My First “New” Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Redemption Blew My Mind

There’s… a lot… of coverage surrounding the revamped Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. As per usual these days, the hot takes are plentiful and people are fired up. It’s either the apocalypse or the beginning of something great, depending on which attention seeker you read. As a long time cardholder, I’m really intrigued by the new changes.

The changes really fit my profile and sure, the card will cost more, but I won’t have to introduce any behavior change to get more, unlike some other cards. I’ll do most of my spending on this card. I’m a keeper just from the fee credit and earning multipliers.

But what about the redemption of points?

Well, if my first Chase Sapphire Reserve redemption is any indicator, this card may single handedly change the redemption game and just about everyone should take note — including airline and hotel transfer partners. It’s already a huge win.

Insane Value ‘Points Boost’ Hotel Redemption

Chase Travel’s ‘The Edit’ is a curated selection of nice hotels, which offer benefits similar to those provided by a travel agent or other luxury credit card booking platform. When booking a ‘The Edit’ property, you can expect breakfast for two, a $100 F&B credit, late check out and an upgrade subject to availability.

Which leads me to the important bit! With the revamped Sapphire Reserve Card, there’s a new “Points Boost” feature, which offers up to two cents per point (25,000 points would cover $500, etc) for some flight or hotel purchases.

This can be amazing value, with flights of $3,000 being grabbed for just 150,000 points, with no taxes and fees and the ability to still earn frequent flyer miles and elite status points, since the airline treats it like a cash ticket.

Previously, the Sapphire Reserve card offered a steady point redemption opportunity directly on Chase Travel at 1.5 cents per point (100,000 points would cover $1500, etc). But with the new version, some travel purchases you want to redeem for will either offer less value than before, the same, or more, with this new ‘Points Boost’ at 2 cents per point. We like more!

Hotel Benefits On A Points Redemption?!

I am in New York and wanted to do a little staycation, so I fired up Chase Travel and found one of my more reliable upper mid-scale hotels, The Thompson Central Park was on as part of ‘The Edit’. My two options became a very clear singular, third option.

Typically, I’d consider paying cash or transferring my points from Chase to Hyatt to pay for a stay like this. Hyatt has “fixed” points rates, meaning the points price is largely irrespective of the cash price and only changes by seasonal dates. For this season, it was 25,000 points per night for the Thompson Central Park.

If I were to transfer my points, I’d get a free night (the cash rate was around $500) and have a really solid points redemption at exactly two cents per point. I’m not loyal to any hotel chain really, so I wouldn’t get any breakfast or “elite” benefits, but a free night is a free night.

BUT — Chase Travel had a ‘Points Boost’ option to book the hotel directly on their platform and not transfer points to Hyatt. Chase Travel was offering this property for circa 25,000 points and that would cover the $500 cash rate, but unlike transferring points to Hyatt, because I was redeeming a ‘The Edit’ property on Chase Travel, I’d receive…

• $100 F&B credit
• Breakfast for two
• Room Upgrade
• Late Check-out
• Ability to still earn points and nights with Hyatt

Yep, by NOT transferring my points (and dealing with the fractured transfer journey) I was able to get myself basically $200 in additional value added to my stay with the breakfast and $100 property credit, not factoring in the value of late check out or a category room upgrade. In addition, I’ll be able to earn elite nights and Hyatt Points on the stay.

A mere 25,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points got me a “free” $500 hotel night, breakfast for two, and $100 to spend at the hotel. That’s a pretty stunning redemption, giving more than two cents per point of value and still allowing me to earn on the stay, unlike when you transfer your points to a loyalty program. I wish I could’ve stayed longer.

For the first time I can remember, transferring points to Hyatt was not the best option here and that’s something to stand up and take notice of.

If Chase can keep up this Points Boost game, it can really send ripples through rewards. For the first time, people can easily receive tremendous value for their points through a credit card portal while still earning elite status and points with the hotel or airline of their choosing.

You can check out the new 100,000 point + 500 travel credit offer for the Sapphire Reserve. It’s 200,000 points for Sapphire Reserve Business Cards.