Chase Ultimate Rewards points regularly appear near the top of TPG’s monthly valuations, and it’s for a good reason. The program offers some great transfer partners that can unlock terrific value when you want to redeem the points you’ve earned on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve and Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.
Before redeeming your points, you’ll want to understand the optimal timing for transferring them to partners and, equally important, how to seamlessly transfer your points.
Today, we’ll go through when and how you should transfer your hard-earned Chase points to the World of Hyatt program.
When should you transfer Chase points to Hyatt?
The World of Hyatt program is considered by many to be the single most lucrative transfer partner of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. Category 8 properties like the Park Hyatt New York and Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme top out at 45,000 points per night on peak dates with standard room availability. Often, cash rates for these same rooms are over $1,000 per night. And World of Hyatt members are exempt from destination and resort fees when using points.
However, you’ll want to compare cash and award prices for your stay to determine whether it makes sense to transfer points.
To simplify the process, let’s consider two ways you can redeem Chase points for Hyatt stays:
- How many points would you need to book a standard room through Chase’s online travel portal?
- How many points would you need to book a standard room through the World of Hyatt program?
Let’s take a closer look at how to decide which option is best for you.
Searching for hotels through Chase Travel
Here’s how to check the award rates for hotel properties through Chase’s travel portal:
- Log in to your Chase account, and go to the Ultimate Rewards page for your Sapphire Reserve, Ink Business Preferred or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. These cards allow transfers to partners.
- If you have points in other Ultimate Rewards accounts, like Chase Freedom Unlimited, combine them into one of the three accounts mentioned above to enable transfers. For more information about combining Chase points, refer to this article.
- Expand the “Earn / Use” section and click “Travel.”
- Select “Hotels,” enter your search criteria and proceed to see how many points are needed for your stay.
- Select a specific room to view the total points, including taxes and fees. The initial results only display the nightly rate without additional taxes.
- Make a note of this total number.
Remember that Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem Ultimate Rewards points for 1.5 cents each in this way. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred cardholders can redeem points at a value of 1.25 cents apiece.
Searching for award rooms with World of Hyatt
Once you have this number, it’s now time to check award availability directly with Hyatt. Here’s how to do so:
- Visit hyatt.com and log in to your World of Hyatt account.
- Enter your search parameters, check the box for “Use Points,” then click Find Hotels.
- Locate your desired property on the results page, then click View Rates. (Note that Hyatt’s website won’t display real-time award availability on the results page. You must click through to the individual property to verify that award rooms are available.)
- Find the room you want and note the total cost in points.
Then, simply compare the two rates to see which is lower.
For example, let’s consider the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, a Category 8 property in the World of Hyatt program requiring 40,000 points per night for a standard award stay. Off-peak dates cost 35,000 points per night, while peak dates cost 45,000 points per night.
If booking directly through Chase’s portal requires fewer points, there’s no need to transfer. If it requires more points, transferring is the better option.
Here are two scenarios with different outcomes (assuming you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve):
Friday, Jan. 12 through Monday, Jan. 15:
- Standard king room through Chase Portal: 493,333 points.
- Standard king room through World of Hyatt: 135,000 points.
Transferring your Ultimate Rewards points would save you over 350,000 points compared to booking directly.
Note: The difference would be even more significant if you had the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred. To cover a $7,400.18 hotel stay with points from either of those cards, you’d need to redeem 740,018 points, which is over five times the cost if you transfer points to Hyatt.
Friday, Oct. 13 through Monday, Oct. 16:
- Standard king room through Chase Portal: 82,200 points
- Standard king room through World of Hyatt: 105,000 points
Redeeming directly in the Chase Portal would save over 20,000 points for these less busy dates.
While the decision is not always straightforward, comparing the numbers will give you a starting point to determine whether transferring points is better.
Often, the decision isn’t that obvious. You can sometimes get even lower member or discount rates booking directly through Hyatt, and if you hold World of Hyatt elite status, you’ll most likely not receive those benefits (nor will you earn points for your stay) when booking through the Chase portal. And as mentioned, Hyatt properties will waive those pesky resort fees when you redeem World of Hyatt points — but those will still be charged on Chase bookings.
Finally, Sapphire Preferred cardholders enjoy $50 in statement credits every year for hotel reservations booked via Chase Travel. On a low-cost Hyatt stay, this could more than offset the lack of points and elite perks.
All that said, comparing the above numbers will at least give you a starting point to decide whether transferring makes sense.
Related: 5 easy ways to maximize Hyatt award redemptions
Transferring Chase points to Hyatt
If you decide to transfer Chase points to Hyatt, you can transfer to your World of Hyatt account or the account of one additional household member who is an authorized user. The process for transferring Ultimate Rewards points to all partners starts the same way:
1. Log in to your Chase account and click on the rewards you want to use.
2. Find the Ultimate Rewards section, and click “Earn / Use.” (If you have more than one card account, choose your desired one from the next page, keeping in mind that only points from the cards that earn points can be transferred.)
3. Once you’ve combined your points (if needed), select “Transfer to travel partners.”
4. Scroll down the list of hotel partners and click the arrow next to Hyatt. Then select “Transfer points.”
(Note: Once you’ve added your account the first time, it’ll appear at the top as a saved frequent traveler program.)
5. Select the recipient of the points, enter the recipient’s World of Hyatt number, then click “Next.”
5. Enter the number of points you want to transfer (must be in increments of 1,000) and click “Next.”
6. Review your details on the next page and click “Submit.”
The next screen should confirm that the transfer was successful.
In our tests, transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt are instantaneous, so you should see your points in your new Hyatt points in your account immediately.
Note that you can’t revert transfers, so be certain you want to make the transfer before submitting. As noted above, you can only transfer to your own Hyatt account or to the account of one household member who’s an authorized user on the card. It’s free to add authorized users on the Sapphire Preferred. However, it’ll cost you $75 on the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Once the points have arrived, go ahead and finalize your redemption.
Related: What is World of Hyatt elite status worth in 2023?
Bottom line
The World of Hyatt program is a favorite of award travelers thanks to its reasonable redemption rates and luxurious properties worldwide. Many TPG staffers have had some incredible stays with Hyatt, and the program is one of the best transfer partners from Chase Ultimate Rewards. However, it’s critical to know both when and how to transfer your points to your Hyatt account, and hopefully, this guide has clarified both of those processes.
By following these tips, you’ll be on your way to redeeming your Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value.
Additional reporting by Kyle Olsen.
