Mar 30, 2018, 8:02 am
Last edit by: 747FC
This thread covers how to use Ultimate Reward points for booking all types of travel via the Ultimate Rewards portal.
In 2018 Chase changed the outsourced booking portal operator from Connexions to Expedia. Posts from January to mid-October 2018 have been archived to a separate thread. Those posts discussed the portal as operated by Connexions, -and- the transition process to Expedia.
There is another thread to discuss booking by transferring to airline of hotel programs: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...tc-2017-a.html
Pay special attention to booking via Chase UR/Expedia with regard to rewards and benefits. Chase UR + Expedia is considered OTA (Online Travel Agency). Travelers purchase or pre-pay travel with the OTA and is subject to the T&C from the OTA. In general, travelers receive miles rewards on flights, but do not receive night credit on hotel stays. Also, in general, travelers lose the airline or hotel status and do not receive the associated benefits (free breakfast, room upgrade etc).
1) How do I book a ticket? Choose my airfare class?
Login to ultimaterewards.com
Click: Use points > Explore and Book Travel
Click the button that defaults to [1 Traveler, All]
Change "Class" (the first entry in the pull-down) from All to Business
Click: Close
2) How far in advance can I book?
In mid-November 2017 it was reported that airline reservations are available only 270 days in advance. Read HERE.
3) How do I book hotels?
Follow the steps above to log on. There are standard looking search engines offered for airfare, hotel, etc at that point.
3.5) How to book cruises?
Chase outsources this to a travel agency specializing in cruises. (I believe they are available solely by telephone.) Agents there can book cruises for you using your URs for payments from initial deposit to final payment. It's also possible to transfer an existing cruise booking to that travel agency. That agency can then make payments (full or partial). However, to transfer a booking, there are some constraints to be aware of. A) The booking and deposit has to be made directly with the cruise line. If you use another agency, you're out of luck. B) The cruise lines limit the window when you can transfer a booking from their control to an agency's. It closes as early as 30 days after initial deposit up to final deposit due date (typically 75-120 prior to sail date) depending on the particular cruise line's rules (which are subject to change).
4) How do I get the better redemption rate offered on some Chase cards?
The upper left corner of the UR page will show you which card you are logged in with. If you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve or JPMR card, you will be shown a better price on points bookings, as a 1.5 redemption rate is offered as one of the benefits of this card. If you log in to the UR portal from a different UR card, such as the Ink, you will not be offered this rate.
4.5) How do Refunds Work?
When cancelling a booking (and a refund is due), points will be added back to your UR balance and dollars will be refunded to the credit card account used.
5) Where else can I find information?
This thread is a consolidated resource which covers topics including:
Fare buckets, here
Price differences between open market air fares and UR bookings, here
Selecting seat classes
Using cash and points to pay for tickets
and more.
The previous discussion, through 2017, can be found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...14-2017-a.html
In 2018 Chase changed the outsourced booking portal operator from Connexions to Expedia. Posts from January to mid-October 2018 have been archived to a separate thread. Those posts discussed the portal as operated by Connexions, -and- the transition process to Expedia.
There is another thread to discuss booking by transferring to airline of hotel programs: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...tc-2017-a.html
Pay special attention to booking via Chase UR/Expedia with regard to rewards and benefits. Chase UR + Expedia is considered OTA (Online Travel Agency). Travelers purchase or pre-pay travel with the OTA and is subject to the T&C from the OTA. In general, travelers receive miles rewards on flights, but do not receive night credit on hotel stays. Also, in general, travelers lose the airline or hotel status and do not receive the associated benefits (free breakfast, room upgrade etc).
1) How do I book a ticket? Choose my airfare class?
Login to ultimaterewards.com
Click: Use points > Explore and Book Travel
Click the button that defaults to [1 Traveler, All]
Change "Class" (the first entry in the pull-down) from All to Business
Click: Close
2) How far in advance can I book?
In mid-November 2017 it was reported that airline reservations are available only 270 days in advance. Read HERE.
3) How do I book hotels?
Follow the steps above to log on. There are standard looking search engines offered for airfare, hotel, etc at that point.
3.5) How to book cruises?
Chase outsources this to a travel agency specializing in cruises. (I believe they are available solely by telephone.) Agents there can book cruises for you using your URs for payments from initial deposit to final payment. It's also possible to transfer an existing cruise booking to that travel agency. That agency can then make payments (full or partial). However, to transfer a booking, there are some constraints to be aware of. A) The booking and deposit has to be made directly with the cruise line. If you use another agency, you're out of luck. B) The cruise lines limit the window when you can transfer a booking from their control to an agency's. It closes as early as 30 days after initial deposit up to final deposit due date (typically 75-120 prior to sail date) depending on the particular cruise line's rules (which are subject to change).
4) How do I get the better redemption rate offered on some Chase cards?
The upper left corner of the UR page will show you which card you are logged in with. If you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve or JPMR card, you will be shown a better price on points bookings, as a 1.5 redemption rate is offered as one of the benefits of this card. If you log in to the UR portal from a different UR card, such as the Ink, you will not be offered this rate.
4.5) How do Refunds Work?
When cancelling a booking (and a refund is due), points will be added back to your UR balance and dollars will be refunded to the credit card account used.
5) Where else can I find information?
This thread is a consolidated resource which covers topics including:
Fare buckets, here
Price differences between open market air fares and UR bookings, here
Selecting seat classes
Using cash and points to pay for tickets
and more.
The previous discussion, through 2017, can be found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...14-2017-a.html
Booking Flights, Rooms, Cars, Cruises, Activities through Chase/Expedia portal.
Jul 18, 2019, 7:34 pm
#437
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
Yes 4 business class seats international. I'm logged into chase.com and the online portal does show my reserve card which has all the UR points. So far, the first agent in the US priced it out just the way I see online but said he got same error I got online which is - Your flight just sold out. Then he conferenced in another agent from Manila (still seem to be a chase agent) and she gave fares about twice higher in dollar terms. She said that fares you see online or the fares the prior agent gave are no relevant since they cannot book those with delta airilnes. Any way out of this mess and have chase actuallly honor fares the publish online which are the same google flights shows too - thanks
Also this is for May 2020 which is more than 270 days from today but the website and the agent were able to pull all fares, just incorrect fares for those dates
if someone wants to help me and try my exact itinerary at their end, PM me and I can send it to you - thanks!
Also this is for May 2020 which is more than 270 days from today but the website and the agent were able to pull all fares, just incorrect fares for those dates
if someone wants to help me and try my exact itinerary at their end, PM me and I can send it to you - thanks!
Jul 19, 2019, 4:08 am
#438
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
Jul 19, 2019, 2:23 pm
#439
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
For reference only -
I believe I have figured out why Booking show so many more lodging options on independent property than Expedia / UR.
A lot of such properties while they want a credit card guaranteed, they only accept Cash Payment at the property at check in. This would most likely preclude UR type of bookings which would be paid with an Expedia credit card to the provider.
Hence if your destinations are of the less known places in the world, especially in many parts of Europe, Booking.com might be a better fit. You often pay less too. I am able to find an apartment that costs much less than the UR property even after the 1.5x. The more important factor is, the owners of Booking.com properties replied to the messages / requests put on your reservation very timely. While I never receive any communication from the property owners of the properties listed on UR. Some of them also are listed on Booking.com. I got a feeling they will respond if the message is from Booking.com booking, due to Booking.com not only has the mechanism, but also enforce communication flow..
Expedia / UR even has a place (limited to 250 characters) to allow you put in request / question at initial booking, there is never any reply at all. This is the more worrisome issue because you dont want to end up at the property and then find out the owner has no record of your reservation.
I believe I have figured out why Booking show so many more lodging options on independent property than Expedia / UR.
A lot of such properties while they want a credit card guaranteed, they only accept Cash Payment at the property at check in. This would most likely preclude UR type of bookings which would be paid with an Expedia credit card to the provider.
Hence if your destinations are of the less known places in the world, especially in many parts of Europe, Booking.com might be a better fit. You often pay less too. I am able to find an apartment that costs much less than the UR property even after the 1.5x. The more important factor is, the owners of Booking.com properties replied to the messages / requests put on your reservation very timely. While I never receive any communication from the property owners of the properties listed on UR. Some of them also are listed on Booking.com. I got a feeling they will respond if the message is from Booking.com booking, due to Booking.com not only has the mechanism, but also enforce communication flow..
Expedia / UR even has a place (limited to 250 characters) to allow you put in request / question at initial booking, there is never any reply at all. This is the more worrisome issue because you dont want to end up at the property and then find out the owner has no record of your reservation.
Jul 20, 2019, 12:37 am
#441
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,135
Go back several pages to read similar cases and how that were resolved. It is in this thread, at least 2 posters experienced such. Eventually the issues were "resolved" in a very round about way, but the posters were kept whole. You need to go back to the first quarter this year and read the posts.
Jul 20, 2019, 12:50 am
#442
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
It is in Jan or Feb period. I dont remember exact dates or post numbers. Go back to Jan period and start reading - several people have issues of various types. At least one poster kept seeing much higher airfares on UR portal when google flights / other OTA / airlines sites showed a lower fare and matched among these sites.
Jul 20, 2019, 12:53 am
#443
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,135
There is a simple two step solution that you can propose. The problem will be finding someone with the authority to authorize:
- You purchase the ticket on expedia.com with Sapphire Reserve.
- When the transaction posts you redeem UR points to offset the charge at the rate 66 per USD, exactly the same as if you had made the purchase though the Chase portal.
Jul 20, 2019, 1:12 am
#444
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,135
Alright I found some posts pointing to twitter team that can help you. Let me ask everybody this - expedia doesn't show the fares I need. Can I book an international airline reservation directly on delta.com and expect chase twitter team to credit back at 1.5 value - total airrfare cost is 11k for 4 people - thanks!
Jul 20, 2019, 12:05 pm
#445
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
Alright I found some posts pointing to twitter team that can help you. Let me ask everybody this - expedia doesn't show the fares I need. Can I book an international airline reservation directly on delta.com and expect chase twitter team to credit back at 1.5 value - total airrfare cost is 11k for 4 people - thanks!
Jul 20, 2019, 1:17 pm
#446
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
Jul 20, 2019, 1:19 pm
#447
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,135
Have there been any reported instances where chase would refund at 1.5 ratio for fares booked on delta.com or other airline carriers directly
Jul 22, 2019, 5:39 pm
#448
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 70
Went through all the posts and didn't find what I was looking for.
I booked an Avis Car Rental for Pickup at Tocumen (Panama City PTY) for 10 days. I paid with a mix of points and cash. The Chase Travel Itinerary does not give any breakdown of what you are paying for, just a "Trip Total" and the statement, "The total price includes all mandatory taxes and fees."
When picking up the rental, they would not give it to me until I paid an additional "12% Airport Fee" which they claimed was mandatory. After 15 minutes of arguing with the agent, I put the charge on my CSR and left it to deal with when I get back.
Now that I'm back, I have spent over an hour on the phone with Chase Travel trying to get them to send me the breakdown of what I paid in order to dispute Avis. They initially tried blowing me off stating that the Trip Total does not include all taxes and fees, despite the statement "The total price includes all mandatory taxes and fees." right next to the Trip Total on the itinerary.
I have filed a dispute with Chase for the "12% Airport Fee" and at this point am waiting to see if Avis accepts the Chargeback or if I need to fill out an affidavit with all my documentation.
My question to the group is, what could have I done when picking up the rental car or am I really at the mercy of the Avis Desk Agent? Since I had already pre-paid ~$500 for the rental, I couldn't just walk to the next kiosk for a rental.
I booked an Avis Car Rental for Pickup at Tocumen (Panama City PTY) for 10 days. I paid with a mix of points and cash. The Chase Travel Itinerary does not give any breakdown of what you are paying for, just a "Trip Total" and the statement, "The total price includes all mandatory taxes and fees."
When picking up the rental, they would not give it to me until I paid an additional "12% Airport Fee" which they claimed was mandatory. After 15 minutes of arguing with the agent, I put the charge on my CSR and left it to deal with when I get back.
Now that I'm back, I have spent over an hour on the phone with Chase Travel trying to get them to send me the breakdown of what I paid in order to dispute Avis. They initially tried blowing me off stating that the Trip Total does not include all taxes and fees, despite the statement "The total price includes all mandatory taxes and fees." right next to the Trip Total on the itinerary.
I have filed a dispute with Chase for the "12% Airport Fee" and at this point am waiting to see if Avis accepts the Chargeback or if I need to fill out an affidavit with all my documentation.
My question to the group is, what could have I done when picking up the rental car or am I really at the mercy of the Avis Desk Agent? Since I had already pre-paid ~$500 for the rental, I couldn't just walk to the next kiosk for a rental.
Jul 22, 2019, 5:56 pm
#449
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,147
Went through all the posts and didn't find what I was looking for.
I booked an Avis Car Rental for Pickup at Tocumen (Panama City PTY) for 10 days. I paid with a mix of points and cash. The Chase Travel Itinerary does not give any breakdown of what you are paying for, just a "Trip Total" and the statement, "The total price includes all mandatory taxes and fees."
When picking up the rental, they would not give it to me until I paid an additional "12% Airport Fee" which they claimed was mandatory. After 15 minutes of arguing with the agent, I put the charge on my CSR and left it to deal with when I get back.
Now that I'm back, I have spent over an hour on the phone with Chase Travel trying to get them to send me the breakdown of what I paid in order to dispute Avis. They initially tried blowing me off stating that the Trip Total does not include all taxes and fees, despite the statement "The total price includes all mandatory taxes and fees." right next to the Trip Total on the itinerary.
I have filed a dispute with Chase for the "12% Airport Fee" and at this point am waiting to see if Avis accepts the Chargeback or if I need to fill out an affidavit with all my documentation.
My question to the group is, what could have I done when picking up the rental car or am I really at the mercy of the Avis Desk Agent? Since I had already pre-paid ~$500 for the rental, I couldn't just walk to the next kiosk for a rental.
I booked an Avis Car Rental for Pickup at Tocumen (Panama City PTY) for 10 days. I paid with a mix of points and cash. The Chase Travel Itinerary does not give any breakdown of what you are paying for, just a "Trip Total" and the statement, "The total price includes all mandatory taxes and fees."
When picking up the rental, they would not give it to me until I paid an additional "12% Airport Fee" which they claimed was mandatory. After 15 minutes of arguing with the agent, I put the charge on my CSR and left it to deal with when I get back.
Now that I'm back, I have spent over an hour on the phone with Chase Travel trying to get them to send me the breakdown of what I paid in order to dispute Avis. They initially tried blowing me off stating that the Trip Total does not include all taxes and fees, despite the statement "The total price includes all mandatory taxes and fees." right next to the Trip Total on the itinerary.
I have filed a dispute with Chase for the "12% Airport Fee" and at this point am waiting to see if Avis accepts the Chargeback or if I need to fill out an affidavit with all my documentation.
My question to the group is, what could have I done when picking up the rental car or am I really at the mercy of the Avis Desk Agent? Since I had already pre-paid ~$500 for the rental, I couldn't just walk to the next kiosk for a rental.
Sometimes these "Trip Total" fees are really only a "Subtotal."
Last edited by 747FC; Jul 22, 2019 at 11:56 pm Reason: grammar
Jul 22, 2019, 7:10 pm
#450
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
I would also add that even you booked with Avis direct, the breakdown of taxes and fees may not be correct or inclusive.
On one rental for pick up at JNB, I noticed the Avis website gave me an exceeding low taxes that I suspected it has missed to include some items. At pick up the agent gave me the total that was 10% higher so we went over the reservation - she immediately found the discrepancy - that Avis website did not include a VAT type of charge completely.
On another situation I booked with Enterprise for pick up ad Adana, Turkey. At the counter they had a very hard time on the reservation, claiming they had to call their office in Istanbul, etc etc. We wasted 30 min and still no answer. So we walked to Avis next counter - where the Avis agent saw the rental rate, immediately said it was wrong - NOBODY would offer such low rate...
Mistakes on rental car websites are frequent based on our experiences, when it is for foreign rental. In your case booking with Chase, I would make a dummy booking on the same rental car company site and compare the rate and taxes/fees, just to make sure the amounts are similar.
You may have a good chance to get this extra amount eaten by Chase, but you should also bear in mind, even the rental car's own site has disclaimer, just like 747FC said, the total fee is only a subtotal. Trust me, read the fine prints of the T&Cs of the reservation you will find such languages.
On one rental for pick up at JNB, I noticed the Avis website gave me an exceeding low taxes that I suspected it has missed to include some items. At pick up the agent gave me the total that was 10% higher so we went over the reservation - she immediately found the discrepancy - that Avis website did not include a VAT type of charge completely.
On another situation I booked with Enterprise for pick up ad Adana, Turkey. At the counter they had a very hard time on the reservation, claiming they had to call their office in Istanbul, etc etc. We wasted 30 min and still no answer. So we walked to Avis next counter - where the Avis agent saw the rental rate, immediately said it was wrong - NOBODY would offer such low rate...
Mistakes on rental car websites are frequent based on our experiences, when it is for foreign rental. In your case booking with Chase, I would make a dummy booking on the same rental car company site and compare the rate and taxes/fees, just to make sure the amounts are similar.
You may have a good chance to get this extra amount eaten by Chase, but you should also bear in mind, even the rental car's own site has disclaimer, just like 747FC said, the total fee is only a subtotal. Trust me, read the fine prints of the T&Cs of the reservation you will find such languages.