(UPDATE: DO NOT transfer points between people who ARE NOT SPOUSES OR DOMESTIC PARTNERS. Chase no longer allows this and may shut down your account.)
One of the major benefits of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is that they allow you to combine points between accounts for no charge AND the transfer happens instantly.
Thanks Chase!
The ability to combine points comes is a HUGE SCORE for people who want to turn their “limited” UR points in to “premium” UR points.
To briefly recap, “limited” points are only allowed to be used as cash for purchasing travel through Chase (at 1.2 cents per point) or as cash-back (at 1 cent a point). They are NOT allowed to be transferred to travel partners like United, Hyatt, Southwest, etc.
“Premium” points are much more valuable because they ARE allowed to be transferred to travel partners like United, Hyatt, and Southwest. This opens up tons of possibilities, and if you’re good, you can make each Chase premium point worth 2 cents or more!
So, the goal is to turn “limited” points in to “premium” points, which amazingly, can be done…and done quickly and easily!
Combining Points from a “Limited” Account and “Premium” Account
Most people who are earning large amounts of “limited” points are doing so by using the Chase Freedom, but the Chase Sapphire, Chase Ink Classic, and Chase Ink Cash also earn “limited” points.
To turn these “limited” points to “premium” points, you’ll need to have one card that earns “premium” Ultimate Rewards points. These cards include the Chase Sapphire Preferred (my review), Chase Ink Bold (my review), or Chase Ink Plus (my review).
If you have one of those cards, it is very simple to transfer your “limited” points to “premium” points. All you’ll have to do is sign in to to your Ultimate Rewards account and combine your points. Just make sure you are transferring your points FROM the “limited” account TO the “premium” account.
Voila….you’ve got all “premium” Ultimate Rewards points.
Don’t believe it’s that easy? Watch me do it in less that 2 minutes WHILE explaining exactly how to do it!
Ok, so that’s great for people who have a “premium” UR account, but what if you only have a “limited” account? Fear not!
Transferring Points From One Person To Another
Another awesome benefit: Chase allows you to combine points between people! And get this…the people don’t even have to be related.
You can transfer points from your account to ANYONE!
The real benefit of this comes when one person DOES NOT have a “premium” account but wants to transfer their “limited” points to a travel partner.
They can use someone else who has a “premium” account as a middleman!
This exact situation happened a few days ago with an EPoP reader. Jason had earned “limited” UR points from his Chase Freedom card and had no other Chase accounts.
Jason wanted to turn transfer his points to Hyatt, but because they were “limited” UR points, he wasn’t allowed.
Instead, I offered to allow him to transfer his “limited” points to my Ultimate Reward account that was tied to my Chase Sapphire Preferred card, and therefore, a “premium” account. All he needed was my account number and my full name. After putting that in, the points arrived in my account in less than a minute.
Since the points were now in my “premium” account, they could be transferred to Hyatt. I simply used Jason’s Hyatt number and full name when transferring the points to Hyatt, and within a few minutes, they were in his account.
All told, it took less than 5 minutes for Jason to turn his “limited” points in to Hyatt points.
Just follow these easy steps:
1. Transfer your limited points to a friend who has a premium account. You’ll need that person’s premium UR account number and full name.
2. Have your friend transfer the points, which are now premium points, to the travel partner you want. They’ll need YOUR full name and membership number.
That’s it!
Final Word(s)
If you don’t have a “premium” card yet, you should definitely consider getting one! You’ll be earning one of the best currencies of points out there AND you’ll be able to turn your “limited” points in to more valuable ones! You don’t have to involve anyone else, and it takes less than 2 minutes.
If you’re not able to get a “premium” card, find a friend or family member who does and ask them to act as the middleman.
You should NEVER keep your Ultimate Rewards points as “limited” points since they are FAR LESS valuable than “premium” points. Since Chase makes it so easy to upgrade your points from “limited” to “premium”, you’ve got no excuses!
How do you change your “limited” points to “premium” points? What’s your favorite Chase card? Let me know below!
Chase Ultimate Reward (UR) points are the currency that Chase uses to reward people who use their cards that are not tied to a specific airline or hotel chain.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points offer some incredible value, and if used right, can actually be more beneficial than credit cards that offer miles with a specific airline because they UR points are extremely flexible.
UR points are in direct competition with American Express Membership Rewards points and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) points.
This series will explain all the facets of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, including ways to earn them, ways to use them, how to transfer them (both between accounts and to partner airlines and hotels), and lastly, the best ways to maximize them.
By the end, you’ll be a Chase Ultimate Rewards pro and you’ll see why they are my preferred frequent flyer currency!
For now, though, let’s start with how to earn UR points. You can love them all you want, but if you don’t have any, they aren’t doing you any good!
The absolute easiest way to earn a huge amount of Ultimate Rewards points at one time is through credit card signups. Luckily, Chase has quite a few good offers out there, so unless you’ve collected them all already, you have some good options to pick from.
Before we start looking at cards, there is one VERY important distinction that you must understand; the difference between “premium” Ultimate Rewards points and “limited” Ultimate Rewards points.
This is an area that quite a few people get confused on, so its time to set the record straight.
Premium Ultimate Rewards points vs. Limited Ultimate Rewards points
“Limited” UR points vs. “Premium” UR points is just as one-sided!
As the name implies, premium UR points are much more valuable than limited UR points. Premium UR points can be used two ways:
To redeem as cash for travel bought through the Chase Ultimate Rewards mall, at a value of 1.2 cents per point.
Limited UR points can only be used as cash for travel bought through the Chase Rewards Mall, at a value of 1.0 cents per point.
And while it is nice that the premium UR points are worth 20% more when redeemed as cash for travel, the MAJOR difference is that premium UR points can be transferred to partners whereas limited UR points cannot be transferred.
This opens up a range of possibilities and usually gives you much better value than simply redeeming them for 1.2 cents per point.
Now, it’s important to know which Chase cards earn you which type of points, as many people often get confused about this.
What Cards Earn Which Type of Points
The following cards earn you “premium” Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which ARE transferable to partners:
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Ink Bold [No longer available]
Chase Ink Plus
The following cards earn you “limited” Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which ARE NOT transferable to partners:
Chase Freedom
Chase Sapphire
Chase Ink Classic
Chase Ink Cash
So does this make cards that offer you limited points worthless?
Luckily, no!
Chase allows you to combine your Ultimate Rewards points by transferring between your accounts, regardless of if they are “limited” or “premium” points.
What this means is that as long as you have one of the cards that earns “premium” points, you can transfer the points you earn on the “limited” cards to “premium” account and VOILA!, those “limited” points are now “premium” points.
Just remember though: You need to have at least ONE “premium” card to transfer the “limited” points to or else they will remain limited points and have very little value.
To recap: Premium UR points are great, limited UR points are not that great. If you have a card that earns limited UR points, get a card that earns you premium points and combine your points in that premium account.
Now that you understand the difference between the two types of UR points, let’s take a look at which cards will earn you what points and how many!
Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Card Signup Bonuses
Below is a list of the cards that earn Chase UR points and the current signup bonus.
Chase Ink Classic: 25,000 “limited” Chase UR points
Chase Ink Cash: 25,000 “limited” Chase UR points
My Recommendations
The Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold, and Chase Ink Plus my three favorite credit cards. Yes, they are #1, #2A and #2B in my mind (the Ink Bold and Ink Plus are virtually identical cards). I use them for all of my everyday spending.
Obviously, I highly recommend all three of the cards. The signup bonuses for all three cards are substantial (40k and 50k) and because they earn “premium” Ultimate Rewards points, they are super valuable since they can be transferred to many partners, including my favorites, United and Hyatt!
In addition, all three cards also offer some nice category bonuses for spending, which we’ll discuss in a later post.
The Freedom, which offers 5x points on different rotating categories, is another card to consider. I wouldn’t suggest it right now since the signup bonus is a paltry 10k, but if the bonus gets bumped up to 20k or 30k, then go for it!
Just remember that you’ll need either the Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold, or Ink Plus to turn those “limited” points you earn with the Freedom in to “premium” points.
I’d only recommend applying for the regular Sapphire, Ink Classic, or Ink Cash after you’ve received all the “premium” cards. The signup bonuses are lower, and unless you have a premium card, you’ll be earning limited points.
If you have exhausted all the “premium” options, wow, good for you! Then, it’s time to start thinking about nabbing the 25k signup bonus for the Ink Cash or Ink Classic.
Final Word(s)
Signing up for a Chase credit card (or two…or three) is BY FAR the quickest way to build up your Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
However, when signing up, make sure that you applying for cards that earn “premium” points, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold, and Chase Ink Plus.
Since these are all different products, you can earn the signup bonus from each. Opening these three cards would net you a quick 140k Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Talk about a nice jump-start!
Personally, Chase UR points are my favorite frequent flyer currency and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold, and Ink Chase are three of the best cards out there. If you don’t already have them, I would strongly suggest you consider getting one and start earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points now!
What Chase signup bonuses have you snagged? Which ones are you targeting in the future? Let me know in the comments below!
