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Chase’s ecosystem of different credit cards makes it a great credit card family to stick with for the long haul.
Chase has become one of the United States’ biggest credit card issuers… and Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program can take part in the credit. Credit card points are even better than airline frequent flyer miles. You can redeem credit card points for first-class flights on some of the world’s best airlines, and Chase in particular offers multiple ways to earn points. Below are three ways how to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
1) Chase Sapphire and Ink Business Preferred Credit Cards
First things first – you need to have either a Chase Sapphire or Ink Business Preferred credit card.
Having one of these cards in your wallet gives you the ability to transfer your hard-earned Ultimate Rewards points to one of Chase’s transfer partners, such as United Airlines, Emirates, or Hyatt. These are some of the best possible uses of Ultimate Rewards points. MUCH better than simply taking cashback.
For personal cards, Chase offers two different Sapphire credit cards that earn transferable Ultimate Rewards points:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card – 80,000 welcome bonus points, 5x points purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards(R), 3X points on dining, and 2X points on all other travel purchases.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve Card – 50,000 welcome bonus points, 5X points on air travel, 10X points on hotels and car rentals (purchases must be made through Chase Ultimate Rewards(R) and only applies after you spend $300 on travel purchases annually), 3X points on other travel and dining, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
There is only one business card that earns transferable Ultimate Rewards points:
- Chase Ink Business Preferred – $95 annual fee, generous signup bonus, 3x on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, social media/search engine advertising, 1x on all other purchases
Obviously, there are other perks to these travel credit cards. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers complimentary Priority Pass membership for access into airport lounges. And all of the cards offer some level of trip delay coverage in case you’re stranded at an airport overnight for a layover.
Also, take note of the different spending categories for each card. The Sapphire Reserve card earns 150% more on travel and dining than the Sapphire Preferred card. But at the cost of a higher annual fee. The Ink Business Preferred card earns a respectable 3x on travel. And the card includes other unique spending categories such as monthly internet, cable, and phone bills.
Having one of these cards opens the door to earning transferable Ultimate Rewards points. But complementing the card with other Chase cards is how can really start stockpiling points.
2) Chase Freedom and Ink Business Credit Cards
The Chase Freedom and Ink Business credit cards are the real secret to maximizing your ability to earn Ultimate Rewards Points. When combined with a Sapphire or Ink Business Preferred card, you could earn at least 1.5x points on all credit card spending.
You have two different Chase personal cards to choose from:
- Chase Freedom Flex – No annual fee, $200 welcome bonus, 5x points on quarterly spending bonus categories (up to $1,500), 5x on travel purchases on Ultimate Rewards, 3x on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1x on all other purchases.
- Chase Freedom Unlimited – No annual fee, earn an additional 1.5x cash back on all purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year – worth up to $300 cash back), 5x on travel purchased through Chase, 3x on dining and drugstores, and 1.5x points on all purchases.
And two different Chase business cards as well:
- Chase Ink Business Unlimited – No annual fee, 1.5x on all purchases, and $750 welcome bonus.
- Chase Ink Business Cash – No annual fee, $750 welcome bonus, 5x on internet, cable, and phone services as well as office supply stores, and 2x at gas stations and restaurants, and 1x on all other purchases.
One of the best parts of these four credit cards? They’re no-annual fee cards which means you can easily complement your Sapphire or Business Ink Preferred card with one (or more) of these cards.
With a total of seven awesome rewards credit cards, you can put together some unique combinations to maximize how you typically spend money. Do you spend most of your discretionary income on travel and restaurants (no judgement)? The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Freedom Unlimited cards are probably a great credit card combo for you. Spend a boatload on your monthly phone bill and office supply stores? Maybe the Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Cash would make sense.
And in reality, to cover your bases, you could sign up for ALL of the no annual fee credit cards. Having all of these different options with unique category spending bonuses is why Chase Ultimate Rewards are among the best credit card points out there.
Again, I need to emphasize this. You will not be able to transfer Ultimate Rewards points earned on the no annual fee cards to airlines/hotels unless you ALSO have a Sapphire or Ink Business Preferred card. So you have to pay at least one annual fee. If the end goal is free travel, it’s totally worth it.
3) Using the Chase Shopping Portal
Aside from sign-up bonuses and strategic credit card spending, there’s a third way to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points: using the Chase Shopping Portal.
You may have heard of other shopping portals or apps, such as Rakuten. If you purchase an item through your Rakuten account, the company shares part of the referral compensation that they receive from the store. The Chase Shopping Portal works in a similar way. Only instead of getting a few pennies, Chase will give you a few Ultimate Rewards points.
I’m not going to tell you that you can earn enough points through the Chase Shopping portal to fly around the world in the business class. But the portal is a great way to earn more than just the 1x or 1.5x you might receive on everyday spending.
For example, here are few online stores and how much you can earn from using the Chase portal:
- Under Armour – 3 points/dollar
- Kiehl’s – 3 points/dollar
- Addidas – 1 point/dollar
- Sephora – 2 points/dollar
- Staples – 1 point/dollar
- lululemon – 3 points/dollar
- Nike – 3 points/dollar
- Banana Republic – 1 point/dollar
Obviously, there are many more online shops to choose from, but this gives a few options. If you spend $100 at Under Armour after using the Chase Shopping Portal, you’ll receive an additional 300 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Not too shabby.
And these extra Chase Ultimate Rewards points are in addition to what you would already receive with your credit card spending. So if you used your Chase Freedom Unlimited card for that $100 Under Armour purchase, you would earn 150 Chase points for using the Freedom Unlimited card. And then you would earn 300 more points for using the Chase Shopping Portal. For a grand total of 450 Chase Ultimate Rewards points from a $100 purchase. And those points can really add up!
Take Staples. Yes, Staples. The office supply store. If you have the Chase Ink Business Cash credit card, you could earn 5x for spending at office supply stores. You could then earn an additional 1x for making Staples purchases online using the shopping portal. That’s an amazing 6x points for all purchases on the Staples website. And you’d be surprised what you can purchase through Staples. From K Cups to cleaning supplies to toilet paper (which has been having a moment lately), Staples carries a surprising variety of items. For 6x points, it’s hard to pass up.
Parting Thoughts
Bottom line: Chase makes it very easy to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. From the welcome bonuses to category spending bonuses to shopping portals, you could potentially earn almost 2x points on all of your spendings if you sign up for Chase credit cards.
Chase’s ecosystem of different credit cards makes it a great credit card family to stick with for the long haul. If you need help maximizing the use of your credit card points, you can sign up for our travel concierge and get unlimited assistance for one full year.
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