Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points are one of the most valuable impart because of how many transfer partners they have across both the hotel and airline industries. Currently they have 3 hotel programs and 9 airline programs, lets take a look at the Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners here.
You can compare the offerings on these top Chase cards:
Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners
Chase Ultimate Rewards Hotel Partners:
IHG – InterContinental Hotels Group is a worldwide chain with 10 unique brands including the recently acquired Kimpton Hotels and Resorts. They offer everything from budget accommodations to upscale luxury across 6 continents with a combined 5,300 hotels (appx). Some of the best properties include the Intercontinental Bora Bora and the Intercontinental The Willard in DC.
Marriott Bonvoy– 6,700 hotels in 130 countries. Free nights starting at 7,500 points with unique brands such as Ritz Carlton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis and more!
World of Hyatt – With free nights starting at just 5,000 points and the opportunity to use Points and Cash, this is a great program to consider when booking accommodations. Hyatt has 770 properties worldwide and a range of brands from affordable to all-inclusive resorts. Check out our recent hotel reviews using World of Hyatt points at the following hotels: Park Hyatt St. Kitts, Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, Nassau and the Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Airline Partners:
Southwest Rapid Rewards – While you can’t transfer Chase Ultimate Reward points to Rapid Rewards to get a companion pass, you can still book award tickets for exceptional value. With international flights to Central America and hubs in Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore (BWI), Chicago (MDW), Dallas (DAL), Denver (DEN), Houston (HOU), Las Vegas (LAS), Oakland (OAK), Orlando (MCO), and Phoenix (PHX) as well as several focus cities across the US this airline offers no frills and two free checked bags.
United MileagePlus – Part of the Star Alliance and one of the largest airlines in the United States, the MileagePlus award program has many sweet spots for both domestic flights and international. While you can only book partner awards that have saver award space available, United offers one-way redemptions and you never pay a fuel surcharge. Tickets booked within 21 days for members without elite status will incur a $75 close-in award fee (fee varies based on elite status tier). Some great redemptions including flights to Japan on ANA and 10,000 miles for domestic redemptions on short-haul routes.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club – If considering a trip from the US to London, this program should definitely be considered due to low mileage redemption requirements but be aware of the fuel surcharges. Being part owned by Delta, you can redemption flights operated by Delta if saver award space is available. Additionally, open jaws and mixed cabin awards allowed as well as stopovers. Virgin Atlantic does have award partnerships with numerous airlines including; ANA, Singapore Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Hawaiian Airlines, South African Airways, Jet Airways, Malaysian Airlines, and Virgin Australia. One incredible redemption is London to Beijing on Air China in First Class for 75,000 miles but expect >$600 fuel surcharge.
Iberia Plus – Iberia Airlines is based out of Spain and a member of the Oneworld Alliance. The award chart is distance based like British Airways and rates differ between peak and off-peak times. This program can be good if looking forward an award space on a trip to Madrid (MAD) and should be considered when booking short haul flights both domestically in the US and for flights around continents like Europe. Iberia does have reasonable fuel surcharges and probably not best for long haul flights to Asia from the US.
Korean Air SkyPass – Korean Air is based out Seoul-Icheon (ICN) in Korea and part of the SkyTeam Alliance and has partnerships with Alaska Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, GOL, Hawaiian Airlines, and Jet Airways. This program is great for both US domestic redemption and international awards to almost any of the 6 continents because of several sweet spots. Award redemptions do have high fuel surcharges on some airlines and partner award flights must be roundtrip. With lots of availability in premium cabins and an exception product themselves, Korean SkyPass allows a stopover on one-way awards and open jaw redemptions. One of the best redemptions domestically is on Delta to Hawaii for 45,000 miles in business class round trip.
Singapore Air KrisFlyer – Singapore Airlines is part of the Star Alliance and has been voted one of the best airlines for several years. The airline has a large fleet that includes the A380 and offers one of the most impressive first-class suites of any airline. The award chart was recently changed with a decrease in fuel surcharge, but high redemption levels for flights. Based out of Singapore and currently only one non-stop from the US (NYC-SIN will begin late 2018 on the A350 ULR), the airline does fly JFK to Frankfurt before carrying on to Singapore. Not an ideal program for short-haul domestic flights in the US.
Aer Lingus AerClub – Aer Lingus is the flagship carrier of Ireland and not affiliated with any of the major airline alliances. The airline is owned by the parent company of British Airways and allows redemptions on British Airways and Iberia flights. The award chart is distance based like the other two programs, but on certain routes the fees are higher which makes this program not ideal for almost any redemption. Once a mileage transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards is completed, it cannot be reversed, so be careful before making a transfer to AerClub.
British Airways Executive Club – The UK based airline is one of the largest airlines in the world and has a substantial number of routes around the globe as well as being a member of the Oneworld Alliance and offering award redemptions on Aer Lingus and Alaskan Airlines. The airline has a distance-based award chart and complex guidelines for award redemptions with rates varying depending on peak/off-peak as well as partner or flying British Airways. All British Airways operated flights will have fuel surcharges, but you will find lots of availability. A nice benefit of the program is the only cost to cancel an award booking is either forfeit the taxes and fees of the trip or pay a $55 redeposit fee, whichever is less. One of the best redemptions is short-haul flights with redemptions starting at 4,500 Avios (this is especially useful in markets where flights are quite expensive like South America and Asia).
AirFrance/KLM Flying Blue – This partnership award program offers members lots of flexibility and options for book award flights on routes both within Europe and the surrounding continents. In addition to including flights on KLM and AirFrance, redemptions can be made on any SkyTeam Alliance partner as well as regional operators like HOP! and Twin Jet. Flying Blue is like Delta with no official award chart but select routes like New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) can be found for as low 57,500 miles one way in business class. Fuel charges are very reasonable for award partners and KLM and AirFrance open up more award space on flights they operate, but amount will vary. Consider transferring to Flying Blue for sweet spots like upgrading from economy to business on long haul flights and keep an eye out for occasional promotional award offerings.
If you’re looking to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for free flights, we recommend using the Juicy Miles award booking service, who can help you redeem for the lowest amount of miles, as well as using partner airlines.
The flexibility of Chase Ultimate Rewards partner transfers makes them quite useful for almost any traveler, but the best redemptions will depend on individual trips.
Do have a favorite Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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