From international business class to domestic hops: 6 of the best Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots

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If you know the best ways to use Chase Ultimate rewards points, they can be one of the most valuable currency pairs.

Many people start with an Ultimate Reward-earning card when they first get into points and miles, because Chase doesn't have as many transfer partners. The restrictions on credit card applications are the main reason for that.

Many readers are more likely to have Ultimate rewards points if they have a good beginner-friendly card.

If you don't have a card that earns points, now is the time to apply. If you spend $4,000 in the first three months of opening your account, you'll get a bonus of 80,000 bonus points.

Chase Ultimate rewards can be redeemed for maximum value.

The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card from Chase offers a welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Reward points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Chase cards have bonuses when you redeem your points through Ultimate rewards. The program has various airline and hotel transfer partners. We will show you some of the best Chase sweet spots to maximize your redemption.

Top-tier Hyatt hotels

Chase has a good relationship with World of Hyatt.

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The World of Hyatt award chart is cheap compared to other award charts. It is easy to book Hyatt's top-tier properties at reasonable rates.

If you can travel outside holiday periods and spring break, you can find great value at many hotels.

You can book some of the fanciest Park Hyatt properties in the entire portfolio, including the Park Hyatt New York and Park HyattSydney, which can be booked for 35,000 points per night during off-peak dates. 35,000 points are worth $700 because of the value of 2 cents per point. Even though demand is low, hotels that sell for close to $1,000 still sell for that much.

The Hyatt award chart has a lot of value. The category 1 hotels range from 3,500 to 65000 points per night. You will usually get the most outsize returns from Category 6 properties.

You can earn points with the World of Hyatt program.

Iberia flights to Madrid

British Airways is associated with theAvios currency. It is possible to find a better value for flights to Europe with its sister airline. If you take longer routes or connect flights, you could be punished. You can get a lot of flights with Iberia.

The chart shows the award rates for flights from the US to Madrid.

You can fly from Boston, Chicago and New York for as little as 34,000 Avios in economy, 51,000 in premium Economy or 68,000 in business. Most airlines charge about 60,000 miles for a one-way business class award to Europe, so you're getting a 50% discount. It is possible to pay for a positioning flight to one of these cities with this deal.

You can still get a great deal even if you fly from Miami International Airport.

• Economy: 42,500 Avios.
• Premium economy: 63,500 Avios.
• Business: 85,000 Avios.

You have to fly during off-peak times to get the lowest prices. If any of the dates work for you, take a look at the calendar. All other dates are off-peak.

You can save tens of thousands of miles and hundreds of dollars in taxes and fees if you book through Iberia.

A business class award from New York to Madrid will cost you $200 in taxes. If you booked the same award using British Airways, you would pay the same amount of money, but you would have to pay taxes and fees as well.

Fuel surcharges on award travel are related.

Flights to Hawaii with Alaska and American

You have to take a minute to understand that flights to Europe are one of the worst uses of British Airways. If you want to go to Hawaii, you can find a great deal on flights.

American Airlines and Alaska Airlines are Oneworld partners. If your nonstop flight distance is less than 3000 miles each way, you can fly from any of the following West Coast gateways to Hawaii for less than 30,000 miles.

All of Hawaii's most popular destinations can be reached from these airports. British Airways now offers American and Alaska award tickets.

There are over 30 daily nonstop flights from the West Coast to Hawaii that you can choose from.

British Airways has a partner award program.

ANA flights with Virgin Atlantic

If you want to fly on a specific Star Alliance airline, you should focus on Virgin Atlantic instead of both United and Singapore.

It is not a member of any of the major alliances yet but it has formed partnerships with many airlines. One of the best places to find an award is the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

It is possible to fly from the West Coast to Tokyo in first class. The flights from other U.S. gateways cost more. United requires more than 100,000 miles for a one-way ticket. You can save 50% by booking through Virgin Atlantic and score a seat in one of the most luxurious first class products.

Depending on your US departure airport, flights in business class can cost as much as 100,000 miles. It is possible to fly ANA's new industry-leading "The Room" business class through New York, but only on certain routes. It is relatively easy to find space if you are flexible with your dates.

Virgin Atlantic began offering one-way awards on ANA flights in the early 2020s. The mileage requirements are not as high for one-way bookings.

How to find and book Virgin Atlantic partners.

Or, transfer to Virgin Atlantic to book Delta One to Europe

Transferring your Chase points to Virgin Atlantic and booking Delta One business-class seats to Europe for 100,000 points round trip with no taxes or fees is also possible. You will pay more points for connecting tickets since the program charges per leg for Delta flights, but this pricing is valid on all of Delta's U.S.-to- Europe routes outside of the U.K.

Delta awards can be booked with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

If you want the best value, you should fly nonstop.

On Virgin Atlantic's website, you can book these flights. You may need to call to book your flight because the search tool can be a bit flawed. If you want to verify award space, you can use the award search function.

There is a sample flight from Boston to CDG.

Delta SkyMiles charges much more for similar routes. Skymiles are required for the same flight on the same day.

Delta One Suites is a business class product that can be used to book tickets on Delta routes. You get a true suite in the sky with a closing door. It's an excellent way to travel from the US to Europe.

The Delta Air Lines premium seats were ranked from best to worst.

Save points by choosing the right Star Alliance program

Have you ever wondered why Chase Ultimate rewards are more valuable than points from any other airline or hotel? The flexibility they offer gives them immense value. It also includes the flexibility to book flights on different airlines in different alliances, as well as the ability to pick which program in a single alliance will get you the best value.

Air Canada Aeroplan is one of the Star Alliance loyalty programs that you can access with Chase Ultimate rewards points.

You can check out our guide for a walk-through of which Star Alliance program to use to book different types of awards, but here are a few examples of how you can pit these three programs against each other.

Flights to Hawaii

The old award chart shows a round-trip economy saver award from the U.S. mainland to Hawaii starting at about 45,000 miles. The same ticket in Singapore costs 39,000 miles.

There are ways to get to Hawaii.

Star Alliance premium cabins

When it comes to Star Alliance flights, United charges higher award rates than other alliance partners. You can use United miles to book these tickets for 60,000 miles each way.

United and Air Canada don't pass on fuel surcharges on partner awards. You can save money by booking with one of the Star Alliance programs that add these charges.

Short-haul flights to Canada

Dynamic pricing for Air Canada flights was added by Aeroplan. You can find cheap tickets from the US to Canada. It is possible to book New York to Toronto for less than 6,000 miles one-way. The 13,800 miles United charges for the same flight is much more expensive than this.

Before you transfer your points to another Star Alliance program, make sure you check out both options.

Star Alliance award tickets are not a good idea.

Bottom line

Ultimate rewards points are one of the most valuable and versatile points currencies because of the many ways they can be redeemed. Transfer partners can help you get and stay there if you want to travel domestically or internationally. If you want to experience a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Chase has you covered.

These redemptions are some of the best that can be found, but they are just the beginning. You can get great value out of your Ultimate rewards points by playing your cards right.

Additional reporting was done by Andrew Kunesh.