Feb 14, 2017, 7:47 am
Last edit by: beltway
This thread is for discussing the mechanics of points transfer: qualifying Chase cards, eligible partners, and typical speed of transfer. For advice on which partner to transfer to for a given travel goal, see Ultimate Rewards - Which airline/hotel should I transfer points to? and the master threads compiled there.
Holders of non-premium Chase UR cards,
Q. What airline or hotel programs can I transfer UR points into?
A. UR points may be transferred at no charge to these airline programs at a 1:1 exchange rate:
ONEWORLD
Transfers to Amtrak were previously available, but ended permanently on December 8, 2015. See Announcement regarding Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Q. Are transfers instant?
A. In many cases, yes, although transfers to at least one partner (Marriott) may take several days. A summary:
Q: After I transfer, when will my miles expire at that airline/hotel program? Is there anything I can do to avoid expiration there?
The Miles/Points that Do and Don't Expire wiki now lists all of the above Chase UR airline/hotel transfer partners and their respective expiration policies.
Q. Can I transfer to another person's airline or hotel program account?
A. Ultimate Rewards rules explicitly permit transfers to a spouse or domestic partner's frequent traveler account, and prohibit all other transfers. On November 13, 2015, Chase announced the further complication (and perhaps additional restriction) that effective November 15, 2015, as a holder of a UR-earning business card "you can only transfer points to yourself or an owner of the company who is listed as an authorized user on your card account." For discussion of this policy statement and its impacts, see this thread.
Transferring UR points from one household member to another's FF account:
If, for instance, you'd like to transfer UR points from your spouse to your United Airlines account, here are the rules: To transfer directly from [her] UR account to your UA account you would have to be members of the same household -and- you would have to be an Authorized User on [her] Chase card account.
Points can only be transferred to yourself, or one additional household member who is listed as an authorized user on your card account. Once you transfer points to an authorized user, that person will be the only authorized user on your account eligible to receive point transfers.
Combining UR point accounts: To combine points from a UR account with your UR account you would have to be members of the same household. Here are the rules:
You can move your points, but only to another Chase card with Ultimate Rewards belonging to you, or one member of your household. If we suspect that you've engaged in fraudulent activity related to your credit card account or Ultimate Rewards, or that you've misused Ultimate Rewards in any way (for example by buying or selling points, moving or transferring points with or to an ineligible third party or account, or repeatedly opening or otherwise maintaining credit card accounts for the sole purpose of generating rewards) we may temporarily prohibit you from earning points or using points you've already earned. If we believe you've engaged in any of these acts, we'll close your credit card account and you'll lose all your points.
Q. I heard that Chase has closed accounts for unauthorized transfers. What's the story?
A. Those reports involve sharing (aka combining) points from one Ultimate Rewards account to another Ultimate Rewards account. Ultimate Rewards rules explicitly permit combining points with a spouse's or domestic partner's UR account, and prohibit all other internal sharing of UR points. See this thread:
Chase closed my Sapphire Preferred account due to transfers to other UR accounts.
Credit card and rewards accounts may also be closed if Chase decides to close your personal or business bank accounts for any reason.
For the pre-2017 version of this thread, go here.
Q. Can I transfer UR points to airline/hotel programs?
A. Yes, but only from a UR account tied to one of the following premium (i.e., fee-based) Chase cards:
Q. Can I transfer UR points to airline/hotel programs?
A. Yes, but only from a UR account tied to one of the following premium (i.e., fee-based) Chase cards:
- Sapphire Reserve
- Sapphire Preferred
- JP Morgan Reserve
- JP Morgan Palladium (discontinued)
- JP Morgan Select (discontinued)
- INK Preferred
- INK Plus (discontinued)
- INK Bold (discontinued)
Holders of non-premium Chase UR cards,
- Freedom
- Freedom Unlimited
- Freedom Flex
- Sapphire (discontinued; different from Sapphire Preferred)
- INK Cash
- INK Classic (discontinued)
- INK Unlimited
Q. What airline or hotel programs can I transfer UR points into?
A. UR points may be transferred at no charge to these airline programs at a 1:1 exchange rate:
ONEWORLD
- British Airways Executive Club (BA)
- Iberia (IB)
- Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) (AF)
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (VS)
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (SQ)
- United Airlines MileagePlus (UA)
- Air Canada Aeroplan (AC)
- Chase Aeroplan credit cardmembers get a 10% transfer bonus after transferring 50,000 or more Ultimate Rewards points in a single transaction from an eligible Chase credit card to their Aeroplan account. Maximum of 25,000 bonus points per calendar year. This offer was previously scheduled to end on 12/31/23, but has now been made permanent.
- 20% bonus on transfers ended Jan. 15, 2024
- Aer Lingus (EI)
- Emirates Skywards (EK)
- JetBlue (B6) - 25% bonus on transfers ended on Jan. 10, 2024
- Southwest Rapid Rewards (WN)
- IHG Rewards Club - 60% bonus on transfers through March 1, 2024
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
Transfers to Amtrak were previously available, but ended permanently on December 8, 2015. See Announcement regarding Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Q. Are transfers instant?
A. In many cases, yes, although transfers to at least one partner (Marriott) may take several days. A summary:
- AC: Variable. Generally posts instantly (as noted in this July 2023 post). On the other hand, a report from August 2021 indicated a delay of 72-96 hours and a June 2023 post reflects a delay of roughly 30 hours.
- BA: usually Instant
- SQ: "Most Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer point transfers process within 2 business days." Several reports suggest it takes 24-48 hours, although there appears to be a lot of variation.
Post #128 reports 7 business days; post #214 reports a turnaround of 2hrs 15mins. NOV 2017 - 24 hours - WN: Normally Instant but see posts starting at #451 about delays
- UA: Normally instant, but see this thread: UR to United transfer is not reliably instant
- AF: Instant
- VS: Instant.
- Hyatt: Occurs within a minute or less (numerous reports)
- IHG:
One business day.Instant on 10/30/19. Instant on 9 March 2022. - Marriott: Transfers "will process by the next business day"; actual experience is approx. 2 business days
- Ritz:
Q: After I transfer, when will my miles expire at that airline/hotel program? Is there anything I can do to avoid expiration there?
The Miles/Points that Do and Don't Expire wiki now lists all of the above Chase UR airline/hotel transfer partners and their respective expiration policies.
Q. Can I transfer to another person's airline or hotel program account?
A. Ultimate Rewards rules explicitly permit transfers to a spouse or domestic partner's frequent traveler account, and prohibit all other transfers. On November 13, 2015, Chase announced the further complication (and perhaps additional restriction) that effective November 15, 2015, as a holder of a UR-earning business card "you can only transfer points to yourself or an owner of the company who is listed as an authorized user on your card account." For discussion of this policy statement and its impacts, see this thread.
Transferring UR points from one household member to another's FF account:
If, for instance, you'd like to transfer UR points from your spouse to your United Airlines account, here are the rules: To transfer directly from [her] UR account to your UA account you would have to be members of the same household -and- you would have to be an Authorized User on [her] Chase card account.
Points can only be transferred to yourself, or one additional household member who is listed as an authorized user on your card account. Once you transfer points to an authorized user, that person will be the only authorized user on your account eligible to receive point transfers.
Combining UR point accounts: To combine points from a UR account with your UR account you would have to be members of the same household. Here are the rules:
You can move your points, but only to another Chase card with Ultimate Rewards belonging to you, or one member of your household. If we suspect that you've engaged in fraudulent activity related to your credit card account or Ultimate Rewards, or that you've misused Ultimate Rewards in any way (for example by buying or selling points, moving or transferring points with or to an ineligible third party or account, or repeatedly opening or otherwise maintaining credit card accounts for the sole purpose of generating rewards) we may temporarily prohibit you from earning points or using points you've already earned. If we believe you've engaged in any of these acts, we'll close your credit card account and you'll lose all your points.
Q. I heard that Chase has closed accounts for unauthorized transfers. What's the story?
A. Those reports involve sharing (aka combining) points from one Ultimate Rewards account to another Ultimate Rewards account. Ultimate Rewards rules explicitly permit combining points with a spouse's or domestic partner's UR account, and prohibit all other internal sharing of UR points. See this thread:
Chase closed my Sapphire Preferred account due to transfers to other UR accounts.
Credit card and rewards accounts may also be closed if Chase decides to close your personal or business bank accounts for any reason.
Ultimate Rewards - Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners, Rules, Timelines, (2017 on)
Apr 19, 2018, 7:58 am
#166
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 66
This is apparently a thing now:
OMAAT: "Heads Up: Transfers To Korean Air No Longer Instant"
Last edited by grady4; Apr 19, 2018 at 9:05 am
Apr 21, 2018, 9:34 am
#167
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 66
Glad to hear it ... I'm at ~12 hours now and still nothing.
This is apparently a thing now:
OMAAT: "Heads Up: Transfers To Korean Air No Longer Instant"
This is apparently a thing now:
OMAAT: "Heads Up: Transfers To Korean Air No Longer Instant"
Guess it will be Monday at the earliest.
Apr 23, 2018, 3:53 pm
#168
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 66
On a brighter note an SPG transfer to Asiana posted today, *22* days after I submitted it, but at least I knew ahead of time to expect something like that ...
Apr 27, 2018, 11:54 am
#169
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Berlin
Programs: BA Gold; Accor Plat; IHG Diamond-Amb; Meliá & HH & Marriott Gold
Posts: 5,450
I'd be grateful if someone could either point to or post a list of UR transfer partners that require a US address. I believe KE is one. BA may be, too, based on the way they treat their own co-branded Chase Visa card (and on a question mia asked above). Any others?
(Adding this info to the wiki entry would also be helpful.)
(Adding this info to the wiki entry would also be helpful.)
Apr 29, 2018, 3:07 am
#170
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 116
UR Points to Hyatt Transfer Taking Longer Than Usual
I've always had success transferring UR points to Hyatt instantly. This time around its been 2 days and still nothing in Hyatt account. This transfer is for 75k.
I'm starting to wonder if something might be wrong. I got a new Chase Ink Preferred Card and this is my first time transferring from that account. I previously did all my transfers from Chase Ink Plus, which is now closed.
Contacted Chase and they say it could take up to 7 days, but I find that to be a generic answer, even the confirmation email on the transfer says most points transfer instantly.
Does anyone have real knowledge about this? People on other forums mention this issue as well, but does anyone have a concrete answer as to why this is happening? I'm worried its a name issue or something else holding up the transfer.
I'm starting to wonder if something might be wrong. I got a new Chase Ink Preferred Card and this is my first time transferring from that account. I previously did all my transfers from Chase Ink Plus, which is now closed.
Contacted Chase and they say it could take up to 7 days, but I find that to be a generic answer, even the confirmation email on the transfer says most points transfer instantly.
Does anyone have real knowledge about this? People on other forums mention this issue as well, but does anyone have a concrete answer as to why this is happening? I'm worried its a name issue or something else holding up the transfer.
May 2, 2018, 11:58 am
#173
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
May 3, 2018, 9:53 am
#174
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Berlin
Programs: BA Gold; Accor Plat; IHG Diamond-Amb; Meliá & HH & Marriott Gold
Posts: 5,450
May 4, 2018, 9:06 am
#177
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Berlin
Programs: BA Gold; Accor Plat; IHG Diamond-Amb; Meliá & HH & Marriott Gold
Posts: 5,450
May 26, 2018, 10:11 pm
#179
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 434
Beware: Chase miles don't transfer timely, and there's no one at Chase who will help
Based on my experience, I would not trust Chase Sapphire rewards to timely transfer points to airlines or to be available to investigate when transfers do not work.
As an American Express (regular and more recently SPG) customer for decades, I have never seen a points transfer take longer than 20 minutes. Until now.
Thursday, I initiated a transfer of miles from Chase to Air France. The website materials and email I received said to expect the transfer to be instantaneous. An hour later, when the miles hadn't arrived, I called Chase to investigate. I was told they weren't sure what happened and that they had "escalated" the matter and would fix it or update me by close of business Friday.
Friday evening, there were still no points at Air France. When I called Chase a second time, they said they had no further information yet but would "escalate" the matter again, but that there was no one I could talk to who could help me and that, to his knowledge, nothing had been done.
It's now Saturday evening, and still no points at Air France. So I called Chase again. The woman I spoke this time said that responses from "that department" typically take "7-10 days" and that, to her knowledge, nothing had been done. That sort of delay renders the reward portion of the card mostly useless, because reward inventory often disappears over multiple days, and often I would want to redeem an award for travel that's imminent.
So I cancelled the card, and would recommend others consider the same. Absolutely horrific experience. Their marketing claims are false and their customer service team absolutely unhelpful. Total vaporware.
Have others had this experience?
As an American Express (regular and more recently SPG) customer for decades, I have never seen a points transfer take longer than 20 minutes. Until now.
Thursday, I initiated a transfer of miles from Chase to Air France. The website materials and email I received said to expect the transfer to be instantaneous. An hour later, when the miles hadn't arrived, I called Chase to investigate. I was told they weren't sure what happened and that they had "escalated" the matter and would fix it or update me by close of business Friday.
Friday evening, there were still no points at Air France. When I called Chase a second time, they said they had no further information yet but would "escalate" the matter again, but that there was no one I could talk to who could help me and that, to his knowledge, nothing had been done.
It's now Saturday evening, and still no points at Air France. So I called Chase again. The woman I spoke this time said that responses from "that department" typically take "7-10 days" and that, to her knowledge, nothing had been done. That sort of delay renders the reward portion of the card mostly useless, because reward inventory often disappears over multiple days, and often I would want to redeem an award for travel that's imminent.
So I cancelled the card, and would recommend others consider the same. Absolutely horrific experience. Their marketing claims are false and their customer service team absolutely unhelpful. Total vaporware.
Have others had this experience?
Last edited by fenstere; May 26, 2018 at 11:59 pm Reason: clarity
May 27, 2018, 12:31 am
#180
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: IND
Programs: DL, AA
Posts: 144
UR points are usually pretty fast to transfer, but it depends on where you are transferring to. I did hear though about someone who had been waiting for I think two days for some Hyatt points to post, which is out of the norm. Maybe they are having some technical issues lately.
So you just closed your card? I understand your frustration, but what a drastic move, specially since your points are in limbo. Were those all your points or did you have more? If so, what did you do with those?
So you just closed your card? I understand your frustration, but what a drastic move, specially since your points are in limbo. Were those all your points or did you have more? If so, what did you do with those?