Hi there, it's Ernest from Trip Astute. Today, we're doing a follow-up video on
the Chase Travel Portal and showing how you can use it to book tours and
boutique hotels.
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We recently did a video on how to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards
points where I reviewed the two main ways that I use points to book my travel.
One of the ways that we covered was the Chase Travel Portal, and a couple of
folks reached out to us wanting more clarifications on when to use the Chase
Travel Portal over transferring points to a travel partner. So in this video, I'm
gonna share some instances where it makes more sense for you to use the
Chase Travel Portal over transferring points. For me, the most common use case
for using the Chase Travel Portal is with independent hotels and tours. Most
boutique hotels and bed and breakfast places do not belong to a large hotel
chain or have a loyalty program, so you won't have the option of transferring
points to complete your booking. For example, if I wanted to book an
independent hotel in Sedona Arizona, I could actually reserve it via the
Chase Travel Portal and use points to pay for part of or the entire booking.
With this option, you can redeem at either 1.25 or 1.5 cents
per point, which is a decent rate. This makes a card function almost like a flat
rate rewards card, similar to the way you might use redeem points on a Capital One
Venture card or one of the Barclaycard Arrival cards. The same holds true for
activities and tours. You can book them via the Chase Travel Portal and use your
points in the same way. A quick search on Cancun shows that you can purchase
tickets to most of the attractions in advance as well as shuttle rides and
private transportation to and from the airport, and pay for it using your points.
I actually wish I searched for some of the places we visited on our European
trip during the holidays. We actually could have avoided the ticket lines at
some of the places we visited, and even used our points to pay for the admission.
So, I hope this gives you some additional ideas on how you can use your Chase
Ultimate Rewards points. I think it really highlights why this program is one of
the most popular travel rewards programs. It gives you so much flexibility
when redeeming points for travel. If you do decide to use the Chase Travel
Portal for these bookings, here are a couple things to keep in mind. Number 1:
Portal bookings can earn you bonus points and miles. If you decide not to
use your points and pay the rate instead, you'll earn the triple or double bonus
depending on your card. This can be useful for categories that are bookable
through the site but generally are listed as non-travel categories, like
tours and attractions. For example, when we paid for admission to the Sagrada
Familia in Barcelona, we paid using our Sapphire Reserve, but did not receive any
bonus points. However, had we booked the tickets via the Chase Travel Portal,
we would have earned the extra points and probably save some time in line. Number 2:
Portal bookings can be more difficult to cancel or change. One of the drawbacks of
using the Chase Travel Portal is that your bookings are handled by Chase
rather than directly with the hotel or airline. This can make it difficult to
change itineraries or reserve seats. We cover this in our other video, so check
it out for more details. Number 3: Redemption rates depend on your premium
Chase card. Just a reminder that the redemption rate on the Chase Travel
Portal is dependent on the type of premium card that you have. So, if you have
the Sapphire Preferred, you'll redeem 1.25 cents per point. And if you have the
Sapphire Reserve, you'll redeem at 1.5 cents. Have you used the Chase
Travel Portal to book an independent hotel or tour? If so, please share your
experience in the comment section below. Also, let us know if you have any
questions. If you're interested in applying for any of the cards mentioned
in this video, check out the credit card offers page on our website for the
latest offers. We do get a percentage if we use our link. It doesn't cost you
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Until next time, travel safe and travel smart.