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 Posts from January to mid-October 2018 have been archived to a separate thread.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.
Sep 1, 2019, 2:41 pm
#511
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: CMI, ORD, NYC
Programs: AA Plat
Posts: 92
SighseeMC, thank you so much for taking the time to explain this and give me your point of view . Another perk I thought I read about .... travel insurance . What is this all about or how does it work ? We rarely fly anywhere .
Also, since there are 4 of us , how does the priority pass access work ? Our home airport is DEN.
i got it for the travel insurance alone. The protection kicks in after just 6hrs of delay.
Ive used it to claim Uber back home and then to the airport, or to and from the hotel if in a connecting city, meals, toiletries, clothing if my bags are delayed etc.
and since I’m based in Chicago, at least 2 of my flights every year are delayed significantly requiring an overnight stay somewhere. So not counting the value of the other perks, and averaging $250 per delay requiring a hotel, I come out $350 ahead ($450 fee - 2($250) - $300 travel credit).
Sep 1, 2019, 3:02 pm
#512
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 5
Or you can pay the $75 extra for your spouse as an authorized user on the Reserve card, that person then receives his or her own Priority Pass. Then you both get two additional people to access the lounges. You just have to determine if the extra $75 annually makes sense for you.
Sep 1, 2019, 4:42 pm
#513
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 11,205
CUR is the airport code for Curacao. Would recommend changing the title and post as it is confusing. It took me 2 reads to realise you were referring to Chase Ultimate Rewards.
I also am unclear what you are trying to do. So DEN to LIH is 3090 USD... and the points are from where? And how does BA factor into this?
I also am unclear what you are trying to do. So DEN to LIH is 3090 USD... and the points are from where? And how does BA factor into this?
Sep 1, 2019, 4:52 pm
#514
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 77
CUR is the airport code for Curacao. Would recommend changing the title and post as it is confusing. It took me 2 reads to realise you were referring to Chase Ultimate Rewards.
I also am unclear what you are trying to do. So DEN to LIH is 3090 USD... and the points are from where? And how does BA factor into this?
I also am unclear what you are trying to do. So DEN to LIH is 3090 USD... and the points are from where? And how does BA factor into this?
Sep 1, 2019, 5:32 pm
#515
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,656
What are the exact dates of the flights you are referring to? If you just want to use Chase UR points through the Chase travel portal, there's no need to transfer anything anywhere.
Sep 1, 2019, 5:37 pm
#516
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,405
OP you should familiarize yourself with Chase UR redemptions via their portal vs via transferring to airline partners. They are very different.
Sep 1, 2019, 5:54 pm
#517
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 77
Thanks but I’m aware of that . I’m doing the comparison of buying through Chase and comparing to the points required through Chase’s travel partners . I received some very good advice on another forum to take the total cost Chase is asking for flights I like and dividing it by the points an airline is asking to find the better value .
OP has also posted a similar question in the BA forum: Not finding DEN?
Last edited by JY1024; Sep 1, 2019 at 7:23 pm Reason: Merged consecutive posts - please use multi-quote feature
Sep 1, 2019, 6:39 pm
#518
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,656
We can't evaluate what kinds of awards you're looking at unless you tell us what dates/flights they are and where you're seeing them. If you're finding award availability for your preferred AA flights on ba.com, then you would need to transfer over however many points ba.com tells you to, and then simply book on ba.com. But if you want the community's help, you gotta specify the flights so we can help unscramble the omelet of your first post.
Sep 1, 2019, 6:56 pm
#519
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 77
We can't evaluate what kinds of awards you're looking at unless you tell us what dates/flights they are and where you're seeing them. If you're finding award availability for your preferred AA flights on ba.com, then you would need to transfer over however many points ba.com tells you to, and then simply book on ba.com. But if you want the community's help, you gotta specify the flights so we can help unscramble the omelet of your first post.
Sep 1, 2019, 7:07 pm
#520
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,505
I am looking at 4 RT flights from DEN to LIH leaving at 8:01 am on July 13 and returning July 20 departing LIH at 11:00 pm. Thanks in advance . I am glad to know that “if” these flights show up on British Airways, the exact miles American Airlines is charging is exactly how many I would have to transfer to BA .
BA Avios can only redeemed for "MileSAAver" award seats that you find on aa.com; Avios cannot be redeemed for "AAnytime" seats on AA. And connections are not free with BA Avios; BA charges separately for each flight flown.
Sep 1, 2019, 7:22 pm
#521
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Wisconsin
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Delta PM
Posts: 323
You're in DEN, and you're going to Hawaii....is this a route you can do with frequent flier miles from United? Or with points on Southwest? Denver should have decent connectivity on both of those airlines, and you can transfer to those programs from Chase UR (and beef up your balance in that program if you get a bonus on the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve).
Sep 1, 2019, 7:33 pm
#522
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,413
Welcome to FlyerTalk, coloradotraveler! 
Looks like a fun trip you’re trying to line up. Unfortunately, it appears that you’re conflating several of the nuances of award redemptions and transferring points from Chase UR. A few quick things...
[moderator hat on]
- A general guideline is that threads on FT should live based on the “currency” you’re using. As others have intimated, if you’re planning on using BA “currency,” then the number of miles needed for AA redemptions is not relevant.
- As your query here is really not about redeeming AA miles, but more about getting the most value and flexibility out of your UR points, I’m going to move this over to Chase forum for the experts there to chime in.
Best of luck!
JY1024, AAdvantage forum co-moderator
Looks like a fun trip you’re trying to line up. Unfortunately, it appears that you’re conflating several of the nuances of award redemptions and transferring points from Chase UR. A few quick things...
[moderator hat on]
- A general guideline is that threads on FT should live based on the “currency” you’re using. As others have intimated, if you’re planning on using BA “currency,” then the number of miles needed for AA redemptions is not relevant.
- As your query here is really not about redeeming AA miles, but more about getting the most value and flexibility out of your UR points, I’m going to move this over to Chase forum for the experts there to chime in.
Best of luck!
JY1024, AAdvantage forum co-moderator
Sep 1, 2019, 7:41 pm
#523
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,505
Iberia is also a Chase UR transfer partner. If you can find MileSAAver seats on AA metal (not AS metal which can also show up on an aa.com award search) for a routing with a roundtrip mileage of under 8,000 flown miles, Iberia would charge just 42,000 Iberia Plus Avios for those seats.
Note, however, that there have been recent problems with booking AA award flights at Iberia's website, and all Iberia redemptions for AA flights are non-changeable/non-refundable. Whether it's worth it to you in order to save 30,000 UR points is something only you can decide.
Also, if you can find low-tier award seats for the roundtrip on UA flights, your best UR transfer option would probably be Singapore Airlines' KrisFlyer program, which charges just 35,000 miles for a Mainland-Hawaii roundtrip on UA.
Note, however, that there have been recent problems with booking AA award flights at Iberia's website, and all Iberia redemptions for AA flights are non-changeable/non-refundable. Whether it's worth it to you in order to save 30,000 UR points is something only you can decide.
Also, if you can find low-tier award seats for the roundtrip on UA flights, your best UR transfer option would probably be Singapore Airlines' KrisFlyer program, which charges just 35,000 miles for a Mainland-Hawaii roundtrip on UA.
Sep 1, 2019, 7:55 pm
#524
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 77
Welcome to FlyerTalk, coloradotraveler!
Looks like a fun trip you’re trying to line up. Unfortunately, it appears that you’re conflating several of the nuances of award redemptions and transferring points from Chase UR. A few quick things...
[moderator hat on]
- A general guideline is that threads on FT should live based on the “currency” you’re using. As others have intimated, if you’re planning on using BA “currency,” then the number of miles needed for AA redemptions is not relevant.
- As your query here is really not about redeeming AA miles, but more about getting the most value and flexibility out of your UR points, I’m going to move this over to Chase forum for the experts there to chime in.
Best of luck!
JY1024, AAdvantage forum co-moderator
Looks like a fun trip you’re trying to line up. Unfortunately, it appears that you’re conflating several of the nuances of award redemptions and transferring points from Chase UR. A few quick things...
[moderator hat on]
- A general guideline is that threads on FT should live based on the “currency” you’re using. As others have intimated, if you’re planning on using BA “currency,” then the number of miles needed for AA redemptions is not relevant.
- As your query here is really not about redeeming AA miles, but more about getting the most value and flexibility out of your UR points, I’m going to move this over to Chase forum for the experts there to chime in.
Best of luck!
JY1024, AAdvantage forum co-moderator
When you redeem one airline's points/miles for travel on a partner carrier, you pay the first airline's redemption rates, not the rates of the airline on which you actually fly.
BA Avios can only redeemed for "MileSAAver" award seats that you find on aa.com; Avios cannot be redeemed for "AAnytime" seats on AA. And connections are not free with BA Avios; BA charges separately for each flight flown.
BA Avios can only redeemed for "MileSAAver" award seats that you find on aa.com; Avios cannot be redeemed for "AAnytime" seats on AA. And connections are not free with BA Avios; BA charges separately for each flight flown.
Sep 1, 2019, 7:59 pm
#525
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Intermountain West
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 12,065
I’m doing my research on 4 RT flights from DEN to LIH next summer to compare how Chase travel compares to their airline partners. I found some flights on American Airlines worth 198,000 pts and the Chase cost is $3090.40 for the exact flights. The cpp then is 1.5. So if I decided to book these flights, would I transfer approximately 198,000 points from CUR to BritishAirways? And is 198,000 points how many Chase points I would need to buy these AA flights? I’m still new at this. Thanks!
I've merged your posts into the appropriate thread. Please read the wikipost at the top of the page and then come back with more questions.
We have a lot of helpful and intelligent members.
Good luck on your searches.
Last edited by philemer; Sep 1, 2019 at 8:22 pm
