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The Chase Sapphire Reserve remaining one of the most popular travel cards out there. Most seasoned travel hackers have used the sign-up bonus for some seriously impressive premium travel experiences. When I have 50,000 – 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points laying around, my initial thought it how I can maximize it for business class travel. While that’s certainly a great way to put the sign-up bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve to use, you can also get lots of value by redeeming them for hotel bookings. Here are a few ways to spend the Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus on hotels:
Hyatt All-inclusive on Points
While all-inclusive resorts are most often equated with subpar food and accommodations, Hyatt is turning that perception around. Hyatt has all-inclusive resorts in Los Cabos, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Montego Bay, and (coming in November 2019) Punta Cana. A free night ranges from 20,000 – 25,000 points per night for a standard room. That means the sign-up bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve will cover two free nights at any Hyatt all-inclusive property. Considering paid rates can easily top $550, that is a bargain. Especially since it covers meals and entertainment in addition to rooms.
Redeem Points for a Hotel in the Maldives
Is anyone else annoyed with all the “celebrities in the Maldives” stories on the Yahoo homepage? I am, but only because I’m jealous I’m not over there. If you’ve got a case of FOMO but don’t feel like shelling out $1,000 a night for a hotel in the Maldives, you can put your Chase Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus to use instead. A free night in a beach villa is just 25,000 points. That’s an incredible bargain! Of course, you’re still on the hook for meals and spa treatments, but this definitely leaves a little more room in your budget to #treatyoself.
IHG PointBreaks
If you’re a bargain hunter, chances are you’re aware of IHG PointBreaks. IHG releases a list of hotels that can be booked for as little as 5,000 points per night. Regardless of whether you end up a the Intercontinental Tahiti or a the Holiday Inn O’Hare, you’re getting lots of bang for your points. With the sign-up bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can book up to 11 free hotel nights through IHG Pointbreaks. See, you don’t always have to book the fanciest hotel to get lots of value of your points.
Marriott Hotel Bookings
I get it, we’re all mad at Marriott for destroying our beloved SPG program and replacing it with at the unfortunately-named Bonvoy program. But the new program still offers some cheap redemptions that can make the sign-up bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve go quite a long way. For example, with 54,000 points you can book up to 7 free nights:
- 7 free nights at a Category 1 Marriott hotel
- 4 free nights at a Category 2 Marriott hotel
- 3 free nights at a Category 3 Marriott hotel
- 2 free nights at a Category 4 or 5 Marriott hotel
- 1 free night at Category 6 Marriott hotel
With off-peak pricing kicking in this year, your points may go further, depending on when you redeem them.
Book Hotels Through the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal
The Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal is hands down my favorite feature of the program. Sure, I get lots of value by transferring my points to United and Southwest, but the UR portal can be a great place to score deals on hotels. I have frequently found rates at the Hyatt Zika Los Cabos around $250 or less. Before I transfer any points to a hotel partner, I always check the portal and often find paid and point rates well below what the hotel website offers.
Recently, I was researching hotels in New York for next month. One of the hotels on my list was the W Union Square. It’s going for $247 per night, or 60,000 Marriott points. The Ultimate Rewards travel portal is offering the same room for just 19,000 points per night. And while I definitely wasn’t going to transfer 60,000 points to Marriott for a free night, this just illustrates how much you can save by redeeming points for hotels directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal. The 54,000 point sign-up bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve is worth around $750 towards UR travel bookings.
My philosophy has always been to redeem points when they save you money. If that means a 2-night all-inclusive hotel booking over a business class seat across the Atlantic, then so be it. That being said, I’d love to know if you’ve redeemed your Ultimate Rewards points for hotel bookings before. Please share in the comment section!
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Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
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- Earn 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new Card in the first 3 months.†
- Earn 15,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 15,000 bonus miles after you reach $30,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in the calendar year.
- Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
- Settle into your seat sooner with Priority Boarding and enjoy 20% savings on eligible in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you spend overseas.‡
- Complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access.‡
- Terms and limitations apply
- See Rates & Fees
Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
| FTG Review | Reward Breakdown | Points Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
Breakdown
Earn (pt.)
Spend
3 months
0
$3,000
Per dollar on eligible purchases with Delta Purchases
2.00
$1
All Purchases
1.00
$1
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