I consider myself The Practical Traveler. I do what I can to save money while also maximizing convenience and fun.
I have had a few extra expenses as of late which led me to try and save money on a recent trip.
That is when I realized how AMAZING and flexible the Chase Ultimate Rewards system is for travel whether you’re booking Flights, Hotels, Cars, Activities, or Cruises.
A few weeks ago I went on a trip to Kansas City for the lovely wedding of a couple friends.
I didn’t know anybody there, so I’d have to get a rental car.
Using Points for Getting a Rental Car
Since I was trying to save money, I decided to try to use my points to snag a rental car.
I’m sitting on a stash of Amex and Chase points, so I decided to do a little digging and see which offered the best value.
I bet you can guess which one won out!
Using Amex Points- A Major Hassle
With AMEX MR the booking process is a bit odd as you get an electronic certificate to redeem.
5,000 points will land you a $50 certificate, 7,500 for a $75 certificate and so on.
All point levels are a 1 cent per point value.
Not great.
You are instructed to search for the vehicle you want (Avis, Enterprise, and National are the only three options) and you have to search on the actual rental car site.
Once you find what you are looking for, return to the MR site to buy the proper e-certificate with points, then go back to the rental car site and make your purchase entering in the proper number from the certificate on checkout for your credit.
Sound like a hassle?
That’s because it is.
Using Chase UR Points- A Treat
I decided to check out the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal to see what they had to offer and boy, am I glad I did.
First, with Chase UR everything is done through one website.
No searching rental car sites, no certificates.
Second, no rigid point tiers.
You only use the amount of points required for the booking or less if you choose!
Select Flights, Hotels, and Car Rentals from the drop down.
Perform your search for a car.
On the Chase UR site you get the ultimate selection. You can choose from Thirfty, Dollar, Hertz, Alamo, Enterprise, Budget, National, and Avis.
As you can see, the information is posted in a nice grid letting you know how many points or how much cash it will cost you for each vehicle tier under each company.
This is where the magic of Chase UR really shines.
When you find the vehicle you would like to rent and select Payment Options you see a new section open.
This section contain your option for car redemption.
You’re given 3 options:
using all points,
all cash
or points + cash!
Start adjusting the amount of points in the left box and the cash in the box on the right automatically adjusts.
The great thing about this is you can use any amount of points between zero and the full amount needed for your purchase!
Any person who has ever joined the points/miles game knows that orphan point totals are common.
“How am I ever going to use 2,374 points?”
If they are Ultimate Rewards points, Chase handles that issue masterfully.
Since you can use any amounts of points you want, you’re never left with stray points!
The points are also worth a fixed value of 1.25 cents per point, which 25% more valuable that AMEX MR in this situation.
Once you decide on the points you want to use, simply select Add to Cart and checkout when you’re ready.
Just like that, I was able to achieve my two goals:
Use my orphan Chase points.
Save $58 on my car rental.
Bonus: Quick Tip for Getting a Hotel
I also needed to find a hotel in Kansas City, so I checked out a few options for booking hotels with reward points.
In the end I thought they weren’t worth the cost in points, so I opted to use Priceline to book the hotel.
If you go the Priceline route, you should definitely use a really helpful site called Bidding Traveler, which will show you the lowest prices that get accepted for cities around the world.
Accepted bids on Priceline can be over 50% off the regular rate, saving you a huge chunk of money.
Final Word(s)
Using your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for a car rental is the ultimate way to save a few bucks, use orphan points and book with the complete ease.
The $58 I saved on a car rental?
I was able to use that money for dining and drinks over the weekend with my friends, which took a lot of strain off my weekend budget.
It was a wedding trip, after all, and weddings are about celebration.
Who wants to spend that kind of trip thinking about expenses?
Have you ever used your Chase UR points for something other than a transfer to a partner? If so, what did you find to be the best use?
Lee has the unique distinction of being the youngest American EVER to visit all 193 countries in the world.
Let that sink in for a second!
If that’s not enough, he’s about to become the youngest person in the world to finish the Traveler’s Century Club, a list of 321 unique destinations in the world (only 15 more to go)!
So, just how did Lee end up visiting every country?
At what age did he visit his first foreign country? (hint: it’s much, much later than you think)
What countries were the most difficult?
Where’s the most boring place on Earth?
And what’s his next crazy plan?
Find out the answers to those questions, and a lot more, in this week’s podcast, which is truly one of the best yet!
If you’re like 85% of Americans, then you probably believe most of these myths are facts.
And if you’re the other 15%, you’re most likely trying to constantly convince people that these myths aren’t true and that frequent flyer miles really can help you travel around the world for pennies.
Interestingly enough, I’ve been on both sides.
2.5 years ago, I didn’t have a single frequent flyer mile to my name.
It was because I believed these myths.
But then I began to dig deeper, to uncover the real truth about frequent flyer miles.
And within 2 years, I was staring at more than 1 million frequent flyer miles.
I was traveling all over the world and paying next to nothing.
And now, I’m debunking these myths about frequent flyer miles so that you can do the same.
Finding, and eating, new foods is one of the best parts of traveling.
And no one does it better than Jodi Ettenberg, author of The Food Traveler’s Handbook and expert on finding delicious food all over the world.
But delicious food is no fun if it makes you sick, so Jodi also discusses the best ways to avoid to fight against it while still enjoying food the world over.
And since food always tastes better when it’s cheap, Jodi gives us plenty of tips on how to pay the bottom dollar and still get great food.
If you’re like me and find yourself drooling over a map while deciding where to go travel to next or constantly find yourself reminiscing about amazing meals you’ve had in various parts of the world, you’ll be blown away by the tips and tricks Jodi shares in this podcast.
Just be ready, because you may need to pause halfway to go get yourself a snack!
Sometimes, an idea is just crazy enough that it works.
And sometimes, it’s crazy enough to start a revolution.
Sean Aiken had such an idea when he graduated college and found himself asking “Now what?”.
Instead of finding a job the traditional way, he decided to hire himself out to anyone anywhere in Northern America.
No matter what the job!
He’d work for 1 week, donate the money he made to charity, and then move on to the next job.
52 weeks, 52 jobs.
From Nova Scotia to Hawaii.
From the mayor to a mascot.
In this interview, Sean tells all about which jobs he liked most, which he liked least, and how the heck he was able to pull it off logistically.
We’ll also dive deeper into the issue of why he decided to travel while doing it (which made it infinitely harder), and how his idea has sparked a movement in people young and old around the globe.
Sean’s served as an inspiration to me over the last few years without ever knowing it, and I’m super honored to have him as a guest on the podcast.
His passion and enthusiasm for life and learning is an inspiration to everyone, in any situation. Give a listen to this awesome quest.
On the Chase UR site you get the ultimate selection. You can choose from Thirfty, Dollar, Hertz, Alamo, Enterprise, Budget, National, and Avis.
