Points earned with Chase travel credit cards can be used to book almost any domestic flight.
Chase Ultimate Rewards® points transfer to over a dozen airline loyalty programs, including United Airlines, Southwest and JetBlue. Even if an airline — like Delta or American Airlines — doesn't partner with Chase, chances are you can still book its flights through other means.
If you'd rather not bother dealing with frequent flyer programs and blackout dates, you can use Chase points to directly pay for flights booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Plus, unlike traditional award bookings, you'll even earn miles on flights booked this way.
Below, CNBC Select details the best ways to save your cash by using Chase points to fly nearly anywhere in the U.S.
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Best cards for earning Chase points
There are many Chase credit cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points and have excellent spending bonuses. However, you must have one of the following cards to unlock the ability to transfer your points to one of Chase's airline or hotel partners:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase's travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- $50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase TravelSM
- 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a standout premium credit card with plenty of luxury perks and statement credits to justify its annual fee.
- Access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with a complimentary Priority PassTM Select membership, plus every Chase Sapphire Lounge® by The Club with two guests.
- Up to $300 in annual travel credit each account anniversary year
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase's travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Top-tier travel and shopping protections
- High annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 150,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Get $3,000 in annual value with Sapphire Reserve.
- Earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase TravelSM, including The EditSM and 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct. Plus, earn 3x points on dining worldwide & 1x points on all other purchases
- $300 annual travel credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with a complimentary Priority PassTM Select membership, plus every Chase Sapphire Lounge® by The Club with two guests. Plus, up to $120 towards Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck® every 4 years
- Get up to $150 in statement credits every six months for a maximum of $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and more.
- Get complimentary Apple TV+, the exclusive streaming home of Apple Originals. Plus Apple Music — all the music you love, across all your devices. Subscriptions run through 6/22/27 — a value of $288 annually
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is an excellent business card with useful benefits, valuable rewards and a generous welcome bonus.
- Earns flexible travel rewards you can transfer to airline and hotel loyalty programs such as World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Valuable welcome bonus worth $1,125 in travel when redeemed through Chase Travel
- Strong travel and shopping protections
- No intro APR offer
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
- Earn 5x total points on Lyft rides through 9/30/27.
- With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
- Redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more - your points don't expire as long as your account is open
- Go further when you book with Chase TravelSM. Enjoy competitive rates, seamless booking and premium benefits.
- Purchase Protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Receive complimentary access to DashPass by DoorDash.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Once you have one of the aforementioned cards, the rewards earned with the following no-annual-fee cards become transferable to travel partners:
The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a no-annual-fee card that earns generous cash-back on everyday purchases and a lucrative welcome bonus.
- Users get a high rewards rate and strong welcome bonus
- Purchases and balance transfers get long intro APR
- No annual fee
- Travelers face a foreign transaction fee
- Few rewarding ongoing benefits
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
- Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases.
- No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can use points to redeem for cash through an account statement credit or an electronic deposit into an eligible Chase account located in the United States!
- Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 18.24% - 27.74%.
- No annual fee – You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited® card
- Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, alerts, and more.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, in the first 60 days. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
The Chase Freedom Flex® is an excellent cash-back card for maximizing your spending in a variety of categories.
- Long intro APR for purchases and balance transfers
- Rewarding quarterly bonus categories
- No annual fee
- Bonus categories are capped each quarter
- Has a foreign transaction fee
Rewards
- 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate (then 1%)
- 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
- 3% on drugstore purchases and on dining (including takeout and eligible delivery services)
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Balance transfer fee
Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
3%
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is a no-annual-fee cash-back business card that's especially rewarding at office supply stores and gas stations.
- Valuable welcome bonus
- Intro APR for purchases
- No annual fee
- Bonus spending categories have annual limits
- Has a foreign transaction fee
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn $750 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening
- Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year
- Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases on dining and gas each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
- With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
- No Annual Fee
- Complimentary three-month lnstacart+ membership.
- 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases
- Earn 5% total cash back on Lyft rides through 9/30/27.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee
3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a flat-rate cash-back card with a strong intro-APR offer for purchases.
- Intro APR for purchases
- Valuable welcome bonus
- No annual fee
- You can't transfer rewards to travel partners without pairing it with another Chase card
- Has a foreign transaction fee
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business
- No Annual Fee
- Redeem rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Earn rewards faster with employee cards at no additional cost. Set individual spending limits for greater control.
- Round-the-clock monitoring for unusual credit card purchases
- With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
- 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases
- Earn 5% total cash back on Lyft rides through 9/30/27.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Foreign transaction fee
3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars
How to use Chase points for domestic flights
Chase points can be transferred to 14 different airline and hotel loyalty programs. All transfers are at a 1:1 ratio and in 1,000-point increments.
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Flying Blue (KLM and Air France)
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
Although only three of these carriers are based in the U.S., many of these programs have useful partnerships with U.S.-based airlines. These partnerships allow you to transfer Chase points to one airline loyalty program and use those points to book a flight on a completely different airline.
As you'll see, this creates the opportunity to book a wide range of flights at excellent prices. Just remember that not every award flight is open to partner bookings — there generally must be "saver" award availability.
Booking United flights with Chase points
You can transfer Chase points directly to United's MileagePlus loyalty program or book United flights through a Star Alliance partner airline program, such as Air Canada Aeroplan.
United MileagePlus prices its award flights dynamically so you won't know exactly how much an award will cost until you search for it. The upside of this is that you book any available seat with miles. The problem, however, is that as the flights fill up, the cost for an award increases.
Before you transfer any Chase points to United, it's a good idea to compare prices against Aeroplan. The program has a distanced-based partner award chart, so you can book United saver awards for a fixed price, which can often save you a chunk of points.
Aeroplan award chart for select partner flights within North America
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| 0 - 500 | Starting at 6,000 pts | Starting at 15,000 pts |
| 501 - 1,500 | Starting at 10,000 pts | Starting at 20,000 pts |
| 1,501 - 2,750 | Starting at 12,500 pts | Starting at 25,000 pts |
| 2,751 + | Starting at 17,500 pts | Starting at 35,000 pts |
When using Aeroplan you'll only be able to book United's saver awards, so you won't have access to every open seat. But when seats are available, you can save points by booking with Aeroplan. For example, CNBC Select found flights from Chicago to Hawaii that cost 25,000 miles through MileagePlus, but only 22,500 points when booking the exact same flight through Aeroplan.
Don't miss: How to access United Club airport lounges
Booking Delta flights with Chase points
Chase points don't transfer to Delta SkyMiles, but you can book Delta award flights through Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club. The program has a straightforward distance-based award chart and makes it easy to find and book Delta awards online.
When booking Delta flights with Virgin points, it's best to book nonstop flights because trips with connections will cost more. If you book an itinerary with a layover, your award won't be priced based on the total distance, but rather, you'll pay for the award flight as if you booked each segment separately.
For example, if you were flying from Phoenix to Charlotte via Detroit the total trip distance is 2,171 miles, normally a trip of that length would cost 15,000 points one-way. Instead, you'll be charged 21,000 points because the Phoenix to Detroit leg costs 12,500 points (1,600+ miles) and the Detroit to Charlotte leg costs 8,500 points (500+ miles).
Don't miss: How to access Delta Sky Club airport lounges
Booking American and Alaska flights with Chase points
You can use British Airways Avios points to book awards with American Airlines or Alaska Airlines as they are all members of the Oneworld alliance.
British Airways uses a distance-based award chart, so shorter flights cost less and longer flights are more expensive. There is a separate award chart for flights that involve multiple partner airlines, but that will rarely apply to domestic flights. Here's what you'll pay for awards with a single partner airline:
British Airways partner award chart for U.S. domestic flights
| Distance | Economy | Business class |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 650 miles | 12,000 | 24,000 |
| 651 - 1,150 | 16,000 | 32,000 |
| 1,151 - 2,000 | 18,000 | 40,000 |
| 2,001 - 3,000 | 20,000 | 50,000 |
Each segment of a trip is priced individually, so awards with connections cost more.
Although Singapore Airlines and Alaska Airlines aren't members of the same alliance, they have a partnership that allows members to redeem miles on each other's flights. There is a zone-based award chart for redeeming Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles for Alaska Airlines flights with some potentially great deals. For example, you can book a roundtrip from the West Coast to Hawaii for only 27,000 KrisFlyer miles.
There are limitations to this partnership: you can only book nonstop Alaska Airlines flights and you'll have to call Singapore Airlines (800-742-3333) to book the tickets. To search for Alaska Airlines awards open to partner bookings, use the American Airlines or British Airways websites.
Booking JetBlue and Southwest flights with Chase points
You can transfer Chase points directly to both JetBlue TrueBlue and Southwest Rapid Rewards. However, neither of the loyalty programs has an award chart for points redemptions. Instead, the cost of an award flight is tied to the cash price of the ticket.
This means you'll get a relatively consistent value for TrueBlue or Rapid Rewards points and there aren't any sweet spots to take advantage of. TrueBlue points are typically worth 1.3 to 1.4 cents per point, but if you're booking JetBlue's Mint class (i.e. business class) you'll get closer to 1.1 cents per point in value. Meanwhile, Rapid Rewards points are usually worth 1.3 to 1.5 cents per point.
The advantage of these programs is the simplicity — you can book any open seat as long as you have enough points. The downside is you can often extract more value out of your Chase points with other redemption options.
As you'll see below, using your Chase points to book JetBlue or Southwest flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal is often a better option, depending on what Chase credit cards you have.
Don't miss: How to access Chase Sapphire airport lounges
Booking flights through the Chase travel portal
For anyone who doesn't want to bother with navigating complicated awards charts and obscure award booking restrictions, the Chase travel portal is the easiest way to use your Chase points to book domestic travel.
Booking flights through Ultimate Rewards works just like booking through any other online travel agency like Expedia. The only difference is that you can choose to pay some or all of your travel expenses with your Chase points. When you pay for your ticket with Chase points, you can even earn airline miles on your free flight.
You can redeem Chase points through the travel portal at a fixed value of 1 to 1.5 cents per point based on the Chase card account you are booking through.
- Chase Freedom Flex®: 1 cent per point (i.e. 10,000 points are worth $100 in travel)
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® (See rates and fees): 1 cent per point
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (See rates and fees): 1 cent per point
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (See rates and fees): 1 cent per point
If you have more than one Chase card, you can move your points to the card that offers the highest redemption value.
This creates situations where booking through the Chase travel portal may be more lucrative than transferring points directly to an airline, particularly with airlines like JetBlue and Southwest, which both have dynamic award pricing. Just be sure to always double-check that you're getting the best price when booking with Chase.
Note that certain low-cost airlines, such as Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, Sun Country and Southwest aren't available to book online through the Chase travel portal. However, you can book tickets with these airlines with your Chase points over the phone by calling 1-855-233-9462.
Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.
Bottom line
Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are extremely flexible. They can be transferred to over a dozen different airline and hotel loyalty programs and can be used to pay for trips through the Chase travel portal. Thanks to this multitude of redemption options, you'll have no trouble using Chase points to book domestic flights with any of the major airlines and many smaller, low-cost carriers.
Best of all, many of the top travel credit cards earn Chase points, so it's easy to earn the rewards you need for your next trip.
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