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Chase Pay Yourself Back offers a higher value for your points when you redeem for eligible purchases.
You’ll get 50% more value with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and 25% more with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
Chase has extended certain Pay Yourself Back categories for a limited time.
Read Insider’s guide to the best Chase credit cards.
Because of ongoing changes in consumer habits, credit card issuers have been introducing new benefits and features to meet a broader range of customer needs and to account for the fact that travel perks currently aren’t as relevant to some cardholders.
The Pay Yourself Back program from Chase may just be the most useful shake-up to date, and that’s especially true for people who have quite a few points to burn but aren’t ready to travel yet. This feature is especially valuable for those who have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card , because it allows you to redeem points toward select everyday purchases at an improved rate.
Eligible purchase categories vary depending on the card, and include dining, Airbnb, and the annual membership fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (50% bonus), Airbnb on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (25% bonus), and shipping, internet, cable, and phone services on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (25% bonus).
Here’s what to know about Pay Yourself Back to help you decide if you want to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points this way.
We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Chase Pay Yourself Back: How it works
Chase Pay Yourself Back lets certain cardholders redeem rewards for a higher rate than the 1 cent per point normally offered for cash-back redemptions. The eligible categories and bonus value vary depending on the card:
Chase cardPay Yourself Back categories and bonus valueChase Sapphire Reserve®
Airbnb and dining through December 31, 2022 — 50% bonus (1.5 cents per point)
Annual membership fee through December 31, 2022 — 50% bonus (1.5 cents per point)
Eligible charities through December 31, 2022 — 50% bonus (1.5 cents per point)
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Airbnb through December 31, 2022 — 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point)
Eligible charities through December 31, 2022 — 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point)
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Ink Business Plus® Credit Card (no longer available to new applicants)
Shipping, internet, cable, and phone service purchases through December 31, 2022 — 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point)
Eligible charities through December 31, 2022 — 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point)
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Shipping, internet, cable, and phone service purchases through December 31, 2022 — 10% bonus (1.1 cents per point)
Eligible charities through December 31, 2022 — 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point)
Chase Freedom®(no longer available to new applicants)
Chase Freedom® Student credit card
Eligible charities through December 31, 2022 — 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point)
Eligible charities for Chase Pay Yourself Back include:
American Red CrossEqual Justice InitiativeFeeding AmericaGLSENHabitat for HumanityInternational Medical CorpsInternational Rescue CommitteeLeadership Conference Education FundNAACP Legal Defense and Education FundNational Urban LeagueOut & Equal Workplace AdvocatesSAGEThurgood Marshall College FundUnited Negro College FundUNICEF USAUnited WayWorld Central Kitchen
Of note are International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, UNICEF USA, and World Central Kitchen, which include support for relief efforts in Ukraine. Keep in mind you’ll need to donate directly to the charity’s parent organization, because local chapters may not be eligible for Pay Yourself Back.
If you have a card that is eligible for Pay Yourself Back, here are the steps you need to take to redeem your points.
How to use Chase Pay Yourself Back
Log into your Chase account onlineNavigate to the Chase Ultimate Rewards landing pageClick on “Pay Yourself Back” under the “Earn/Use” dropdown menuFrom there, you’ll be taken to a list of your purchases from the last 90 days that qualify for Pay Yourself BackSelect any purchases you’d like to redeem points forYou’ll be asked to enter the cash value of points you want to use, since you can use points to cancel out a portion of a purchase, in addition to redeeming points for the full purchase valueHit “Confirm & Submit” to complete your points redemption
You’ll receive a statement credit equal to the cash value of the points you redeemed within three business days.
You can select qualifying purchases made within the last 90 days for Pay Yourself Back redemptions.
Chase
What to consider before you use Pay Yourself Back
Being able to redeem rewards for a higher-than-usual rate is always a good thing, but Chase Ultimate Rewards points are also incredibly valuable for travel. Here’s everything you should consider before using Chase Pay Yourself Back.
If you might travel in the future, consider the value of Chase travel partners
While it may be tempting to cash in Chase points to cover your bills, don’t forget about the long-term value of these rewards if you plan to travel in the future.
Let’s say for a moment that you have 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points in your Chase Sapphire Reserve® account. You could use the Pay Yourself Back feature to cover $750 in dining purchases made with your card (1.5 cents per point), but you could also transfer these points to over a dozen airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio to get more value.
Insider values Chase Ultimate Rewards points as worth 1.8 cents apiece, on average, but the return you’ll get depends on the partner and specific redemption.
For example, 50,000 points are often enough to cover a round-trip flight to Europe when you transfer them to Air France-KLM Flying Blue — and that ticket might cost well over $1,000 otherwise.
That said, the advice to save points for future travel is really only applicable if you do plan to travel later. If finances are tight, then it’s likely using Chase points for non-travel redemptions would help you considerably more in the short term.
You’ll still earn rewards on any purchases you erase with Pay Yourself Back
Remember that the Pay Yourself Back feature is just another way you can redeem your rewards, so it won’t affect the earning rates you have with your Chase card.
You’ll still earn 5x points on flights and 10x points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards (after earning the $300 travel credit) and 3x points on all other travel and dining with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 2x points on all other travel purchases, and 3x points on dining with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. You’ll also earn 10x points on Lyft rides with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and 5x points on Lyft rides with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card through March 2025.
You can also still click through the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping portal to earn bonus rewards on online purchases made with participating stores. To do this, log into your Chase account, head to the Ultimate Rewards landing page, and click “Earn Bonus Points” under the “Earn/Use” dropdown. Then, select the store you want to make a purchase with, and click through.
Pair Chase cards for even more value
If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you should also consider applying for another Chase card that could help you maximize this benefit. Chase lets you combine points between accounts, so by moving all of your points to the card with the best redemption options, you’ll get the most value.
For instance, if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you could pair it with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® to earn 1.5% cash back (1.5x points) on non-bonus category spending, or with the Chase Freedom Flex℠ to earn 5% back (5x points) on up to $1,500 spent (then 1%) in quarterly rotating bonus categories after activation.