Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card or Sapphire Reserve for Business℠
It’s quite a busy time for Chase news, as we’re seeing a refresh of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, and the introduction of the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (review). We’ve known that there would be changes to the eligibility requirements for the Chase Sapphire portfolio, and we now have the full details.
In this post, I want to cover a more fundamental change to the Chase Ultimate Rewards points ecosystem, as we’re seeing 1.25-1.5 cent redemptions through Chase Travel℠ dropped, in favor of a new Points Boost feature, with a transition period. Let’s look at that in a bit more detail, starting with the bad news, as this new feature has gone “live” as of today.
1.25-1.5 cent Chase Travel redemptions being dropped
There are lots of great ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Personally, I like transferring them to Chase’s airline and hotel partners. However, it’s also possible to redeem Chase points toward the cost of a flight, hotel, rental car, etc., through the Chase Travel portal. Historically, the value you’ve received per point has been based on the card you have:
- The Chase Sapphire Reserve has offered 1.5 cents of value per point through Chase Travel
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Business Preferred have offered 1.25 cents of value per point through Chase Travel
- Most other cards have offered 1.0 cents of value per point through Chase Travel
As part of Chase’s card overhaul, this is all changing, as Chase is eliminating the 25-50% bonus for Chase Travel redemptions for those who have premium cards. That means all cards will offer a flat 1.0 cents of value per point through Chase Travel, at least as a standard.
The good news is that these changes only kick in gradually. Assuming you’re an existing cardmember (who picked up the card prior to June 23, 2025), the points you earn through October 25, 2025, will continue to be redeemable at the higher rates (so 1.5 cents for those with the Sapphire Reserve, and 1.25 cents for those with the Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred).
For points earned by that date, it’ll be possible to redeem at that rate through October 25, 2027, so that’s awesome news, since we’ll still have a couple of years to redeem that way. Let me emphasize that this only applies for points earned through October 25, 2025.
Furthermore, if you combine points into a single account (which can easily be done online), all the points will be able to be redeemed at that higher rate. So it could make sense to consolidate all your Ultimate Rewards points in your Sapphire Reserve account by October 25, so all those points have the flexibility to be redeemed at that higher rate.
For points issued on new accounts as of June 23, 2025 (launch date of the refreshed Sapphire Reserve, and the new Sapphire Reserve for Business), the new rate applies.
Chase rolling out Points Boost, offering more value with points
As of June 23, 2025, Chase has introduced Points Boost, and this is available to new and existing cardmembers. The idea is that this replaces the existing 25-50% bonuses on Chase Travel redemptions (though for some existing cardmembers, it’ll be possible to pick which way you want to redeem for the next couple of years, to really maximize value).
The idea is that Points Boost gives you more than 1.0 cents of value per point for Chase Travel redemptions. With Points Boost, you can instead redeem points for 1.25-2.0 cents each toward the cost of a travel purchase. How can you do that? Well, Points Boost is available on select flight and hotel bookings.
Those with the Chase Sapphire Reserve are able to get up to 2.0 cents of value per point for bookings with The Edit by Chase Travel, which offers extra perks at luxury hotels. Meanwhile they’ll also be able to get 1.25-2.0 cents of value toward select flights, based on the airline, class of service, etc.
Those with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred will be able to get 1.5 cents of value per point for bookings with The Edit by Chase Travel, and 1.25-1.75 cents of value toward select flights, based on the airline, class of service, etc.
So, how useful is this new feature? With it now being live, I’ve played around a bit with the options.
It’s nice how The Edit by Chase Travel bookings all qualify for the higher redemptions, meaning that if you have the Sapphire Reserve, you can redeem your points for 2.0 cents each toward a luxury hotel stay. For example, a hotel costing $489 all-in would require 24,250 points.
You can tell if a hotel is eligible for Points Boost based on the little rocket symbol next to the price in points.
When it comes to flights, the Points Boost feature is only available on select airlines, for select classes of service. These options can also change over time. For example, as of now, I see the ability to redeem for 2.0 cents each for premium cabin travel on airlines like Air Canada, Emirates, and United.
There’s no list anywhere (as far as I can tell) of what airlines or classes are eligible. Instead, when you do a search, you’ll see the Points Boost options listed at the top, if there are any eligible options. Just like with hotels, you’ll see the little rocket symbol next to any option that’s available with that deal.
Bottom line
Chase has made major changes to how Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed. Chase has dropped the previous standard 25-50% bonus on Chase Travel redemptions for premium cardmembers, allowing you to redeem points for 1.25-1.5 cents each toward a travel purchase. However, this will be a gradual process, and existing cardmembers will have through October 2027 to redeem that way.
Chase is also introducing the Points Boost concept as of June 23, 2025, whereby cardmembers are able to redeem points for anywhere from 1.25-2.0 cents per point, toward select hotel and flight redemptions. The higher redemption rates seem to mostly be available for luxury hotels and premium cabin flights on select airlines.
If you can cash out your points at 2.0 cents each toward a flight or hotel, that could potentially represent a good deal.
What do you make of the Chase Points Boost program?
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