Chase Sapphire Preferred points worth less than on Aer Lingus?
Found out today that for the exact same flights (MSP to KIR; AMS to MSP), I'd pay around $890 on Aer Lingus, but with Chase Sapphire Preferred points, I'd pay $1,126 in points.
Chase says points users save 25% on travel when they use points, but this doesn't seem to be the case. When I used Twitter to contact their customer service, they said: "The prices you see on our website are provided to us directly from the travel supplier. At times, the travel supplier saves its best rates for customers booking directly on their website. ^RR." When I asked how I was receiving 25% more through this arrangement, they said, "Rewards can be used as a credit on your account at a rate of 100 points per $1. If you use 100 rewards for a travel purchase, it would be worth $1.25. ^RR."
Can someone help me understand this?