When to Use and Skip Chase Sapphire Reserve's Points Boost

Overview of the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

October has come and gone, which means legacy Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders finally received a suite of new benefits and a higher $795 annual fee first announced this summer. While most of the card’s previous features remained intact, one major benefit changed significantly. Namely, Points Boost replaced the ability to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents apiece through Chase Travel. The new feature can theoretically provide up to 2 cents per point in value on Chase Travel bookings, though other bookings get just 1 cent per point in value.

As such, Points Boost is a win for some bookings but a significant loss for others. Let’s explore when Points Boost is a better deal than the previous 1.5-cents-per-point redemption rate — and when it isn’t.

Key Features of the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is Chase’s recently refreshed premium travel credit card, offering high-end perks like airport lounge access, various travel and lifestyle statement credits, and high earning rates on travel and dining expenses. The welcome bonus offer is worth $2,500.

On the points-earning side, the card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points at the following rates:

• Earn 8 points per $1 spent on travel booked with Chase Travel
• Earn 5 points per $1 spent on eligible Lyft rides through September 30, 2027
• Earn 4 points per $1 spent on flights and hotels booked directly
• Earn 3 points per $1 spent on dining worldwide
• Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card gives you access to Sapphire Lounges by The Club and select Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges when you fly with a Star Alliance airline like United or Lufthansa. It also includes a Priority Pass Select membership upon enrollment, which provides access to over 1,300 lounges worldwide.

Finally, its suite of included statement credits helps offset the card’s high $795 annual fee. These include a $300 annual travel credit, $300 in annual StubHub credit, and $500 in annual hotel credits with The Edit, and others.

Understanding Points Boost

In June 2025, Points Boost was introduced across all Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, offering variable redemption rates on Chase Travel bookings:

• Up to 2 cents per point for premium airline tickets or hotels with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card or the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠
• Up to 1.75 cents per point for premium airline tickets and up to 1.5 cents per point on hotels and other participating airlines with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Ink Business Preferred® Card

Today, we’re highlighting the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, historically known for its reliable 1.5-cent-per-point redemption rate through Chase Travel. With the new Points Boost feature, that predictable flat rate is replaced by the opportunity to “earn up to 2 cents per point” on select Chase Travel bookings.

In practice, we’ve seen Points Boost redemptions range from roughly 1.1 to 2 cents per point in value. Bookings that are not eligible for Points Boost get just 1 cent per point in value, with some exceptions for those who earned Ultimate Rewards points before the feature was introduced.

Points Boost Rates for Flights

Chase Travel offers Points Boost fares on several airlines, including Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, which are all Chase co-brand partners. I’ve found that Points Boost rates for these carriers range from 1.1 to 1.5 cents per point for economy fares and 1.75 to 2 cents per point in value for premium cabins.

For example, I searched Chase Travel for one-way flights from New York City to Washington, D.C., and toggled the Points Boost only filter. This United flight from Newark (EWR) to Washington, D.C. (DCA) offers 1.5 cents per point in value for standard economy fares and a whopping 2 cents per point towards a first-class ticket — the same or better than the old redemption rate.

Likewise, this one-way Southwest flight from Las Vegas (LAS) to Seattle (SEA) has Points Boost fares that give you approximately 1.5 cents per point in value when you book Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra fares through Chase Travel.

But not all Points Boost redemptions are this good. This United flight from Newark (EWR) to London Heathrow (LHR) costs $782 or 66,910 Ultimate Rewards points and yields just over 1.1 cents per point in value.

Whether you should use Points Boost for flights depends on the flight you want to book and the value you receive per point. Personally, I would avoid redeeming Ultimate Rewards at less than 1.5 cents per point. However, I wouldn’t hesitate to book through Points Boost at 1.75 or 2 cents per point.

Hot Tip: Note that basic economy tickets do not qualify for Points Boost on any airline. Instead, basic economy redemptions get just 1 cent per point in value.

Points Boost Rates for Hotel Stays

You can also find Points Boost rates for hotels, but the value you get from these redemptions varies. In our testing, we found that luxury hotels with high cash rates in Chase’s The Edit program tend to get the most value from Points Boost. Most hotels that fit these criteria get 2 cents per point in value with Points Boost.

For example, next May, 2 nights at The St. Regis Washington D.C. cost $1,064 after taxes and fees. Alternatively, you could book with Points Boost and spend 53,221 Ultimate Rewards points for 2 cents per point in value. Since this hotel is a member of The Edit, you’d also get on-site perks like complimentary breakfast, space-available room upgrades, and a $100 property credit.

You’d get similar value on this weekend stay at the Park Hyatt Chicago, another hotel with The Edit, next June. This 2-night stay costs $1,416 after taxes and fees, or you can spend 70,793 Ultimate Rewards points for the same room. As with the St. Regis above, this redemption yields a value of 2 cents per point.

But don’t expect to get 2 cents per point on all Points Boost hotel bookings. Next July, a 2-night stay at the Holiday Inn Express London Southwark costs $866 on this example date. With Points Boost, you could redeem 49,478 Ultimate Rewards points for 1.75 cents per point in value.

During my testing, I found that most Points Boost hotel bookings got between 1.65 and 2 cents per point in value, which is actually better than the previous redemption rate of 1.5 cents per point. However, it’s important to note that you only get these high redemption rates if you book hotels that are specifically marketed as Points Boost-eligible.

Hot Tip: Most stays with The Edit are eligible for loyalty benefits, which means that you earn hotel points and elite nights even though you’re booking through Chase Travel. If you have elite status, you may also be eligible to use your benefits during your stay. Generally, hotel stays booked through a third-party do not qualify for points earning.

What if Points Boost Rates Aren’t Available for My Booking?

At first glance, Points Boost appears to be a significant benefit for Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders. All the Points Boost hotels I found offered more than 1.5 cents per point in value, and many of the flights I found provided between 1.5 and 2 cents per point.

And that’s a great value if you only book Points Boost flights and hotels. However, if your booking is not Points Boost-eligible, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card redeems points at a rate of just 1 cent per point. That’s significantly less than our Ultimate Rewards valuation of 2 cents per point.

This is a problem if you’re loyal to American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, or Delta Air Lines, as these airlines do not participate in Points Boost. Likewise, most international airlines do not participate in Points Boost.

The same goes for hotels. If you want to book a hotel that doesn’t participate in Points Boost, you get just 1 cent per point in value booking through Chase Travel.

This being said, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s move to Points Boost is an excellent value in some ways and a poor value in others. Redeeming points through Chase Travel is less predictable with Points Boost, but you may be able to get more value from your points if you book certain flights or hotels.

Use Chase’s Transfer Partners Instead

Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to 14 partner loyalty programs, including 3 hotel programs and 11 airline programs. Doing this lets you leverage redemption sweet spots in these partner programs, which can often yield over 2 cents per point in value.

On the hotel side, I like transferring Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt, as it has a fixed award chart with free nights starting at 3,500 points per night on off-peak nights. For example, you can book a 1-night stay at the brand new Hyatt Place Krakow in Poland for 3,500 points at the end of April. This same stay costs $91.62 after taxes and fees, giving you 3 cents per point in value.

Switching our focus to flights, my favorite transfer partners for getting outsize value include Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and The British Airways Club. For example, you can book this round-trip business class ticket from Boston (BOS) to Frankfurt (FRA), Germany, for 120,000 Aeroplan points and $244 in taxes and fees.

These same flights cost roughly $6,040 through Chase Travel, giving you 4.83 cents per Ultimate Rewards point in value when you transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan to book. Meanwhile, these flights aren’t eligible for Points Boost, so you’d have to redeem a staggering 603,983 points to cover the total cost of the flight through Chase Travel.

These are just a couple of examples of how you can get incredible value from your Ultimate Rewards points by transferring them to partner programs. For more inspiration, read our complete guide to the best Ultimate Rewards redemptions.

You Can Redeem (Some) Points at 1.5 Cents Through October 2027

It’s worth noting that existing Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem points earned before October 25, 2025, at the old rate of 1.5 cents per point through Chase Travel until October 26, 2027. In other words, points earned before the transition can be redeemed at the old rate, while newly earned points cannot.

You can view the number of points that you can redeem at 1.5 cents per point by heading to the Chase Ultimate Rewards dashboard and clicking the See what’s changed link underneath your card’s points balance.

You will see how many points you can redeem at the old rate at the center of the screen.

The old 1.5-cent-per-point rate will be automatically applied when you book through Chase Travel, but this value will not be reflected until you reach the checkout screen.

For those who previously redeemed their Ultimate Rewards points through Chase Travel, this should temporarily soften the blow of the move to Points Boost if you’re booking travel that doesn’t qualify for Points Boost redemption rates.

Final Thoughts

Points Boost is a mixed bag. The previous flat redemption rate gave cardholders a baseline value for all their travel redemptions. For example, if you weren’t getting at least 1.5 cents per point in value when booking a flight with a transfer partner, you could always just book it through Chase Travel.

At the same time, there can be real value to be found in Points Boost. Some hotel and airline redemptions can give you up to 2 cents per point in value, and in many major cities, you’ll find multiple Points Boost hotels available on any given date.

Regardless, in most cases, you get the most value from your Ultimate Rewards points by transferring them to one of Chase’s 14 transfer partners. This requires more work on your end, as you need to find award space and learn the intricacies of each partner program. However, it’s worth the extra effort when booking high-end hotels and business-class airfare.

Want to see more exclusive content like this? Follow Upgraded Points on MSN.