Amex Membership Rewards vs. Chase Ultimate Rewards: Which is the best rewards currency to earn?

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with the latest information.

American Express Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points are two of the most highly sought-after transferable currencies among travel enthusiasts. These points can unlock incredible redemptions in aspirational locations. Both programs offer a range of travel rewards credit cards and redemption options, including transferring points to airline and hotel partners or booking travel through the respective card issuer’s travel portal.

However, it’s important to note that not all points hold the same value. According to TPG’s November 2024 valuations, both Amex Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points are valued at approximately 2 cents per point. The best choice depends on your spending habits and travel objectives.

Now, let’s delve into a comparison between these two programs to see how they measure up.

Transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards vs. Chase Ultimate Rewards

Woman calculating card value — HOBO_018/GETTY IMAGES

American Express Membership Rewards

Amex partners with an impressive 18 different airline programs and three hotel chains. Unless indicated, points transfer at a 1:1 rate in 1,000-point increments. Here’s the current list of Amex airline partners:

Aer Lingus AerClub
Aeromexico Club Premier (1:1.6)
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
All Nippon Airways Mileage Club
Avianca LifeMiles
British Airways Executive Club
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Delta Air Lines SkyMiles
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Airways Guest
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
Iberia Plus
JetBlue TrueBlue (250:200)
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

And these are the Amex hotel transfer partners:

Choice Privileges
Hilton Honors (1:2)
Marriott Bonvoy

You can book flights or hotels through Amex Travel, but transferring points to a partner and then redeeming them (more on that a little later) typically results in the best redemption value.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

With Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can transfer points to 11 airline programs:

Aer Lingus AerClub
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
British Airways Executive Club
Emirates Skywards
Iberia Plus
JetBlue TrueBlue
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
United Airlines MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Chase also partners with three hotel programs:

IHG One Rewards
Marriott Bonvoy
World of Hyatt

All transfer ratios are 1:1, and you must transfer in 1,000-point increments.

To decide which program is better for you, you’ll want to consider the transfer partners you’ll use most for your travel goals.

Remember that it’s possible to use one airline’s miles to book award flights on another if they’re partners or part of the same alliance. For example, even though United Airlines isn’t an Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner, you can book United award flights by transferring Amex points to Air Canada or Singapore Airlines, as they are Star Alliance partners.

Earning points with Amex Membership Rewards vs. Chase Ultimate Rewards

Person traveling with suitcase — D3SIGN/GETTY IMAGES

American Express Membership Rewards

Despite a once-per-lifetime policy for welcome offers, the wide range of cards that earn Membership Rewards points makes it relatively easy to accumulate a substantial points balance.

Here are some of the cards that earn Amex Membership Rewards points and come with great welcome offers:

The information for the Amex Green has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Another way to earn Amex points is through targeted Amex Offers. You’ll see all the Amex Offers available on a given card if you scroll down on your online account page or by tapping the “Offers” tab in the Amex app.

These offers come from various merchants, including travel providers, restaurants, clothing and jewelry stores. Generally speaking, Amex Offers come in one of three forms:

Spend $X, get Y number of bonus points
Spend $X, get $Y cash back as a statement credit
Get additional points per dollar spent at select merchants

While some offers will give you cash back for meeting a specific spending requirement, many offer points.

If you hold multiple Amex cards, it’s important to check all of them to ensure you’re maximizing the available offers. Additionally, reviewing the terms of each Amex Offer you add to your cards is crucial, as some may exclude gift card purchases.

Amex Offers can be combined with online shopping portals and bonus categories. Consider using a shopping portal aggregator to determine which portal offers the highest return for a specific purchase. This way, you can make the most of your purchase.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase offers three cards that earn transferable Ultimate Rewards points, all of which have generous welcome bonuses:

There are also five cards offered by Chase that, on their own, don’t allow you to transfer points to travel partners. However, if you have one of the cards mentioned above, you can transfer points to that account and then move them to airline and hotel partners.

Chase Freedom (no longer open to new applicants)
Chase Freedom Flex®
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

The information for the Chase Freedom has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Remember that the Chase 5/24 rule may limit your ability to get approved for these cards. If you’re new to points and miles, your best bet is to apply for the Chase cards you want first.

Bonus points categories with Amex Membership Rewards vs. Chase Ultimate Rewards

American Express Membership Rewards

We recommend maximizing everyday spending on several Amex cards by taking advantage of bonus categories. For example, the Amex Gold earns 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide (on the first $50,000 spent per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar). In comparison, the Amex Platinum earns 5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or via American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year) and 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase offers a range of cards that provide ample opportunities to earn points through bonus categories. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 5 points per dollar on travel booked through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining and select streaming services, 3 points per dollar on online grocery purchases (excluding Target and Walmart), 2 points per dollar on other travel and 1 point per dollar on all other expenses.

The Ink Business Preferred extends the bonus categories with 3 points per dollar on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone services and advertising purchases made with social media and search engines (on up to $150,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year, then 1 point per dollar) and 1 point per dollar on everything else.

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll earn 10 points per dollar on hotels and car rentals when you book through Chase Travel, 5 points per dollar on flights booked through Chase Travel, 3 points per dollar on other travel (excluding the $300 travel credit) and dining and 1 point per dollar on other expenses. Moreover, Sapphire Reserve cardholders will earn 10 total points per dollar on Lyft rides when using their card, valid until March 2025.

Redemption options with Amex Membership Rewards vs. Chase Ultimate Rewards

As easy as it is to earn transferable points, you don’t want to keep them just sitting in your account — you want to redeem them. Just like the ways to earn points, all redemption options aren’t created equal, though Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards have a large overlap of the same transfer partners.

For instance, if you transfer either currency to Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program on dates with less demand, you can fly from North America to Europe from as low as 20,000 miles one-way in economy, 35,000 miles in premium economy and 50,000 miles in business class.

Singapore Airlines operates two of the world’s longest flights: Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). You could transfer your Amex or Chase points to KrisFlyer at a 1:1 rate to book one-way business-class Saver fare flights for just 111,500 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer points plus taxes and fees one-way — a small price for comfort on such an epically long flight.

You can also use the Amex Travel portal to find a preferred room and then pay with points — valued at only 0.7 cents each — or cash. You can book hotels including those in Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts program. You won’t usually earn hotel points or elite credits for third-party bookings.

With Chase, you can book travel through Chase Travel and redeem points to pay for your plane tickets, hotel stays, rental cars or experiences. If you’re a holder of the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Ink Business Preferred, each point is worth 1.25 cents. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, your points are worth 1.5 cents apiece toward redemptions through the portal, which is a more valuable option than the Amex Travel portal.

Though Chase has fewer transfer partners than American Express, Chase holds its own with some unique and very valuable redemption options that can provide more value than Amex’s offerings.

Arguably the most valuable Chase transfer partner is World of Hyatt, a hotel currency TPG values highly. With its low fixed-rate award chart and no destination fees on award nights, the Hyatt transfer option is a key benefit of redeeming Chase points over Amex points, which don’t offer Hyatt as a transfer partner.

Bottom line

Choosing between these two programs depends on your preferences, but there’s no reason why you can’t collect both types of points, as you can’t go wrong with either transferable currency. Both programs partner with popular transfer options at a 1:1 rate, such as Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, JetBlue TrueBlue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and more.

Collecting either credit card currency is a smart idea if you’re looking to transfer points to these programs.

There are differences between the redemption options of Amex and Chase points. Chase Ultimate Rewards is a great choice if you’re aiming for remarkable redemptions like luxury Hyatt stays or want the flexibility of redeeming points through Chase Travel for virtually any flight or hotel for up to 1.5 cents per point, depending on the type of Chase card you hold.

If you’re a Delta SkyMiles, Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles or Avianca LifeMiles fan, only Amex’s Membership Rewards transfer to these programs, so collecting Amex points would be a better option.

Maintaining flexible and diverse points and miles balances will give you the most options when redeeming your rewards regardless of your preferred currency.