Chase Sapphire Reserve: How To Get 50% More Travel Through The Chase Portal

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® has been one of the most popular travel credit cards on the market since it was introduced, and its earning rates and benefits have only improved since then.

The card now offers 10X total points on hotel stays and car rentals booked through Chase Travel℠, 10X total points on eligible Chase Dining purchases and 5X total points on flights booked through Chase Travel℠ (after first earning your $300 travel credit). This is on top of the 3X points per dollar offered for restaurant purchases and travel spending (after earning the $300 travel credit), plus 1X points on all other purchases.

While the earning rates on the Chase Sapphire Reserve are exceptional, what makes earning those rewards more special is that they come in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, a highly sought after and valuable rewards program. Where some travel credit cards make it difficult to use your points, Chase Ultimate Rewards lets users redeem for statement credits, cash back, merchandise, gift cards and even 1:1 transfers to Chase airline and hotel partners.

Even better, this rewards credit card lets you redeem points for travel through Chase Travel℠ — and for 50 percent more value. If you’re hoping to get more value for your Chase points this year and are looking for new ways to redeem for travel, read on to learn more.

As a reminder: Details of the Chase Sapphire Reserve

Before we dive more deeply into how to get more value out of your Chase points, consider the important details of this offer.

What is Chase Travel?

While transferring points to Chase airline and hotel partners can help you get superior value for your rewards, you can often get the same (or better) value by redeeming points for travel through Chase. This is made possible through Chase Travel℠.

With the Chase Travel portal, all you have to do is enter the dates and preferred type of travel you want to book. Available redemption options include airfare, hotels, rental cars, things to do (excursions), vacation rentals and cruises.

When you search for travel through Chase Travel, you’ll see that you can book with points, cash or a combination of the two. Just like with Expedia, you can search for any type of travel to any destination around the world.

When you book travel through Chase with your Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll get 50 percent more value for your points. That means you can redeem 50,000 points for $750 in airfare, hotels, rental cars and more.

Why should you book travel through Chase Travel?

While transferring points to Chase airline and hotel partners like Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt can provide excellent value, there are several reasons to book through Chase Travel instead.

You still earn frequent flyer miles

First off, you can still earn frequent flyer miles when you book airfare through Chase Travel. All you have to do is add your frequent flyer number to your booking. You can also add the flight to your frequent flyer account after the fact. If you book a reward flight directly through the airline’s loyalty program, you won’t earn points for that trip.

Unfortunately, you won’t earn hotel points or receive any elite hotel benefits if you book a hotel stay through Chase, as it’s considered a third-party booking platform.

Book with a variety of airlines, hotels and cruise lines

The biggest benefit of the Chase Travel portal is that you can book flights, hotels, rental cars and more with all the major travel brands you can find in the portal. This makes your rewards considerably more flexible than if you had airline miles with a specific frequent flyer program or hotel points with a program like Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy.

Chase Travel lets you shop around for the best deal and book any travel you want, including boutique hotel brands, hostels and even vacation rentals.

Unlimited award availability

If you’ve ever booked award travel with an airline or a hotel brand before, you know how limited award availability can be. In some cases, it may even seem impossible to use airline or hotel points for the travel you want — especially during peak travel dates.

Fortunately, the Chase Travel portal features unlimited award availability for all types of travel with no blackout dates or capacity controls. Just find the travel you want and book it with points, cash or a combination of the two. It’s as simple as that.

Unique travel options

Did you know you could book airport pickups and ground transportation through Chase Travel? How about that you can use your rewards to book guided visits to museums, foodie tours, winery visits and pub crawls?

You can even use Chase points to book vacation condominiums and villas. No matter what type of travel you book through Chase, you’ll get 50 percent more value for your points when you redeem.

How to book travel through Chase Travel

Booking travel through Chase Travel℠ is as easy as using any other online booking site. Once you log into your credit card management page at Chase.com and navigate to the Chase Ultimate Rewards section of your account, just follow the steps below.

Step 1: Choose “Travel” from the Ultimate Rewards homepage.

Step 2: Decide on the type of travel you want to book, enter the details and hit the blue search icon.

Step 3: Browse travel options presented to you and select the option you want.

Step 4: Decide whether you want to pay with points, cash or a combination.

Step 5: Enter your travel details to complete your booking. You’ll receive an email with confirmation details.

When to book travel through Chase Travel vs. when to transfer

If you’re planning to book travel with a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, you’ll want to “price shop” and compare options before you book. You may find that, in some cases, you’ll fork over considerably fewer points if you transfer to a frequent flyer program or hotel loyalty program for your redemption. However, there are times when booking travel through Chase Travel is a much better deal.

Here are a few examples that show how this can go both ways.

Let’s say you want to book a stay at the Holiday Inn Resort in Aruba, which requires 61,142 points per night if you book through IHG One Rewards for dates in April 2025.

If you search Chase Travel for the same dates, you will almost always find a lower price per night at this hotel. In fact, for dates we searched for in April, this exact hotel would cost 31,976 points per night if you had the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Now imagine you want to stay in an all-inclusive resort like the Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort in Cancun, Mexico. This all-inclusive resort would only set you back 35,000 points per night over dates in April 2025 for double occupancy if you transferred your points to your Hyatt account and directly booked.

This same hotel, however, would set you back well over 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per night if you booked through Chase Travel over the same dates. In this case, transferring your points to your Hyatt account will save you almost 50 percent on your rewards redemption.

Ultimately, you’ll want to do a similar search any time you plan to book travel with a Chase transfer partner. By comparing how many points you’ll need through Chase with how many points you would need to book directly, you can quickly determine which option is the better deal.

Additional ways to boost points value

Whether you are planning to use points for hotels, flights, rental cars or other travel, these tips can help you get more bang for your buck.

Be flexible with dates

As you compare travel options from Chase with its partners, make sure you’re as flexible with dates as you possibly can be. You may find that prices are much lower on some dates than others, which means the points you need for a redemption can be lower through Chase Travel, as well.

Compare rates with multiple transfer partners

If you’re booking airfare or hotels, you may want to compare options with various Chase transfer partners that work for your needs. You may find that one travel brand offers a better redemption rate than others, but you won’t know unless you check.

Compare transfer partner bookings to Chase Travel bookings

Also, remember that transfer partner bookings aren’t always the best deal. You should compare booking travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal to make sure. The best redemptions are ones where you use the least amount of points to book the flight or hotel stay you want.

Look for points transfer bonuses

Chase occasionally offers a points transfer bonus to one or more of their partners, which you should take advantage of when you can. The screenshot below shows how transfer bonus offers appear in your account. These offers change all the time, so check back frequently.

The bottom line

There are many reasons to sign up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, but this card can be especially fruitful if you travel often and can benefit from the 50 percent value bonus when you book travel with points through Chase Travel. Plus, with the option to transfer points to partners, you should have no problem redeeming your points for the travel you want on the dates you prefer and at an excellent value.

That said, you shouldn’t jump on the first deal you come across. By shopping around, you can get the best deal for the rewards you worked hard to earn.