide how you want to pay. You have the option to cover your flight entirely in points if you want, but you can also choose to pay with your Chase credit card or with a combination of points and your credit card.

During the booking process, make sure to add your frequent flyer number to your reservation. That way, you can earn miles on your booking and your flight will count toward elite status requirements. You'll also want to add your Known Traveler Number or Redress number if either applies to you.

If you forget to do it during your booking, however, you can add your frequent flyer information to your flight later on using the airline's website.

How to book a hotel through Chase travel

Booking a hotel through Chase is similarly easy, and you'll find a lot of different types of lodging options available. For example, you'll find properties from major hotel brands, but you'll also find rental condo options and boutique hotels.

To search for a hotel,  enter the destination, dates, and the number of people you want to have in your room. Once you're presented with your options, you can filter hotels based on the hotel name you're looking for, the area or neighborhood, price point, guest rating, property type, and more. 

Once again, you'll see a price listed in points as well as a cash price per night.

These prices do not include taxes and fees, however, so your price in points or cash will be higher by the time you get to the final booking page. Also be aware that the price listed is the lowest you can get for the property, but that better or upgraded rooms and suites will cost more in points.

The major downside to booking a hotel through the Chase portal is that you won't earn hotel points or elite night credits for your stay, because it's considered a third-party booking. There's also a risk that the property won't recognize your hotel elite status or give you the perks you'd normally be entitled to, like late checkout or free breakfast . This shouldn't be an issue if you're booking an independent or boutique hotel, but if you're looking for hotel points or status, it's something to be aware of.

You'll have the option to select a hotel you want as well as a room type at the property you're considering. You can also pay with your booking with points, your Chase credit card, or a combination of the two. 

How to book a rental car through Chase travel

You can also book a rental car through Chase travel using the same set of steps. Once you log into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account, click on "Cars" and then select the destination and dates.

Once you are presented with your search results, you can select the types of cars you prefer, like an economy car or an SUV. You can also filter results based on a price range, the number of passengers you have, the rental car company, and the type of transmission you prefer (manual or automatic), as well as the total area you want to search in. 

Note that, once again, taxes and fees are not included on the initial search page. Instead, they are added to your total cost when you select a rental car. You can also pay for a rental car through Chase with points, your credit card, or a combination of the two.

How to book activities with the Chase Travel portal

Chase also lets you book a variety of activities through the portal, which they refer to as "Things to Do." Chase activities can include excursions like snorkeling or scuba diving, as well as tours of museums and historic sites. But you can also book more practical options through their activities tab, including airport pickups and other types of transportation.

To search for activities, enter the destination and dates for your trip. You'll be shown a price in points and in cash that does include taxes and fees. You can also filter options based on the type of activity, your interests, and more. Once again, you have the option to pay for activities with your points, your credit card, or a combination of the two.

How to book a cruise through Chase travel

If you're a cruise enthusiast, you should know you can also book cruises through Chase travel. When you select "Cruises" at the top of the Chase Ultimate Rewards search page, you'll be presented with a list of featured cruises and cruise specials.

You can also search for cruises based on the destination or the name of the cruise line. Note, however, that only cash prices are listed for each cruise on the portal, and that you'll have to call Chase to make a booking.

Either way, you can absolutely use your Chase points to pay for all or part of your cruise. Just have your credit card number handy and call their customer service line at 855-234-2542.

How to book a vacation rental through Chase

Chase also offers a selection of vacation rentals, which can include vacation condos, luxury villas, and more. To search, click on "Vacation Rentals" at the top of the main page, then enter your destination, dates, and the number of people in your party.

Once you start your search, you'll have the option to filter results based on the local neighborhood you want, star ratings, price range, guest rating, property type, and more. Like hotels through Chase, the price you are shown excludes taxes and fees, but they will be added to your total once you make a selection.

Also be aware that the price shown in your search results is for the lowest-tier option for each property, and that a larger rental or upgraded rental may cost more in points.

When you book vacation rentals through Chase, you can pay with points, your Chase card, or a combination of the two. 

Use the Chase Travel portal to book Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection properties

If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can book properties within the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection. This list of more than 1,000 properties can be reserved ahead of time, and you'll get extra benefits with each stay such as:

• Daily breakfast for two
• A special benefit worth up to $100
• Complimentary internet access
• Room upgrades when available
• Early check-in and late checkout

One detail to note with this program is the fact that you cannot pay with points. Instead, your online booking will reserve your room, and you'll be charged for the stay when you check out from the hotel. 

Should you transfer Chase points instead?

While you can book travel through the Chase Travel portal directly, many people prefer to transfer points to Chase airline and hotel partners instead. Doing so could let you get more value for each point you redeem , but you'll have to run the numbers to find out for sure.

Here's a good example of how transferring points to a Chase airline or hotel partner can be a better deal, as well as the math you'll need to do to figure this out on your own. Take this one-way flight on Air France from Chicago to Paris, for example, and assume you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, so you're getting 50% more value when you redeem points through the Chase Travel portal.

If you were to book this flight through Chase Travel, you would owe 39,607 points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, compared with the cash price of $594.10.

However, you could book an award ticket on the exact same flight through Flying Blue (Air France's loyalty program) directly if you transferred your Chase points there first. In this case, the identical flight would set you back 22,000 miles plus $109.44. This means you would transfer 22,000 miles from Chase to your Flying Blue account, and pay the taxes and fees in cash, or by redeeming points for a statement credit to your account.

When you compare, you'll find that booking with miles directly is a better deal. After you subtract the taxes and fees from the cost of booking through Flying Blue, you wind up with a value of around 2.2 cents per mile.

With the Chase Travel portal, on the other hand, you're forking over 39,607 points for the same flight, and you're getting a value of 1.5 cents for each point if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. 

Accessing Chase Travel is simple. If you're a Chase credit cardholder with Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can log in to your Chase online account. Once logged in, navigate to the 'Travel" or "Rewards" section, where you'll find the Chase Travel portal. From there, you can search and book flights, hotels, and other travel services using your earned points or card benefits. It's a convenient way to plan and manage your travel adventures.

Chase Travel refers to the travel booking and rewards platform offered by Chase Bank. It's part of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, allowing cardholders to use their earned points to book flights, hotels, car rentals, and other travel-related expenses. Chase Travel provides a convenient way to plan and book your trips while taking advantage of the rewards and benefits associated with Chase credit cards.

To earn 5% on Chase Travel, consider using a Chase credit card that offers bonus rewards on travel purchases. Cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve often offer 5 points per dollar spent on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal. Additionally, taking advantage of limited-time promotions and special offers can also help you maximize your rewards when booking travel with Chase.

Bottom Line

Keep in mind that, no matter which Chase credit card you have, there are other ways you can use your rewards points. You can redeem Chase points for statement credits or cash back, or cash them in for gift cards or merchandise. And if you have a premier Chase travel credit card, you can transfer your points to Chase airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio.

However, booking travel through Chase can make your life considerably easier — especially if you don't like dealing with complicated hotel and airline programs. You may not get as much value from your points as you would if you booked a premium flight with airline miles, but the Chase Travel portal does offer the flexibility to book the flight you want without any blackout dates or hoops to jump through.

The Chase Travel portal offers yet another way to maximize rewards earned with a Chase credit card. Just make sure to consider all your options and the value you're getting for your points before you pull the trigger.

Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards .

Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.

**Enrollment required.

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Credit Cards

A traveler’s guide to the Chase Travel portal

Tamara Aydinyan

Julie Sherrier

“Verified by an expert” means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.

Robin Saks Frankel

Updated 5:23 p.m. UTC Nov. 28, 2023

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For qualifying Chase cardholders, the easy-to-use Chase Travel℠ portal offers a flexible and convenient way to book hotels, flights, rental cars, cruises and more using points or a combination of points and cash.

What is the Chase travel portal?

A favorite among frequent travelers for its versatility and redemption options, Chase Ultimate Rewards® (UR) is one of the major transferable credit card rewards points programs and UR points are Chase’s flexible rewards currency.

The Chase travel portal works much like an online travel agency (OTA) similar to Orbitz or Priceline where you can book hotels, flights, cars, activities and cruises. But unlike a traditional OTA, with the Chase travel portal you can book travel with your Chase card’s rewards points, cash or a combination of the two.

Who can use the portal?

A handful of exclusively Chase-issued credit cards grant cardholders access to the Chase travel portal, but how you can utilize the portal and the value you can receive is card-specific.

The following credit cards are the only cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points outright:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card * The information for the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

But if you or a household member own at least one of the cards above, the rewards on the following cash-back credit cards can be combined with any of the cards listed above and used as Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

• Chase Freedom Flex℠ * The information for the Chase Freedom Flex℠ has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

And while the points earned cannot be combined with any of the UR-earning cards, the following pay-in-full card does have access to the Chase travel portal:

• Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card * The information for the Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Is the portal worth using?

It’s often said that having the right travel credit card is important, but knowing how to redeem your miles and points can be as paramount as which card you use to earn them. However, not everybody has the patience or interest to learn the intricacies of different rewards programs to maximize the value of every mile and point.

So while transferring UR points to individual loyalty programs is still one of the best ways to get the most cents per point at a 1:1 basis, for those who value simplicity, the Chase travel portal offers a straightforward way to book travel, earn and redeem points and still receive a great deal. Best of all, you won’t be limited by any loyalty program or award space availability.

When transferring points, the minimum you can transfer is 1,000 points to the following UR travel partners with either the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Ink Business Preferred cards:

Regardless of how you’re using the Chase travel portal, it’s worth considering the pros and cons.

• The standard rate for Ultimate Rewards points when redeemed for travel through the Chase travel portal is 1 UR point = 1 cent, but can be worth significantly more with the UR-earning cards. The Chase Sapphire Reserve gets a redemption value of 1.5 cents per point through the Chase Travel℠ portal while the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Business Preferred cards each get 1.25 cents per point.
• Since you’re not limited to any loyalty programs, you can use your UR points to book boutique hotels that you’d otherwise only be able to book with cash.
• Flights booked through the Chase travel portal can earn frequent flyer miles and can be used toward advancing your elite status.
• You can earn a substantial amount of bonus points when booking through the Chase portal depending on the card you’re using.
• You can use a combination of points plus cash to purchase your reservation.
• Hotels booked through the Chase travel portal do not earn hotel points or credits toward elite status. Any elite status perks you’d receive if booking directly with the hotel will likely be forgone.
• If you experience any issues while traveling, you’d have to go through Chase to resolve the issue. For example, if there is a problem with your hotel reservation, you’ll have to contact a Chase representative for help resolving it since you didn’t book directly with the hotel. Dealing with a middleman during travel emergencies is less than ideal and something to be wary of when considering booking through the portal.
• Southwest Airlines flights do not show up in the UR travel portal, but can be reserved by calling the Chase Travel Center at 855-233-9462.

How to book travel through the Chase travel portal

You can access the Chase travel portal by logging into your Chase account and clicking on the Rewards balance on the right or by going to the Chase Ultimate Rewards website .

Once you’re logged in, if you have more than one UR-earning Chase card, you’ll be asked to select one to proceed with — a crucial step as each card has different earning and redemption rates.

After clicking on your selection, you will be taken to the Ultimate Rewards dashboard. If you click on the Earn / Use dropdown button, all of your Ultimate Rewards options will be presented. Click on Travel to proceed to the portal.

Once in the travel portal, you’ll  have the option of selecting the type of booking you’d like to make.

From there, your user experience will be similar to any other OTA where you can search your travel options.

Because the Chase travel portal doesn’t limit you to transfer partners or loyalty programs, you’ll be able to search almost all major airlines. One notable exception is Southwest Airlines, which is still bookable using UR points but will require a phone call to the Chase Travel Center to reserve your flight.

One difference compared to a traditional OTA is the option to buy in cash, points or a combination of both.

If you’re short on points or if you’d like to offset the cash price with some points, you’re given the option to choose how to pay.

After that, you’ll be prompted to enter your traveler information and you’re all booked. However, you will have to log into the specific airline with your reservation code in order to reserve seats.

Booking hotels through the Chase travel portal is a similar process. And with the portal’s easy-to-use search function, you can find boutique hotels that would otherwise be unbookable with loyalty-program-based points.

However, if you have elite status with a hotel chain, you’ll want to book directly rather than going through the Chase portal in order to access status benefits and have that hotel stay count toward achieving a higher status. Or, you can transfer UR points to one of three UR hotel loyalty program transfer partners, including Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt or IHG One Rewards.

Rental cars can also be booked through the portal in a similar fashion. And as in many cases, being aware of which card you’re booking your car rental with can make a big difference in case of an accident as both the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred offer primary car insurance , an uncommon, money-saving benefit, which saves you from having to file a claim with your private car insurance carrier first.

A quick guide to the Chase Ultimate Rewards program

As some of the most sought-after flexible points, Chase Ultimate Rewards can be accrued through several avenues. The most lucrative way is by applying for Chase credit cards and earning their respective welcome bonuses — but be wary of Chase’s 5/24 rule , which blocks applicants from opening a Chase credit card if they’ve opened five or more cards from any issuer in the past 24 months.

If you have two Chase cards that earn UR points, you can then transfer the rewards earned to the card that carries the most redemption value. For example, you can open the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and then the Chase Freedom Flex and move any points earned on the Flex card to the Preferred card, which has a boosted value of 25% more when redeemed through the portal.

Looking to add more than one new credit card to your wallet? Here’s why you shouldn’t apply for multiple cards at the same time.

Outside of regular credit card spending, you can also grow your Ultimate Rewards pile by using the Chase shopping portal. By adding just one extra step to your online shopping, you can earn bonus points for your future travels.

While transferring points to partners is one option to maximize the value of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, there are numerous other ways to use the Chase Ultimate Rewards program to your benefit. Whether it’s redeeming your points as a statement credit for eligible, rotating categories throughout the year through the “Pay Yourself Back” feature, booking special dining experiences with your points or using the portal to book your next vacation, the Chase Ultimate Rewards program’s flexibility makes it a great option regardless of your lifestyle.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) are Chase Bank’s flexible rewards currency that can be earned on several of its credit cards.

The Chase travel portal can be accessed through the Chase app or the Chase website. After logging in, you can select the option to book travel.

You can use your Chase travel credit, like the up to $50 annual hotel statement credit offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred, by booking your travel through the Chase travel portal. The statement credit will automatically be applied to your account within one to two billing cycles after your purchase posts to your account — up to an annual maximum accumulation of $50.

You can redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards directly through the travel portal with almost all major airlines with the exception of Southwest Airlines, which can be booked over the phone. With Southwest, select the flight you want at Southwest.com and then call Chase Travel Center at 855-233-9462 with the flight details.

The value you receive from the Chase travel portal will depend on the credit card you’re using. For example, if you have either the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred, your points are worth either 50% or 25% more, respectively, when redeemed for travel.

*The information for the Chase Freedom Flex℠, Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy . The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.

Tamara Aydinyan has been traveling the world with the help of miles and points for over a decade and enjoys teaching others to do the same. When she's not on the move, you can find her in Los Angeles or New York City, or on Instagram @deadlytravel.

Julie Stephen Sherrier is a personal finance writer and editor based in Austin, TX. She is the former senior managing editor for LendingTree, responsible for all credit card and credit health content. Before joining LendingTree, Julie spent more than a decade as the managing editor and then editorial director at Bankrate and CreditCards.com. She also served as an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Robin Saks Frankel is a credit cards lead editor at USA TODAY Blueprint. Previously, she was a credit cards and personal finance deputy editor for Forbes Advisor. She has also covered credit cards and related content for other national web publications including NerdWallet, Bankrate and HerMoney. She's been featured as a personal finance expert in outlets including CNBC, Business Insider, CBS Marketplace, NASDAQ's Trade Talks and has appeared on or contributed to The New York Times, Fox News, CBS Radio, ABC Radio, NPR, International Business Times and NBC, ABC and CBS TV affiliates nationwide. She holds an M.S. in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University. Follow her on Twitter at @robinsaks.

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Here's the chase freedom 5% cash-back calendar so you can plan your spending, here are the 2024 bonus 5% cash-back categories for the chase freedom credit cards..

Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® ( no longer accepting new applicants ) credit cardholders can activate bonus 5% cash-back categories each quarter.

Below, CNBC Select shares the cash-back calendar for 2024, plus how you can use a 5% cash-back card to your advantage .

Chase Freedom cash-back calendar for 2024

Chase has just announced the bonus 5% cash-back categories for the second quarter of 2024. The categories for the rest of the year will be released soon.

• January to March (closed): Grocery stores**, fitness clubs and gym memberships and self-care and spa services
• April to June ( activate now ): Hotel stays and experiences, restaurants, qualifying Amazon purchases
• July to September : Announcing on June 15
• October to December : Announcing on September 15

In the second quarter of 2024, bonus rewards stack with the card's regular always on cash-back rates — up to a limit. Freedom Flex cardholders can earn up to a whopping 9% on hotel stays and experiences booked through Chase Travel , up to 7% cash back at restaurants and up to 5% cash back on select Amazon purchases.

** Excludes larger stores that sell a wide variety of goods and groceries, such as warehouse clubs.

Chase Freedom Flex℠

5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate (then 1%), 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on drugstore purchases and on dining (including takeout and eligible delivery services), 1% cash back on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

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

0% for the first 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers

Regular APR

20.49% - 29.24% variable

Balance transfer fee

Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Foreign transaction fee

Credit needed.

Excellent/Good

Member FDIC. Terms apply. Information about the Chase Freedom Flex℠ has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

Read our Chase Freedom Flex℠ review.

How 5% cash-back credit cards work

To benefit from 5% cash back, you're required to activate bonus categories each quarter. Once you activate bonus categories, you can start earning 5% cash back. Chase allows you to save activation reminders to your calendar and set up email alerts. You can also activate the bonus categories by clicking here and entering your last name, the last four digits of your card number and your zip code.

If you want to participate in the rotating 5% categories that Chase offers, you'll need to apply for the Chase Freedom Flex℠ , as the Chase Freedom® is no longer available for new applications. The Freedom Flex ranks as one of the best cash-back cards with no annual fee and earns cardholders 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services) and drugstores and 1% on all other purchases.

Pro tip: Although billed as cash-back cards, if you have another Chase-Ultimate-Rewards ® -earning card like the  Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can convert the cashback earned with a Freedom card into  transferrable Ultimate Rewards ® points  and potentially receive 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.

Is 5% cash back unlimited?

There are limits to how much spending qualifies for 5% cash back each quarter. After you spend a combined $1,500 in the bonus categories, the cash-back rate drops to 1%. This maximum spending requirement resets every quarter.

All other purchases made outside the bonus categories automatically earn 1% cash back. If you're looking to optimize how many points you can earn, we suggest using an alternative cash-back or rewards credit card for spending outside the bonus categories, so you earn more than 1% cashback.

Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox.  Sign up here .

Other 5% cash-back cards to consider

Discover offers several different no-annual-fee credit cards that allow cardholders to enroll every quarter to earn 5% cash back in various categories, up to a $1,500 quarterly maximum (then 1% cash back) throughout the year. Its most popular option is the Discover it® Cash Back and Discover will currently match all the cash back new cardholders earned at the end of their first year.

Discover it® Cash Back

Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases-automatically.

Discover will match all the cash back earned for all new cardmembers at the end of your first year.

0% for 15 months on purchases

17.24% to 28.24% Variable

3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms)*

Good / Excellent

* See rates and fees , terms apply.

Read our Discover it® Cash Back review.

Citi also launched its own 5% cash-back card, the  Citi Custom Cash® Card , which is a competing option for other 5% cards because you don't need to activate each quarter.

Cardholders of the Custom Cash Card can get 5% cash back on purchases in their top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent (then 1%). The card also offers a welcome bonus with a pretty low spending threshold: Earn $200 in cash back after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening (fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou ®  Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back).

Citi Custom Cash® Card

Earn 5% cash back on purchases in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle, up to the first $500 spent, 1% cash back thereafter. Also, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Special Travel Offer: Earn an additional 4% cash back on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ portal through 6/30/2025.

Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

0% APR on balance transfers and purchases for first 15 months

19.24% - 29.24% variable

5% of each balance transfer ($5 minimum)

Excellent, Good, Fair

See rates and fees . Terms apply.

Read our Citi Custom Cash ® Card review .

When does Chase announce the Freedom bonus categories?

Chase announces its rotating 5% bonus categories one at a time, shortly before the new quarter begins.

How much can I earn with the Freedom bonus categories?

The Chase Freedom 5% cash-back bonus is limited to $1,500 in combined spending per quarter, meaning you can earn up to $75 in cash back quarterly — and up to $300 annually.

Does the Chase Freedom Unlimited® have a 5% cash-back category?

The  Chase Freedom Unlimited® does not offer rotating 5% cash-back categories but earns unlimited 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards® , as well as 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service and 1.5% on all other purchases.

What is the Chase 5/24 rule?

The Chase 5/24 rule is an unofficial policy that restricts you from being approved for a Chase credit card if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (from any card issuer) within the past 24 months. 

Why trust CNBC Select?

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card   review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card   products .  While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See  our methodology  for more information on how we choose the best credit cards.

Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of  credit cards ,  banking  and  money , and follow us on  TikTok ,  Facebook ,  Instagram  and  Twitter  to stay up to date

The Chase Freedom® is not currently available to new cardholders. Please visit our list of the  best cash-back cards  for alternative options.

For rates and fees of the Discover it® Cash Back, click here

Information about the Chase Freedom® has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

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Better Together: How to combine Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for maximum travel rewards

Fortune Recommends™ has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Fortune Recommends™ and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

If credit cards were food, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card cards would definitely be peanut butter and jelly, respectively.

That’s because both cards start out perfectly solid on their own. Even if you never knew how to combine their powers, you’d be very happy using both on a daily basis. But once you discover how to make a PB & J sandwich, there’s no going back. You’ve discovered a treat that’s sweet, protein-rich and gives you an excellent excuse to eat Wonder Bread. 

It’s the same thing with the Sapphire and the Freedom Flex–combine them, and you’re in for a tasty treat that you wish you’d discovered sooner.

But what exactly is the “PB & J” of Chase rewards? Well, get your favorite white bread ready and let’s find out.

First, a little explanation of benefits…

Before I share the “recipe” to Chase’s PB & J, here’s a quick overview of both cards to provide some context.

Chase Freedom Flex℠

Intro bonus.

Rewards Rates

• 5% 5% cash back on activated bonus category purchases each quarter (up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%)
• 5% 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3% 3% cash back on dining (including restaurants, takeout and eligible delivery services)
• 3% 3% cash back on drugstore purchases
• 1% 1% cash back on all other purchases
• 5% 5% cash back on Lyft rides (through March 2025)
• No annual fee
• Easy-to-earn welcome bonus
• Earns up to 5% cash back
• Foreign transaction fee
• Must active bonus categories every quarter
• 5% categories are capped
• Additional perks: Purchase protection, extended warranty protection, trip cancelation/interruption insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver, cell phone protection, complimentary Doordash and Instacart+ membership
• Foreign transaction fee: 3% of the amount of each transaction in U.S. dollars

Chase Freedom Flex – 5X rotating rewards

Here are the key highlights of Chase’s peanut butter, the Freedom Flex card. 

• 5% cash back on activated bonus category purchases each quarter (up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%) , with the categories for Q2 2024 including Amazon.com, hotels and restaurants. 
• 0% intro balance transfer APR for 15 months (intro balance transfer fee: $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater in the first 60 days) on both purchases and balance transfers. 
• $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within your first three months . 
• $0 annual fee

For more detail, check out our full review of the Chase Freedom Flex .

Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card

• 5x 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit)
• 3x 3x points on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
• 2x 2x points on travel purchases not booked through Chase
• 1x 1x points on other purchases
• 5x 5x points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025 (that's 3x points in addition to the 2x points you already earn on travel)
• Valuable welcome bonus
• Extensive list of transfer partners
• Extra value on travel redemptions
• No premium travel perks
• Has an annual fee
• Additional perks: $50 annual hotel credit, trip cancelation/interruption insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver, complimentary Doordash and Instacart+ membership along with quarterly Instacart+ credits
• Foreign transaction fee: None

Chase Sapphire Preferred – a grab bag of travel perks 

In a similar vein, here’s a quick breakdown of Chase’s homemade grape jam, the ever-popular Sapphire Preferred card: 

• 2x points on travel purchases , plus 3x points on dining, 3x points on select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ and 1x points on other purchases. 
• 25% travel redemption bonus when you redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points through Chase Travel (e.g. redeem 10,000 points, get $125 in value). 
• 60,000-point welcome bonus after spending $4,000 within three months. 
• $50 annual statement credit good towards a hotel booked through Chase Travel. 
• $95 annual fee

To learn more, check out our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred . 

Circling back to our “recipe,” notice how Chase is quick to point out that your 60,000-point welcome bonus is worth $750 in travel redemption–all thanks to that handy 25% redemption bonus. And if you think about it, that means the points you earn with the card are worth 1.25X towards travel, too. 

So in reality, as long as you’re redeeming points through Chase Travel, your rewards chart really looks like this: 

• 5X > 6.25X on travel booked through Chase Travel
• 3X > 3.75X on dining/online groceries/streaming
• 2X > 2.5X on general travel
• 1X > 1.25X on everything else

Those are some mighty impressive earnings rates, lending even more value to the CSP as a travel companion. 

But here’s the crazy thing: that 25% bonus multiplier applies to every Chase Ultimate Rewards point you earn, regardless of which card you earn it with . 

Here’s how it all works. 

Here’s how your Chase Sapphire Preferred account lets you earn 6.25X with your Freedom Flex card

In our Chase Ultimate Rewards guide we outline all of the dozen-ish ways you can redeem your hard-earned Chase points. From trips to back massages to cash back, there’s hardly a bad option. 

But perhaps the most underrated option is the Combine points feature. 

Combine points allows you to move Chase Ultimate Rewards points from one Chase card to another–meaning you can earn points with one card–and spend them with another. Another that has, say a 25% points multiplier on points redeemed for travel…

As you can see, the option only applies to Chase rewards cards that generate Chase Ultimate Rewards points. So the Prime Visa and the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card cards, for example, won’t appear here–but your Freedom and Sapphire cards will. 

Unlike a bank transfer, combining Chase Ultimate Rewards points is free and instantaneous. Plus, you can always move the points back if you wish (although I’ve never found a reason to move points from a Sapphire card back to a Freedom card).

Then, as soon as you’ve combined all of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into your Sapphire account, you can go spend them at Chase Travel where you’ll get an extra 25% in value: 

This trick also works with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card where you’ll get 50% extra value (provided you’re cool with the card’s $550 annual fee). 

Now, while I heartily recommend this trick to most travelers I meet–especially if they already have both cards–you should know that it still comes with three big caveats. 

PB & Js aren’t perfect, and neither is this trick

Though delicious, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches aren’t perfect. They’re high in fat, sugar and carbohydrates, and unlike the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, they don’t travel especially well. 

In a similar vein, here are the caveats to the “PB & J of Chase cards”: 

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred card charges a $95 annual fee and requires a 670+ FICO score to apply. 
• With the Chase Freedom Flex, you can only earn 5% cash back on activated bonus category purchases each quarter (up to $1,500 in purchases, then 1%) (generating 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth $93.75). 
• Hotel rooms booked using points typically don’t generate any additional rewards or allow you to utilize your status benefits. 

But if you’re OK with these caveats, I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for tastier travel rewards.  And for more tips to help you get off the ground–quite literally–check out our Beginner’s guide to travel rewards .

Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying.

EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE : The advice, opinions, or rankings contained in this article are solely those of the Fortune Recommends ™ editorial team. This content has not been reviewed or endorsed by any of our affiliate partners or other third parties.

The highest cash-back credit card with no annual fee

How the freedom flex works, how much could you earn, what happens once the rewards rotate, push your rewards even higher with the chase sapphire preferred or reserve, the bottom line, the chase freedom flex just became spring’s best travel card.

This card's rotating categories hit the sweet spots to potentially help you earn up to $320 on your next trip.

Evan Zimmer

Staff Writer

Evan Zimmer has been writing about finance for years. After graduating with a journalism degree from SUNY Oswego, he wrote credit card content for Credit Card Insider (now Money Tips) before moving to ZDNET Finance to cover credit card, banking and blockchain news. He currently works with CNET Money to bring readers the most accurate and up-to-date financial information. Otherwise, you can find him reading, rock climbing, snowboarding and enjoying the outdoors.

Tiffany Connors

Tiffany Wendeln Connors is a senior editor for CNET Money with a focus on credit cards. Previously, she covered personal finance topics as a writer and editor at The Penny Hoarder. She is passionate about helping people make the best money decisions for themselves and their families. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and has been a writer and editor for publications including the New York Post, Women's Running magazine and Soap Opera Digest. When she isn't working, you can find her enjoying life in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband, daughter and a very needy dog.

The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.

There are a lot of great travel credit cards you could bring with you on your spring trips, but few have the same breadth as the Chase Freedom Flex℠ *. 

The card has potentially the highest cash-back rates when you activate on two of the best parts of traveling: food and board. It doesn’t charge an annual fee, either, helping you maximize your savings.

But you’ll need to act quickly. These rewards will only last through June 2024.

Chase Freedom Flex℠

What makes the card’s current offer so enticing is its unparalleled cash back rate at restaurants and hotels -- so long as you can book the latter through Chase Travel℠. 

The Freedom Flex typically offers 3% cash back at restaurants, but combined with its rotating 5% cash back (on the first $1,500 spent in quarterly combined purchases, then 1%) bonus categories when you activate, the Freedom Flex boosts that number to 7% cash back.

And, since the card earns 5% cash back for travel booked through Chase Travel already, combined with its current 5% cash back offering for hotels, you could earn 9% cash back on your hotel booking if you can make it through Chase. 

The math doesn’t quite add up -- if you earn 3% cash back on dining at restaurants and the bonus categories typically earn 5% cash back, shouldn’t that be 8% cash back on dining?

Here’s a breakdown of how Chase explained the rewards rates:

• Hotels booked through Chase: Earn 4% cash back from rotating rewards and 5% back from the standard bonus category -- 9% cash back total .
• Hotels booked directly: Earn 4% cash back from rotating rewards and 1% from the card’s base rate -- 5% cash back total .
• Restaurants: Earn 4% cash back from rotating rewards and 3% from the standard category -- 7% cash back total .
• Amazon.com: Earn 5% cash back from rotating rewards.
• Drug stores: Earn 3% cash back from the standard bonus category.
• All other purchases: Earn 1% cash back.

However, there are a few caveats. First, these rates won’t last -- the Freedom Flex only offers 5% cash back at Amazon.com, hotels and restaurants when you activate from April to June 2024.

Second, the rotating reward category has a spending cap of $1,500 in combined quarterly purchases. So once you hit that limit, your restaurant rewards will fall to 3%, your Amazon.com purchases will fall to 1%, and your hotel rewards rate will fall to 5% for hotels booked through Chase Travel and 1% for hotels booked directly through the hotel brand.

The Chase Freedom Flex offers rotating rewards that change quarterly , or about every three months. Its current rotating bonus categories cover purchases made at Amazon.com, hotels and restaurants. Keep in mind you’ll need to manually activate these rewards each time they change.

Luckily, you can set alerts to inform you when it’s time to activate. And, if you do forget, you can still activate by June 14, 2024. You’ll even earn retroactive rewards for any purchases made in the featured categories before you activated -- something that gives this card an edge over the Discover it® Cash Back* .

In addition to its rotating rewards, the Freedom Flex offers a few static bonus categories. These categories cover restaurants, drug stores and travel booked through Chase.

With its spending cap of $1,500 in combined purchases, you could earn a total of $75 across the quarter at the 5% cash-back rate when you activate, before it falls to 1%. 

However, even once you hit that cap, you’ll still earn 5% cash back on hotels booked through Chase and 3% cash back at restaurants, which is among the best rates found on a cash-back credit card with no annual fee .

As an example, suppose you spent $750 on both your hotel and restaurants, making a combined total of $1,500, the Freedom Flex’s spending cap:

You could earn upwards of $120. Remember, these are merely estimates. How you spend might not be an even split, so your rewards could look different.

The Freedom Flex also features a welcome bonus -- you can earn $200 after you spend $500 on purchases in your first three months from account opening. Based on the example above, you’d hit the required spending threshold, adding another $200 to your rewards. That totals $320, which should be enough to help cover some part of your travel, whether it’s a night at a fancy hotel, your rental car or a good dinner out.

Once the Freedom Flex’s bonus categories change on July 1, you’ll still have a powerful rewards credit card to use for whichever purchases Chase decides to feature next. Past categories have included Target, fitness memberships, groceries and gas, among others.

Chase offers the opportunity to increase how much your rewards are worth by pooling them with other credit cards in its Chase Ultimate Rewards family.

You could earn the Chase Freedom Flex’s higher cash-back rates, for example, and then pool your rewards with either the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® .

Note that both of those credit cards charge an annual fee , the Preferred comes in at $95 and the Reserve at $550. However, they both offer annual travel credits that help soften the blow of their fees. They have two other great perks -- a 1:1 point transfer rate to Chase’s hotel and airline partners , as well as a 25% and 50% point redemption bonus respectively for travel booked through Chase Travel.

It’ll take a bit more work, and an additional credit card, but if you can use the Chase Trifect strategy , you could increase the return you earn on your travel spending exponentially.

If you’ve got travel plans this spring, you should consider adding the Chase Freedom Flex to your card collection. 

Even if you don’t want to take the extra step of using it in tandem with a Chase Sapphire card, it’ll be a rewarding and inexpensive choice. You might even earn an extra $320 to spend on your travels.

*All information about the Chase Freedom Flex and Discover it   Cash Back has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.

CNET editors independently choose every product and service we cover. Though we can’t review every available financial company or offer, we strive to make comprehensive, rigorous comparisons in order to highlight the best of them. For many of these products and services, we earn a commission. The compensation we receive may impact how products and links appear on our site.

Quick Points: Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points before downgrading your card

If you're considering changing your Chase credit card, here's an important step to consider before doing so.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are two of our favorite travel credit cards at TPG, and both offer generous welcome bonuses:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card : Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve : Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

They both earn valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points, giving you access to some of the best hotel and airline transfer partners available. You can also earn Ultimate Rewards with the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card .

Ultimate Rewards points are flexible because you can decide when and where to transfer your points and how many to transfer; however, you typically have to transfer your points in increments of 1,000.

You might decide to transfer some points to World of Hyatt to book hotel rooms for as little as 3,500 points or transfer to Aeroplan to book domestic flights on United Airlines from as low as 6,000 points.

If you're looking to hit another welcome bonus offer, unfortunately, you won't be able to earn a bonus on a Chase card if you currently hold that card in your wallet or if you earned a sign-up bonus on that exact card in the last 24 to 48 months. So, if you currently hold a Chase Sapphire card, you may be considering downgrading that card to a no-annual-fee Chase card, such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the Chase Freedom Flex℠, to protect your credit history as well as keep your Ultimate Rewards account active.

Related: Complete guide to downgrading and product-changing to earn sign-up bonuses on Chase Sapphire cards

However, it is important to note that you can only transfer Ultimate Rewards to travel partners if you have an active Sapphire card or an active Ink Business Preferred Card. If you downgrade your Chase card to one of the Freedom cards, you can still redeem your Chase points for discounted travel, cash back or gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point with the Ultimate Rewards platform.

However, you cannot transfer your points to partners. Remember, if you have the Sapphire Reserve, you can redeem your points on Chase Travel℠ for 1.5 cents per point, and if you have the Sapphire Preferred, you can redeem for 1.25 cents per point on Chase Travel. But, if you utilize transfer partners, you can get a much greater redemption value, as TPG values Chase points at 2.05 cents per point.

If you are planning to downgrade your card and have a favorite transfer partner (aka one that you use frequently), consider transferring your Ultimate Rewards balance to that partner (or several) before downgrading your card, as it is easy to get more than 1 cent per point in value when utilizing transfer partners.

Otherwise, you will need to wait until you are approved for a Sapphire or Ink Business card again before you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points.

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What’s the Value of Chase Ultimate Rewards Points? 

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Table of Contents

Chase points value when booking through the portal

Chase points value when transferring to partners, chase points calculator, credit cards that earn chase ultimate rewards®, how did we determine the value of chase points.

Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are some of the most sought-after travel rewards points out there ( here's how they compare to AmEx Membership Rewards ). They are flexible, popular and valuable. But how valuable?

Based on our most recent analysis , Chase points are worth between 1 cent and 2.2 cents each, depending on how they’re used and which card they were earned with.

This wide range of values is due to the complexity of Ultimate Rewards® redemption options. Like most credit card reward points, they have a baseline value when used to either book travel directly through a portal or they can be transferred to partners. But Chase adds an additional layer of complexity by offering separate baseline values depending on the card. Let’s break it down.

» Learn more: Best Chase credit cards

In Chase's travel portal, the Chase Ultimate Rewards® points value depends entirely on which card you have — or rather, which card is associated with the points you’re using (if you have several cards).

Note: These values only represent the simplest and most direct way of using Chase points. And there isn’t any wiggle room here; you can’t search for deals that will yield more than 1.5 cents per point with a Chase Sapphire Reserve® , for example. The values are fixed when using points to book through the travel portal.

» Learn more: The guide to Chase's travel portal

There’s lots of wiggle room here. So much, in fact, that it’s hard to pin down a specific value across all of Chase’s transfer partners. Our estimate of 1 cent to 2.2 cents is based on the higher-value transfer options, but that doesn’t mean all the options are equal — far from it.

The table below shows the transfer partners for which we have data-driven point and mile valuations. In short: The estimated value of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points when redeeming with partners ranges from 0.7 cents to 1.9 cents.

Of course, the value of Chase points depends on the value of these transfer partners, but there is another factor to consider: how many high-value transfer partners the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program has. This affords more options for travel rewards hobbyists who are willing to dive into these programs and find the best deals.

Comparing Chase points to other programs with fewer high-quality transfer partners is like comparing a $100 bill to a $100 Olive Garden gift card. They’re technically worth the same amount, but one has a broader range of uses than the other.

» Learn more: How to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to travel partners

Use our Chase points calculator below to determine the value of any number of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to dollars. This is useful for comparing the value of promotions and sign-up offers or in assessing the value of an existing cache of points.

Note: Chase's cash-back credit cards technically earn that cash in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards®. One point equals 1 cent in those cases.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

5 points per $1 spent on all travel purchased through Chase.

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

3 points per $1 spent on select streaming services.

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

2 points per $1 spent on travel not purchased through Chase.

1 point per $1 spent on other purchases.

Through March 2025: 5 points per $1 spent on Lyft.

Sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

» READ OUR REVIEW of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

10 points per $1 spent on Chase Dining purchases through Chase.

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

5 points per $1 spent on air travel purchased through Chase.

3 points per $1 spent on travel and dining not booked with Chase.

Through March 2025: 10 points per $1 spent on Lyft.

Sign-up bonus: 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 Travel℠.

» READ OUR REVIEW of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Chase Freedom Flex℠

5% cash back on rotating bonus categories, on up to $1,500 spent per quarter (cash back comes in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards®).

5% back on travel purchased through Chase.

3% back at restaurants.

3% back at drugstores.

1% back on all other purchases.

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

» READ OUR REVIEW of the Chase Freedom Flex℠

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ replaced the original Chase Freedom® , but holders of the original card were able to keep using it. That card offers the same 5% in rotating categories and 1% elsewhere, but not the bonus rewards on travel, dining and drugstores.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase during your first year, 5% after that.

4.5% back at restaurants during your first year, 3% after that.

4.5% back at drugstores during your first year, 3% after that.

3% back on all other purchases during your first year, 1.5% after that.

Note that all first-year elevated earn rates are applied only up to $20,000 in total spending during the initial cardholding year.

Sign-up bonus: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

» READ OUR REVIEW of the Chase Freedom Unlimited®

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

3 points per $1 spent on the first $150,000 per year in combined spending on travel and select business categories.

1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Sign-up bonus: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠. .

» READ OUR REVIEW of the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

5% cash back on office supply store purchases and internet, cable and phone services, on up to $25,000 spent per year combined.

2% back at gas stations and restaurants, on up to $25,000 spent per year combined.

Sign-up bonus: Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.

» READ OUR REVIEW of the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

1.5% cash back on all spending.

Sign-up bonus: Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

» READ OUR REVIEW of the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards

For our NerdWallet estimate of 1 cent to 2.2 cents per Ultimate Rewards® point, we factored in three variables:

The value of these points when used to book travel directly with the credit card’s travel portal.

The value of the airline and hotel points to which these points can be transferred, when applicable (based on separate analyses).

The number of top-tier travel transfer partners, as determined by our expert panel.

The overall value is determined as: A weighted average between (1) and (2), with the weight determined by (3). The program with the largest number of high-value partners receives a 100% weight on (2), and a program with zero high-value partners receives a 50% weight on (2).

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1.5%-6.5% Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

$300 Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

1x-5x 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.

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

1%-5% Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Earn 5% on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases.

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

10 ways to use points to book vacation home rentals

W hen traveling with your family or a large group of friends, vacationing "together" and not in separate hotel rooms using your points and miles can get a bit complicated. Luckily, there are vacation rental platforms aside from Airbnb and Vrbo that will let you use your hard-earned points and miles to book entire homes instead of paying cash.

Vacation home rentals have always been a great tool to have in your travel toolbox. At TPG, we've been curious about the best ways to use your points to book a vacation home rental because plunking down cash gets old in a hurry.

And just like choosing the best home rental for you takes some skill, figuring out the best way to redeem your points for a home rental isn't as simple as reading an award chart and hitting "book now" — but it absolutely can be done. Keep reading to find out the best ways to use your points to book vacation home rentals.

Redeem fixed-value points for vacation rentals

If you have a credit card that earns fixed-value points in your wallet, such as the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card , those are some of the best types of points to use to pay for vacation home rentals.

For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns 2 miles per dollar on all purchases and allows you to redeem those points at 1 cent each toward travel. However, it may not be the best use of Capital One miles, as TPG values them at 1.85 cents apiece ; nevertheless, you can redeem those miles for travel . But be aware that while vrbo.com sometimes codes as travel, it doesn't always code as travel, depending on who owns and manages the property, so proceed with caution in that regard.

Related: 12 tips for choosing the perfect beach house rental

Another card that is great for stacking points for home rentals? The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card . For TPG Director of Content Summer Hull , this card turned out to be a points powerhouse for home rentals and any other charge that didn't fall under any one particular umbrella.

It earns 1.5 points per dollar on non-bonus charges and 2 points per dollar on travel and dining. But it gets better if you bank with Bank of America, as your deposits with the bank can earn you up to a 75% bonus on points earned with this card via the bank's Preferred Rewards program .

Since I'm in that top tier for banking with Bank of America, it bumps up my earnings on everyday charges to about 2.63 points per dollar and on travel or dining to 3.5 points per dollar. This is now one of my go-to cards for everyday spending, and I'll be able to just cash the points out at 1 cent each to offset what I spend on a home or cabin rental — or anything else.

Use Marriott points with Homes & Villas

If you have Marriott Bonvoy points or a credit card that allows you to transfer your points to Marriott (as with American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards ), another avenue for redeeming points to book a vacation home rental lies with the Homes & Villas by Marriott program .

Related: Best Marriott credit cards

Your per-point redemption value may not be as great as some other uses, so do the math before redeeming. However, if you have Marriott points you aren't sure what to do with, it can be an easy way to lock in a fabulous home rental using your hotel points.

Just know that while you are booking via Marriott's program, your individual bookings will be turned over to property management companies that handle it from that point on.

Related: Best credit cards for home rentals

Use Wyndham points with Vacasa

At the beginning of 2021, Wyndham announced a partnership with Vacasa , a vacation rental management company. This partnership allows you to use your Wyndham Rewards points to book over 15,000 vacation rentals around North and Central America.

With Wyndham's fixed award chart — even on home rentals — it'll cost 15,000 Wyndham points per bedroom per night. That means a studio or one-bedroom costs 15,000 points per night, a two-bedroom costs 30,000 points per night, a three-bedroom costs 45,000 points per night and so on. This can actually be a much better value than using your points on a traditional hotel room, as some properties cost as much as 30,000 points per night — for just a studio hotel room.

Redeem: The ultimate guide to earning and redeeming Wyndham Rewards

The process, however, to book a vacation rental with your points is quite cumbersome. While you can search for homes and availability directly on the Vacasa website , you cannot confirm a reservation immediately, like you normally can with a regular hotel room. Instead, you need to call Wyndham at 800-441-1034, and the representative will ask you a bunch of questions, including your Wyndham Rewards number and your desired location.

If you already know the home rental you want to book, you can also give them the listing number straight from the Vacasa site. Having a home rental already in mind will definitely speed up the process.

Related: Redeeming Wyndham points with Vacasa is a great deal — with a catch

Unfortunately, due to blackout dates, there's no way to know whether or not a property is available to book with points in the reservation calendar, and you'll need to wait for the Wyndham representative to look up your specific dates.

TPG contributor Jennifer Yellin has booked different vacation homes at ski resorts in New England and is about 50-50 with properties being able to be booked with points (even though they are all available for a paid reservation).

Once you confirm a vacation rental and date that works, the representative will lock in your reservation with points and explain the cancellation policy. When using Wyndham Rewards points for a vacation rental, you'll typically have to cancel at least 30 days in advance. As long as you cancel within the window, all points will go straight back to the account they came from and there are no additional fees. However, if you cancel within the 30-day window, you'll forfeit all points redeemed.

Truthfully, if you are looking to redeem your hotel points for a vacation rental, this has the potential to be one of the best programs out there. Especially since you can easily earn Wyndham points from Wyndham Rewards credit cards or transfer your Capital One miles to your Wyndham account at a 1:1 ratio.

Redeem Ultimate Rewards points for vacation rentals

Just as you can redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for as much as 1.5 cents each when booking flights and hotels via the Chase travel portal, you can do the same for home rentals. Though Chase no longer has a designated "vacation rental" tab on its travel portal dashboard, if you search under "Hotels," type in the area, dates and number of guests, you will see a list of hotels as well as a few vacation home rentals.

Unfortunately, there is no filter to search for vacation homes so you will have to scroll, but the option is available on the Chase travel portal.

For example, I searched for a "hotel" in Park City, Utah, for Jan. 8 to Jan. 10, 2025, for six guests and found a vacation rental available for $454 per night (not including taxes and fees).

If you hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve® , you can redeem your points at a fixed value of 1.5 cents each, which means one night at this vacation property (before taxes and fees) will cost you about 30,266 Ultimate Rewards points.

Use Hyatt points with Hyatt Homes & Hideaways

Hyatt launched its own collection of rental homes in late 2023, branded Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt. At the moment, Hyatt appears to only offer popular locations within the U.S. (think Hawaii, Florida, Colorado, etc.). Hyatt will eventually expand the program to international destinations.

Booking a stay at one of these properties confers many of the same perks as staying at a Hyatt hotel, such as 5 base points per dollar (plus any elite status bonuses), elite night credits and the ability to earn American Airlines miles when linking your account. You can redeem Hyatt points for award nights at any of these properties — though, after experimenting with some dummy bookings, the value proposition doesn't seem to be as high as with traditional Hyatt hotels.

Because you can transfer both Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, it's not difficult to accrue the points you need for a free night.

Homes & Hideaways gives customers a fixed purchase rate of 1.2 points per dollar. For example, if you book a three-night stay at a villa for $5,000, expect to pay about 416,667 points. TPG values Hyatt points at 1.7 cents apiece; therefore, if you redeem your Hyatt points for a Homes & Hideaways vacation rental, you are not maximizing their value.

Related: How to earn points with the World of Hyatt program

Use Choice points with Bluegreen Vacations

Choice Privileges partners with a vacation rental company called Bluegreen Vacations through its Ascend Hotel Collection . It operates primarily within the U.S., though there's one property in Aruba (you can see the map of all locations on Bluegreen's website ).

Bluegreen Vacations offers cheap award prices for surprisingly large accommodations. Take a look at the above example of a three-bedroom suite for just 25,000 points at the Bluegreen Vacations Christmas Mountain Village in June 2025.

You can earn Choice points with Choice credit cards , or you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Choice at a 1:1 ratio (though we don't usually recommend this; Amex points can be worth considerably more than Choice points, depending on how you use them).

Use Amex points via Amex Travel

American Express Select Homes + Retreats is a fancy collection of homes that are available exclusively to those who hold The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express . You can either purchase your stay with your eligible Platinum card to earn 5 points per dollar (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), or you can use Amex points to book your stay.

Click on "Vacation Rentals" on your Amex travel dashboard to see the select locations and properties available.

At present, American Express Select Homes + Retreats are only found in 12 areas around the U.S. You'll find them in the Panhandle area of Alabama and Florida; Maui, Hawaii; Charleston, South Carolina; and other popular vacation spots. As is the case with many programs on this list, Amex's offering isn't even in the same galaxy as Airbnb in terms of volume — but it provides properties you may not be able to find elsewhere.

Here's the issue: You'll only get a value of 0.7 cents per point for your booking. TPG considers American Express Membership Rewards points to be worth an average of 2 cents each — meaning this is a horrendous use of points in most cases.

Related: Redeeming American Express Membership Rewards for maximum value

Capital One vacation rentals

Capital One recently unveiled two collections of vacation rentals: Premier and Lifestyle . The collection(s) you can access depends on which Capital One credit card you hold.

If you've got either the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Spark Miles for Business , you can access the Lifestyle collection. If you've got either the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture X Business , you can access both the Lifestyle and the (more fancy) Premier collections.

When you book a stay through Capital One, you'll receive bonus perks such as experience credits ($100 for Premier Collection stays, $50 for Lifestyle Collection stays), early check-in and late checkout when available, and destination experts to help you round out your trip. You'll also earn 5 miles per dollar when paying for your stay — or you can redeem Capital One miles to offset your bill at a rate of 1 cent per mile.

Again, using rewards to pay for your reservation isn't ideal, as TPG estimates Capital One miles to be worth 1.85 cents each toward travel when transferring to airline and hotel partners.

Related: Redeeming Capital One miles for maximum value

Redeem points for Airbnb gift cards

Another way to redeem points for a home rental is to cash in your points for a home rental gift card. Airbnb gift cards, for example, are available via several points programs.

Be careful when redeeming points for gift cards, as it isn't always the best return per point, but it is an option. With Chase Ultimate Rewards , you can redeem points for Airbnb gift cards at 1 cent each. While that is not a great use of points if you're looking to maximize your points, which TPG values at 2.05 cents apiece, it is an option if you want to save on your next vacation rental.

This story talks a bit more about redeeming points for gift cards and similar cash-out options.

Related: Maximizing points and miles to beat inflation and save money

Don't forget multibedroom hotel residence options

While not a home rental in the true sense, don't forget that multiple hotel loyalty programs have redemption options for multibedroom residences. You probably won't have a backyard and a pool with these, but the odds are good for a kitchen.

Many hotel chains, such as Hyatt and Marriott, offer multibedroom residence-style redemptions, though availability is more limited than when booking a standard hotel room. Keep in mind that Hyatt allows you to book suites online with points , too.

Bottom line

Your points can get you more than just flights and traditional hotel rooms — you can use them to book vacation home rentals.

If you know for sure you want to go that route, now may be the time to take stock of your wallet and see if you have the best card for this goal. The perfect program for you may vary as there are many different credit cards and loyalty programs that will allow you to use rewards toward that next vacation home rental.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.