Ultimate Rewards points purchase program is stingy compared to American Express Membership Rewards:
1. You may purchase points in 1,000-point increments for $25 per 1,000 points, which will be billed on your Card account. 2. You may only purchase a maximum of 500,000 points per calendar year. 3. You may purchase points only for your own program account. Points may not be purchased except in connection with a conversion of points to a participating Frequent Customer program or redemption of points for a reward. 4. Corporate CMs, other than Business CMs, with only the Corporate Card enrolled in the program, may not purchase points. 5. Points purchased are subject to all other program Terms & Conditions applicable to points generally, including those concerning point forfeiture.
Chase forces you to accumulate points gradually, gambling that the redemption will be good value when you need them. American Express allows you to buy enough for a trip after you have confirmed award seat availability, and American Express has many more transfer partners.