How Chase Sapphire Preferred mile transfer works (illustrated)
Our favorite feature of the Chase Sapphire Preferred (link to bonus mile offer application) is the ability to transfer points 1:1, most of the time instantly, into several lucrative airline and hotel point programs. They include
- United Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- British Airways
- Korean Airlines
- Amtrak
- Hyatt
- Marriott
- Priority Club
- Ritz Carlton
Here’s how the transfer works…
1. Have an account set up in the partner you want to transfer into. It’s free if you don’t already have one. But if you do have one with points, make sure you find the account number for that one so you’re adding to your existing points. The account can be a family member or friend’s too if you want to add to theirs.
2. Log into your account at www.UltimateRewards.com. It’s the same login you use to manage your credit card bill with Chase.
3. Choose ‘Transfer Points to Travel Partners’
4. Select the partner you want to transfer points into
5. Enter the amount you want to transfer and the account you wish to transfer into.
That’s it, your points will show up in your mileage account shortly, generally it’s an instant transfer.
A few things to keep in mind…
- Once a transfer is executed you can’t reverse it — so make sure you’re sending it to the right account and double check the name and account number
- You can send points to accounts in your name, as well as your spouse
- Point transfers are generally in 1,000 point increments — consider doing a test transfer of 1,000 points before doing a bigger one to make sure you’ve entered the right account information.
- You can transfer points from you and your spouse’s / domestic partner’s other Chase Ultimate Rewards accounts (like a Chase Freedom or Ink Bold account) into your Sapphire Preferred’s Ultimate Rewards account. That lets you transfer even more miles over to the airline and hotel partners. Read more about it here.
- There is no fee for the transfer, and you can do it as many times as you’d like.
A few more articles that may be helpful…
Why we like multi-airline and hotel transfer features
Why you should consider transferring to Korean Airlines miles for some common rewards
Review of Chase Sapphire Preferred in depth
Link to current bonus mile offer application for Chase Sapphire Preferred
If I want to transfer 40 k points from chase to British how many miles I will be getting on BA? And if want to transfer the points from chase to American what is the best option?
@Karth – 40,000 Chase points = 40,000 BA Avios when you transfer. As for traveling on AA…Avios are a good deal if you stick to nonstop flights. Avios charges separately for each flight segment, so if you do connecting flights you end up paying for separate flights, which can add up.
You can see about how many Avios you will need for an American Airlines flight using this link
http://www.wandr.me/Avios-Calculator.aspx
I also have just the “plain jane” Sapphire card, so the “transfer” option is not available. I have other credit cards I use more, so is it possible to open the “preferred” card, transfer the points (over 25K) into that, transfer out to United…? I am not sure about the middle step…
Thanks!
@Simona – Once you get a Sapphire Preferred, any of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred into the Preferred’s point pool. Just log into http://www.ultimaterewards.com once you have the Preferred and you’ll see the option to combine points.
If I cannot spend $3,000 required to get the 40,000 bonus miles within the 3 months, do I receive a pro-rated amount of miles? For example, how much bonus would I receive if I was able to spend $2,000 within the 3 month time frame?
@Bob- Unfortunately no, there is no pro-rated amount…you just earn the points for the spending itself. So if you spend $2,000 you’d get 2,000 points from spending, but no bonus.
If my husband has United mileage account what’s the maximum amount of miles can I transfer to his account if I have 100,000 points on my sapphire preferred card. Can I transfer all 100,000?
My Reward home page don’t have “Transfer Points to Travel Partners” (step 3). What happened?
Thanks!
@Chang – Are you sure your card is a Sapphire *Preferred* level? The regular Sapphire doesn’t offer the Transfer Points to Travel Partners option.
Hi,
Can I set up the Sapphire card to automatically link to my United Mileage account and transfer the miles automatically? or do I need to do it manually?
Thanks
Sam
IF I USE THE CHASE SAPPHIRE TO MAKE MY HOUSE MORTGAGE PAYMENT AND THEN PAY CHASE THROUGH MY BANK ACCOUNT, WILL I EARN MILES?
@Gary – If your mortgage provider accepts credit cards as a form of payment (which is rare due to the interchange fees they face) yes you would earn miles. But be careful to make sure your mortgage provider isn’t charging a separate interchange fee for the payment, in which case you’re basically paying for the miles with that fee.
can i arrange a debt card account to pay off the credit card payment?
@Theresa – You’ll need to call the number on the back of your card directly to get payment options.
How long does it take for the miles to show up in a frequent flier account once they’re transferred from chase UR?
@Mike – It’s instant transfer for United, Southwest, and many others.
i have 75000 miles on united airlines. can i transfer them to this credit card and then use them on any airline
@James – Unfortunately no it only works the other way around. You can add to your existing United miles from the card.
Any talk of Chase Sapphire Preferred adding Delta to the list transfer airlines?
@Meredith – It’s unlikely as Delta has an exclusive arrangement with American Express for several years to come.
Is the mile transferred eligible for upgrading the membership tier in a particular airline?
Example: I have 25k points in chase, then I transfer all of them to united airlines. My membership level in united is normal membership, but since now I have 25k, will my membership be upgraded to premier (require 25k miles flown).
-Bill
@Bill- Unfortunately, no. The miles for earning tier status are counted separately from those that can be used toward free flights. The points you transfer from the Sapphire Preferred count toward those that can be redeemed for flgihts and awards, but not gaining elite status.
Once i complete $3000 spending, how soon does the points get deposited. Is it only after 3 months or is it instantly deposited?
@Vineet – No need to wait 3 months. The bonus points will post on the statement closing date for the period in which you met the spending requirement. You can ask to set a specific day of the month to be your statement closing date when you call to activate the card.
Is there a decent way to use Chase Sapphire points on American Airlines? (I know I could transfer points to British, and then book through their partner airlines options, but the BA booking system for alliance airlines is awful). Any suggestions??
@Martin – You could use the “points as cash” style option to book a flight but you’re limited to the 1.25 points per dollar value.
At this point, now that BA has changed its program to be distance based the only worthy redemption on AA is flights 1500 miles or less nonstop on AA (though that value can be quite good).
Can I transfer my accumulated BA miles into Continental miles?
@Jim — Unfortunately once miles are in a specific airline’s account you can’t transfer miles from one airline to another. You can transfer your Sapphire Preferred miles into one or both of BA or Continental / United.