What are “Chase points boosts”? In this episode, we’ll explain and evaluate this new feature for hotel and flight bookings through Chase Travel℠.
Coffee Break: Chase Points Boosts explained & evaluated
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(00:10) – Explaining a few confusing elements
Learn more about this here.
(03:19) – Chase points boosts (flights)
(04:39) – What does a points boost mean for flights?
(09:08) – As far as flights are concerned, is this a good change?
(13:48) – Chase points boosts (hotels)
(13:57) – The Edit hotels
(18:30) – As far as hotels are concerned, is this a good change?
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Thank you, Nick, for the tip about the Chatwal! I got it boosted for 30k for a night in August when the cash rates were lower. I’m not a Globalist so the breakfast and property credit will be great additions!
I only have a CSP so the cap on UR value is lower, but the Points Boost brought up some intriguing options when searching hotels in Ireland after a change in plans. My observation was a number of independent hotels in Dublin of above average quality but not at FHR/The Edit level pricing were available on points boost at 1.5cpp (nearly 30 hotels). Since these are properties not part of the major loyalty programs you weren’t giving up status benefits which made Chase Points Boost seem like a clear win on being able to book them. The most comparable options are rather niche, USB AR (if you have a plethora of points to burn down since they are hard to earn) or Aeroplan cardholders using PYB with 30% transfer bonus Aeroplan points from Chase. Those with a CSR always had 1.5cpp but I would expect to get 2cpp on these same boosted properties, which would be a pretty great redemption.
I’m looking for a larger Triple or Family room to fit more than 2 people which puts limits on the points options in Europe – most standard rooms bookable on points have a capacity limit of 2. Existing Hilton points won out as they have some very reasonable SLH properties available in Ireland that include the ability to book up into a higher category or Triple room (40K – 65K per night for highly rated Trip Advisor and Michelin Key hotels). But the Chase Points Boost really made me think about it, and I probably would have gone that way if I had a CSR.
The Points Boost option is definitely targeted. While I found nearly 30 hotels in Dublin, I could not find a single boosted hotel in Cork or western Ireland (for the dates I was checking).
FYI, I actually checked the points boost feature (by accident) and it saved me over 40,000 ultimate reward points. I was going to book directly thru United. This game constantly evolves!
Hello Guys: I have the old CSR card and I am disappointed with the changes. One big negative for me is that car rentals will no longer be 1.5 but rather 1 to 1. I probably rent 6 cars a year for a week at a time on various trips and this saved me a ton of money. Also, if you are a cruiser, the 1.5 was of significant value and that is gone. Will get my old CSR one more time as my anniversary is coming soon, but when it completely switches to the new updated card, I am out. Their “coupons” are not of value to me. Thanks for the video, but there are definitely some negatives to this new system.
Amex devalued emirates like citi now 1:1 to 5:4 just to alert you all
More shoes to drop.
Whether this is good or bad will vary from person to person. For a number of properties that I use, this new system is a big win. Both pricing and being able to redeem at 2 cents per point. Not for everything. But, a good share. If Chase doesn’t work for some other property, I’ll use some other booking portal. For others, the new system might well be a big loss. The game is always changing.
FWIW I think Fred has the right general idea.
Instead of being a great “catch all” travel reimbursement tool, CSR is evolving into more of a specialty tool. When it favors the properties or eateries you want to patronize, there will be nothing better. And when it doesn’t…time to use a different tool.