Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel is one of the most overlooked tools for saving on travel bookings. Ultimate Rewards points are one of the most valuable rewards currencies out there. Most people transfer their Ultimate Rewards points – earned from credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Ink Plus, and Freedom Unlimited – to travel partners like United and Hyatt for high-value redemptions. The Travel Portal can provide even better value.
I know what you’re thinking: Ultimate Rewards points are only worth 1.2 cents each when redeemed through Ultimate Rewards Travel. You can easily get 1.8 cents per point through United or Hyatt. Why would you do anything other than transfer them?
A lot of times the paid rates offered through Ultimate Rewards Travel are lower than rates published on hotel and tour operator website and as a result, you not only have access to competitive paid rates but you can save points as well.
Travel Deals on Hyatt Hotels
I once booked a stay at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos through Ultimate Rewards Travel. At the time, I needed to book five nights and only one was available on points. Chase offered rates of $284.08 or 22,726 points per night. Including taxes.
In comparison, booking the same room type through Hyatt would cost $540 pre-tax or 20,000 points. Considering the hotel didn’t offer award redemptions at the time, paying an extra 2,726 per night was still a good alternative to $540+ out of pocket. The $284.28 rate was half of the hotel’s own 50% off promo rate. Not to mention, the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos is an all-inclusive hotel!
If you’re considering transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt Gold Passport for an award redemption, it’s absolutely worth checking the rates offered by Chase. You’ll most definitely save a great deal on Vegas hotel bookings. Those tend to be higher category Hyatt Gold Passport redemptions with low cash rates.
For example, the Bellagio offers mid-week rates as low as $160 per night but requires 25,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points. Through Ultimate Rewards Travel, you can book the same room for less ($153.78 on May 9) or redeem as few as 12,302 points.
By now some of you have “Best Rate Guarantee Claim” flashing before your eyes. Unfortunately, most hotels will not approve BRG claims when Ultimate Rewards Travel rates are cited, since those rates aren’t publicly available. Just to people with a qualifying Chase credit card and login credentials.
Hotel Deals
It’s not just the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos you can book cheaply. I even found some good rates at the all-inclusive Hilton Los Cabos.
The cheapest rate displayed on the Hilton website was $332 per night for a Deluxe Oceanview room in late March. The same room was selling for $244.06 or 19,525 Ultimate Rewards points per night.
Keep in mind, the rates displayed on Ultimate Rewards Travel include taxes, while hotel websites usually display the pre-tax rates only. I found this to be the case with many other hotels in Mexico, like the Banyan Tree Cabo Marques in Acapulco. The rates were pretty much the same in this case, except the Ultimate Rewards rate included taxes while the hotel website did not.
The same goes for other Ultimate Rewards hotel partners: Marriott, Ritz Carlton, and IHG Rewards Club all have pretty inflated award charts. Who wants to transfer 70,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott for a free night at the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong? I’m guessing very few people.
On the other hand, you can redeem as few as 37,000 points per night at the same property through Ultimate Rewards Travel. Still steep, but nearly half the cost, and worth it, according to Howie, who has stayed there on points twice.
Will You Earn Points on With Ultimate Rewards Travel Bookings?
Whether you actually earn points or elite credit through a hotel rewards program depends on the hotel. Last summer I booked a night at the Conrad Bali through Ultimate Rewards Travel and did in fact earn points and stay credit.
I didn’t earn any Hyatt points or stay credits for my booking at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos. Which didn’t surprise me since the rate was so ridiculously low. I’ll gladly forego a few thousand Gold Passport points in exchange for a 50% saving.
Ultimate Rewards Travel: Activities
Another great way to use Ultimate Rewards Travel is to book activities. In Singapore last year, I wanted to book one of those Hop-on-Hop-off bus tours, which cost around $25 per person. Through the portal, I was quoted $101.45 for five people or 8,115 points points.
I opted for the latter, considering how cheap and easy it is for me to earn those points. We got to see everything we wanted, transportation was taken care of, and it didn’t come out of my pocket.
Ultimate Rewards are very valuable when transferred to one of their many great travel partners. But you can get even more value by redeeming points directly through the portal. These are just a few examples.
Have you made any valuable Ultimate Rewards Travel redemptions? Please share in the comment section.
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