Key Points

• Chase Points Boost lets Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, and Ink Business Preferred cardholders redeem Ultimate Rewards points for select hotels and flights at rates up to 2 cents each, no transfer partners required.
• The boost varies by card and by booking, so pairing it with your Sapphire Reserve's Edit credit or Sapphire Preferred's hotel credit can slash your point cost even further.
• Points Boost isn't always your best move. Compare it against transfer partner pricing before you redeem, especially once the rate drops below 1.65 cents per point.

Introduction

If you've ever stared at your Chase Ultimate Rewards balance wondering whether to book through the portal or wrestle with airline transfer charts, Chase Points Boost was built for you. Rolled out in 2025, this feature lets eligible Chase cardholders redeem points for hotels and flights in Chase Travel at rates well above the standard 1 cent apiece, sometimes reaching 2 cents per point or more on the right booking.

That's a meaningful jump. It puts Points Boost redemptions in the same neighborhood as some of the better transfer partner sweet spots, minus the homework. In this guide, we'll break down which cards get the biggest boost, how to actually find these deals in the app, and when you're better off skipping Points Boost entirely in favor of a transfer.

What Is Chase Points Boost?

Points Boost is a Chase Travel feature that increases the redemption value of your Ultimate Rewards points on a curated set of hotel and flight bookings. Instead of the flat 1 cent per point you'd get on most portal bookings, boosted listings let your points stretch further, sometimes considerably further.

It's available to holders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Sapphire Reserve for Business, and the Ink Business Preferred. If you're still deciding which of these Sapphire cards fits you, know that the card you hold directly affects how much value Points Boost can unlock.

The redemption value isn't fixed. It shifts based on the property, the flight, and demand, which is part of why it pays to actually shop around inside Chase Travel rather than booking the first listing you see.

How the Boost Differs by Card

Not every Sapphire card gets the same treatment, and the gap is bigger than most people expect.

• Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve for Business cardholders can see hotel redemptions worth up to 2 cents per point, including stays at The Edit by Chase Travel, plus flight redemptions on select airlines that can also approach 2 cents per point.
• Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred cardholders typically top out closer to 1.5 cents per point on hotels, and those bookings aren't eligible for The Edit. Flights can run a bit higher, up to roughly 1.75 cents per point on eligible airlines.

Here's the twist worth remembering: the $95 Sapphire Preferred occasionally shows a stronger Points Boost value on a given hotel than the pricier Sapphire Reserve does. Don't assume the more expensive card automatically wins. It's worth cross-checking both if you have access to them, which is one reason some travelers eventually consider upgrading from Preferred to Reserve once they see how often they're maxing out the Preferred's boost.

How to Find and Use Points Boost

Using Points Boost doesn't require anything special on your end. Search for a hotel or flight in Chase Travel the way you normally would, then look for the small rocket icon next to the point price. That icon marks a boosted redemption.

If you'd rather skip the manual scanning, filter your results to "Points Boost only." This narrows the list to just the bookings offering an elevated rate for your dates, which is a huge time saver if you're flexible on where you stay or fly. You may also notice a blue-highlighted valuation next to some listings. That figure comes from Points Path, a free third-party tool layered into Chase Travel that estimates the cents-per-point value of a given booking so you don't have to do the math yourself.

Getting the Most from Hotel Bookings

Hotel availability for Points Boost is generally more consistent than flights, and it's especially strong at The Edit by Chase Travel, the curated collection available to Sapphire Reserve cardholders. These stays come bundled with breakfast for two and a property credit, on top of whatever the boosted rate saves you, though a minimum two-night stay usually applies.

Where things get genuinely lucrative is stacking. The Sapphire Reserve includes semiannual statement credits toward The Edit bookings, and the Sapphire Preferred offers its own annual hotel statement credit through Chase Travel. Applying one of those credits to a Points Boost stay, then covering the remainder with points, can push your effective cost per point even lower than the listed boost rate.

Say a two-night boutique hotel stay through The Edit runs $720 total, or roughly 43,600 points at a 1.65 cent boost. Apply a $250 Edit credit first, and your out-of-pocket balance drops to $470. Cover that with points at the same 1.65 cent rate and you're only redeeming about 28,485 points for two nights, effectively 14,242 points a night. That's a fraction of what many hotel loyalty programs charge for a comparable property, and you never had to transfer a single point.

Getting the Most from Flight Bookings

Flight availability through Points Boost is less predictable than hotels. Everyday domestic economy fares rarely show a boost worth chasing, but long-haul premium cabin tickets are a different story. On routes where transfer partner award space is scarce, a boosted Chase Travel fare can occasionally beat what you'd get transferring to an airline directly.

Before booking, run the comparison every time: the Points Boost price in points, what a transfer partner would charge for the same seat, and the plain cash fare. A flight search tool built for award availability can help you see partner pricing quickly so you're not comparing blind. One added perk of booking flights through Chase Travel is that most airlines treat it as a standard paid ticket, meaning it typically still earns you airline miles and counts toward elite status, something a straight award redemption usually doesn't do.

Points Boost vs. Transferring to Partners

This is the question that actually determines whether Points Boost is worth using: how does it stack up against transferring your Ultimate Rewards to an airline or hotel partner?

If you were already planning to book through Chase Travel anyway, any boost above 1 cent per point is a straightforward win. It costs you nothing extra to check for the rocket icon before confirming.

The calculation gets more interesting as the boost rate climbs. Redemptions approaching 1.8 to 2 cents per point are genuinely hard to beat through a transfer partner in most cases, since even strong partner sweet spots often land in the 1.5 to 2 cent range once you factor in the effort of finding award space. But at the lower end, say 1.3 to 1.5 cents per point, it's worth pausing. A well-timed transfer to a hotel or airline partner can sometimes stretch your points further, particularly for aspirational redemptions like international business class or luxury resort stays where transfer partner charts haven't kept pace with rising cash prices.

If you're unsure how your points stack up either way, it helps to understand how Chase actually calculates your point balance and where the real value sits across booking methods.

Is Points Boost Worth It?

Three things determine the answer: the boost rate on the specific booking, what a transfer partner would charge for the equivalent, and whether the cash price is even competitive to begin with.

• If you weren't planning to transfer anyway, or you don't want to learn transfer partner charts, Points Boost is close to a no-brainer for anything above 1.5 cents per point.
• If you're chasing maximum value and don't mind the extra research, keep comparing partner pricing, especially on premium cabin flights and luxury hotel redemptions where the gap between methods can be significant.
• If you're holding points that were grandfathered into Chase's older fixed redemption rates, you may still have access to those 1.25 or 1.5 cent rates through October 2027, which is worth checking before you assume Points Boost is your only option.

Chase has also started allowing some travelers to price-match hotel bookings to rates found outside Chase Travel, which adds another layer of value when paired with a boosted redemption. It's worth checking availability for that on your next stay.

For a deeper look at whether the annual fee on either card pencils out once you factor in Points Boost and the associated credits, our breakdowns on whether the Sapphire Reserve is worth it and whether the Sapphire Preferred is worth it both dig into the math in more detail.

FAQ

Do I need a specific Chase card to use Points Boost?

Yes. Points Boost is limited to the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Reserve for Business, and Ink Business Preferred. Other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, including no-annual-fee options, don't currently have access to boosted redemptions.

Can I combine Points Boost with a Chase statement credit?

Yes, and it's one of the best ways to use it. Applying your Sapphire Reserve's Edit credit or your Sapphire Preferred's hotel credit before covering the remaining balance with boosted points can significantly lower your effective cost per point.

Is Points Boost always better than transferring points?

Not always. It's usually the stronger option when the boost rate is high, especially near 2 cents per point, or when you weren't planning to transfer in the first place. At lower boost rates, a transfer partner sweet spot can sometimes still edge it out, particularly for premium cabin flights and high-end hotel stays.

Does booking a flight through Points Boost earn airline miles?

Generally, yes. Because Chase Travel processes these as paid fares in most cases, the airline typically credits the flight toward your frequent flyer account and elite status, unlike many traditional award bookings.

Conclusion

Chase Points Boost has made it far easier to squeeze real value out of Ultimate Rewards points without ever opening a transfer partner chart. The rates aren't always at their 2-cent ceiling, and flight availability can be hit or miss, but for hotel stays especially, stacking a boosted redemption with your card's statement credit remains one of the more reliable ways to get outsized value from your points. Before your next booking, pull up Chase Travel, filter for Points Boost, and run the comparison against your transfer partner options so you know you're getting the better deal. This article contains affiliate links. If you apply through our links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you, which helps us continue sharing points and miles strategies with the community.