Why Chase's Points Boost is an outstanding (kind of surprising) new way to book hotels on points
Quick summary
With all of the changes that have happened recently with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees), it has admittedly become tough to immediately deep dive into every single element to decide the exact positive (or even not so positive) implications for each situation.
But now that the Sapphire-colored dust has started to settle, I've had time to do a number of real-world searches in the Chase Travel℠ site using a new feature called Points Boost and ... I'm low-key obsessed.
If you aren't yet familiar with Points Boost, it is a brand-new feature from Chase that increases the value you can sometimes get for your Chase Ultimate Rewards points when booking travel on the Chase Travel site, up to 2 cents per point if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, like I do. (If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Points Boost maxes out at 1.5 cents for hotels and 1.75 cents for some flights.)
Chase Sapphire Reserve®: For a limited time, earn 100,000 bonus points + $500 Chase Travel℠ promo credit after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (see rates and fees). That's up to $2,000 in hotel stays using Points Boost!
Previously, the max value you could get for your Chase points if you used them at a fixed value to book things in the Chase Travel site, like hotels and airfare (as opposed to transferring to those points partners like World of Hyatt or British Airways Avios) was a flat 1.5 cents per point with the Sapphire Reserve or 1.25 cents per point with the Sapphire Preferred.
While some of how all of that works is changing, looking just at Points Boost for now, that valuation ceiling has gone up to 2 cents per point on some hotels and some airfare, depending on your card. And while it is not always available, based on my searches, it is actually a material difference that changes the game on what is the best way to book certain components of a trip using your points.
Pro tip: Click the button to show Points Boost only.
Here are a few real-world Points Boost examples I found while starting to price out some vacations that have made me a pretty big fan.
Hotels near Disneyland from 17,000 Chase points instead of 57,000 Marriott points
I'm working on planning a family trip to Disneyland this fall.
Disneyland is actually a great spot to use your hotel points. There are a ton of walkable mid- to slightly upper-range hotels available since the park is essentially in the middle of Anaheim.
Marriott specifically has a number of properties within a five- to 10-minute walk to the parks. But, not surprisingly, most of the properties I am considering start at 50,000 to 80,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night while we are there, which isn't an insignificant number of points.
However, several dozen Anaheim properties are eligible for Points Boost for the weekend we are considering in October, which increases the per-point value up to 2 cents per point with my Sapphire Reserve.
One example of this is the Fairfield Anaheim Resort, which I've stayed at before and is a very short walk to Disneyland.
Marriott Bonvoy wants 53,000 Marriott points per night for our desired weekend. However, the very same room and dates are bookable for just over 17,000 Chase points via the Chase Travel site, thanks to the hotel being Points Boost eligible.
While sometimes transferring your points to Chase's great hotel and airline partners stretches their potential value, in this case, it is actually a much better deal to just book the room via the Chase Travel site and pay 17k points there instead of transferring those Chase points to Marriott, where it would have cost 53k points for the exact same room.
You may notice that the cash price listed for the room is different between Chase vs. Marriott, and that is something to watch out for.
In this case, most of the difference is that Marriott is offering a prepaid nonrefundable rate for less, which isn't what I would want to book anyway. However, do check cash prices, too, to be sure your 2 cents per point in Chase via Points Boost really is the best route before assuming that it is.
Favorite hotel in Hawaii is now bookable via Chase points
One of my favorite hotels I've ever stayed at is 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay on the north shore of Kauai.
It's a magical spot with a beachfront location, almost daily rainbows, gorgeous pools, exceptional food and high-end design. I've stayed there before on a media trip (aka I didn't pay my own cash) and always dreamed of being able to return ... though my wallet had other thoughts as it is common for rooms here to start at $1,000 to $1,200+ per night.
However, I see that the hotel is now part of Chase's The Edit, which means perks such as free breakfast, late check-out, a property credit, etc., to name a few.
That's exciting, but equally exciting is that you can now book the hotel for around 60,000 Chase points per night since The Edit hotels are available with Points Boost. This brings it back into the realm of potentially possible again one day using points.
Nice hotels in The Edit from around 15,000 to 20,000 points per night
Yes, there are very nice $1,000+ per night hotels in Chase's The Edit program that consistently offer Points Boost, but there are also hotels that come in at lower price points some nights — and you'll still get those nice The Edit perks like breakfast, $100 property credit, etc.
Another real-world example I'm now very much considering for a night near Disney World when I need late checkout (after one of the Run Disney races) is the J.W. Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek. It's a very nice resort in its own right, and since it is in The Edit program, Points Boost was guaranteed and drops the rate to just 27k Chase points for the pretty busy night I need. That's really a pretty fantastic deal for all that you'd get in return.
In contrast, if I booked using Marriott points for that night, it would cost 74,000 Marriott points, which again highlights how Points Boost is kind of changing the game. In this case, as you can see below, I'd also earn Marriott elite nights, etc., by it being Marriott Bonvoy eligible.
Or, say you want to spend some time in Las Vegas, somewhere like the Bellagio.
That is also a property that is part of The Edit, and a night I picked there this summer is pricing at under 16,000 Chase points per night, thanks to Points Boost — and you'd still get all those The Edit perks, such as the free breakfast and $100 property credit.
P.S. The breakfast at Sadelle's in the Bellagio is really good, so that's where I'd use that credit, especially if you are into bagels and lox.
Bottom line
In my real-world searches, I think midrange to slightly upscale hotels are actually a fantastic sweet spot for Points Boost that takes hotels that weren't historically necessarily very good point redemptions and it opens all-new doors ... especially on dates where cash rates aren't crazy high (since Points Boost rates are inherently tied to cash rates).
This new way to use points makes the Chase Travel site somewhere you should actively check now before transferring your points or booking hotels to see if the best award deal now might be one that wasn't available even just a few weeks ago.
But for now, put me firmly in the category of being very excited about this new way to use my Chase points.
If you want to get a card with Points Boost with a limited-time increased welcome bonus, here are two options:
Chase Sapphire Reserve® — Earn a best-ever offer of 100,000 bonus points plus a $500 Chase Travel℠ promo credit after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (see rates and fees).
Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ — Earn an impressive 200,000 bonus points after spending $30,000 in the first six months after opening an account. (see rates and fees)