How to Use 100k Ultimate Rewards Points Part 1

Have you been approved for a Chase Ultimate Rewards travel credit card? Have you used your everyday spending to earn Ultimate Rewards points.

With all the ways to earn Ultimate Rewards points, it’s easy to reach the 100k mark on your account. And with 100k Ultimate Rewards points, the possibilities are wide open.

Before continuing, though, you should know this series of posts are for thrifty travel hackers with a die-hard passion for travel. It’s especially for those of you who aren’t racking up thousands of miles as a business traveler on your company’s dime.

It’s for the careful planners and organizers who work hard to meet minimum spend requirements and maximize bonus categories to get the most value for every dollar spent.

Business and First class travel is certainly a fantastic special occasion splurge, but the following suggestions focus on value-packed economy class awards in popular destinations.

How to Use 100k Ultimate Rewards Points Part 1

U.S. News and World Reports’s puts together a yearly list of the world’s 25 best places to visit based on trends, user votes, and expert opinions. This is different than a list written by Lonely Planet or Frommer’s highlighting popular, up and coming spots around the globe.

All the destinations are iconic for their sights, experiences, food, and culture. They’re spots many travelers around the globe want to visit. How to Use 100k Ultimate Rewards Part 1 takes some of those destinations and shows how to get there with 100k Ultimate Rewards points.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners

You can transfer your UR points at a 1:1 ratio to all of Chase’s 10 travel partners. Chase also has a travel portal where you can book travel plans directly. It’s smart to compare options for the best value but typically you’ll get more for your miles and points by transferring them to a travel partner.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners All points transfer 1:1.
British Airways	Southwest	Virgin Atlantic
Air France/KLM Flying Blue	United	Hyatt
Singapore Airlines	Ritz-Carlton
Marriott	IHG

Which Destinations Made the List?

7 European cities make the U.S. News and World Reports list of 25 best places to visit.

• Paris
• Florence
• London
• Rome
• Barcelona
• Amsterdam
• Budapest

Best Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partner

Even with the October 2016 United stopover changes, United still offers the best value for your miles IF you’re planning a multi-European city itinerary. You can have 1 stopover and 2 open jaws included in your itinerary for the same 60k miles needed for a classic round trip award plus the applicable taxes and fees.

On the routing below, you could travel from Miami to Paris. Your stay in Paris must be more than 24 hours because it’s acting as your stopover before you continue on to your final destination, Rome.

Imagine sitting outside at a small Parisian cafe eating a croissant before heading over to the Ile Saint-Louis to purchase the perfect French scarf. After your visit to the City of Lights, continue on to Rome. Take in the history of the Coliseum and treat yourself to gelato before eventually returning to Miami.

If you have more time and want to truly maximize your itinerary, why not plan to see Amsterdam, too? Remember you’re allowed 2 open jaws and the above routing only takes advantage of one of them.

In the above scenario, you’d fly from Miami to Amsterdam, take the 3-hour train ride to Paris, fly to Rome and then, at some point, return to Miami. Both of these award ideas cost 60k United miles, the same as a typical United roundtrip award to Europe.

Experiment with United’s user-friendly flight search tool to build your perfect European itinerary. If London is on your list of cities to see, fly into the city but take the train to Paris to avoid high UK airport departure taxes and fees.

Alternative Transfer Partner Suggestions to Consider:

1. Singapore Airlines is a StarAlliance partner with United and actually charges less for a European award than United, at only 27,500 miles one-way compared to United’s 30k. Search United’s award availability as a guest (not logged in) to find the flights you want.

Then, book on Singapore Airline’s website using the flight info you gathered. You’ll fly on the exact same United flights you would have had you booked directly through United, but pay fewer miles. The downside is Singapore doesn’t allow stopovers on itineraries within Europe while the upside is they only charge tax on United partner flights.

2. The Air France/KLM Flying Blue loyalty program releases Promo Award space to and from select cities in North America and Europe on the first of every month. Economy awards can be 25%-50% off, bringing them down to 18, 750 and 12,500 respectively. You could end up with a steal of a one-way or round trip if your timing is right.

3. Virgin Atlantic runs frequent one-way economy award promotions for only 12,250 miles + $135 in taxes and fees from eastern North America to London. Book your return trip from a European airport outside of the UK using one of the above miles options, like a Flying Blue Promo Award.

3 South American destinations make the U.S. News and World Reports list of 25 best places to visit.

• Cusco, Peru
• Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
• Argentine Patagonia

Best Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partner

Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue program prices award flights from North America to northern South America at 35k roundtrip and 50k roundtrip for southern South America. You can take advantage of 1 free stopover and 1 free open jaw. The open jaw must be in the same region as defined by the Flying Blue program.

Sticking with the U.S. News top 25 destinations, you could plan to check off popular San Francisco on your way to Cuzco, Peru from Chicago for just 35k Flying Blue miles roundtrip.

You could also book a fairly standard award with 1 stopover for 50k Flying Blue miles to southern South America. As in the itinerary below, depart from a North American city like Chicago and stopover in Rio De Janeiro (GIG) before heading to your destination of Buenos Aires in Argentina (EZE). (As an alternative, Santiago, Chile could replace Rio as your stopover or Buenos Aires as your destination for the same number of Flying Blue miles.)

Perhaps you’re looking to plan an epic South American adventure. In that case, let’s get a bit more creative. 😉 Take a look at the itinerary below that utilizes both the stopover and the open jaw.

You could depart from Chicago and stopover in Lima, Peru. While you’re in Peru, you can make your way on a cheap flight to Cuzco to see Macchu Picchu and/or explore the Amazon from Iquitos.

Once you’ve reflected on the ancient Incan civilization and spotted pink dolphins in the Amazon, head back to Lima and catch your flight to Buenos Aires. Your return flight to Chicago could leave from Rio De Janeiro. This still costs just 50k Flying Blue miles!

To reach spectacular Patagonia, use 10k British Airways Avios one-way to fly on OneWorld partner, LATAM, from Buenos Aires to El Calafate in southern Argentina.

From this part of Patagonia, it’s easy to use buses to hike in El Chalten and even cross over to Chile to see the gorgeous Torres del Paine National Park.

Once you’ve explored Patagonia and returned to Buenos Aires, use 10k more Avios to get you Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. Head to the beach and stay up listening to samba music until you’re ready to head home to Chicago. On the plane back, think of how far 80k Ultimate Rewards points took you and what you hope to do with the remaining 20k (+ what you earned while meeting the minimum spend) points.

Alternative Transfer Partner Suggestions to Consider:

1. Similar to the European itineraries above, you could use 1 stopover and 2 open jaws for 40k-60k miles roundtrip on United. Once the United stopover changes happen, the stopover will need to be within the same region as the destination.

A northern South American itinerary with 1 stopover might look like this, Houston (IAH)-Quito, Ecuador (UIO)-Lima, Peru (LIM), with Ecuador as the stopover, and returning to Houston from Lima for 40k United miles.

2. Virgin Atlantic partners with Delta. You can fly a classic roundtrip flight on Delta to southern South America for just 45k Virgin Atlantic miles. Delta and United would charge 60k miles to for the same southern South America routes when booked with their miles.

So what do you think? How would you use 100k Ultimate Rewards Points?

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