Chase has once again extended its Pay Yourself Back program, which is a good thing, and it retained some of the everyday redemption options that could make this a valuable option for some cardholders. The caveat, of course, is that your BEST redemption of Ultimate Rewards points is transferring them to a travel partner.
That said, there are some options worth taking note of. The guide below explains the full Pay Yourself Back program and how you can leverage it.
What is Chase Pay Yourself Back?
The Chase Pay Yourself back program is a kind of statement credit opportunity for specific purchases. Much like the CardNamediscontinued allows you to redeem miles to erase travel purchases from your statement, the Chase Pay Yourself Back program allows you to redeem Ultimate Rewards points to erase certain categories of purchases from your statement.
To take advantage of the offer, cardholders simply need to log into their account, navigate to the Pay Yourself Back portal and you’ll see your eligible purchases listed alongside the number of points necessary to cover that purchase. Check the purchases you’d like to cover with Ultimate Rewards points and click “Continue” at the bottom to move the process forward.
A couple of important rules to note:
1. You can only Pay Yourself Back for purchases made within the past 90 days. A small countdown number appears next to a purchase as your days to redeem for that purchase are running out.
2. You can only Pay Yourself Back for purchases in particular categories and those categories are dependent on the card(s) you have. (Take a look at the categories that are eligible for Pay Yourself Back).
3. It could take 2-3 business days for the credit to appear on your account. It could take one or two billing cycles for those credits to appear on your monthly statement. Remember, you will still need to make at least your minimum monthly payment on your card.
What cards are eligible for Pay Yourself Back?
When Pay Yourself Back first hit the scene back in May 2020, it was only available to CardNamediscontinued and CardNamediscontinued cardholders. Later that year, however, Chase announced an expansion of the program to some cards within the Ink family of small business cards as well as to the Freedom family of cash-back cards. All of these earn Ultimate Rewards points even though several are marketed as “cash back” cards.
One note, while Chase no longer accepts applications for the Ink Plus® business card or Chase Freedom® card, existing cardholders are also eligible for the Pay Yourself Back program. (Information related to the Ink Plus® business card or Chase Freedom® card has been collected independently by CardRatings and was neither provided nor reviewed by Chase)
Here are the details on still-available cards:
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- Earn an extra 1.5% cash back on purchases during your first year (up to $20,000 spent), for a value of up to $300 cash back.
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining at restaurants and on drugstore purchases, and 1.5% on all other purchases.
- Points redeemed through the Pay Yourself Back program are worth 25% more.
- No annual fee.
- Read our full CardName
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- Earn a $200 cash back bonus (20,000 points) after spending $500 in the first three months from opening an account.
- Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in categories that rotate quarterly (quarterly activation required).
- Also, earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal; 3% cash back at restaurants, including takeout and delivery, and at drugstores; and 1% back on your other eligible purchases.
- Points redeemed through the Pay Yourself Back program are worth 25% more.
- No annual fee.
- Read our full CardName. Information related to Chase Freedom FlexSM has been collected independently by CardRatings and was neither reviewed nor provided by the card issuer
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- Earn 60,000 bonus points, worth $750 in travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards, after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.
- Earn 5X total points on all travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal; 3X points on dining, including eligible delivery services and takeout; 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs); 3X points on select streaming services; 2X points on travel purchases; and 1X point on all other purchases.
- Points redeemed for travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal OR for donations to select charities through the Pay Yourself Back program are worth 25% more.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- AnnualFees annual fee
- Read our full CardName.
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- Earn 60,000 bonus points, worth $900 in travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Receive a $300 credit each year to cover travel purchases.
- Earn 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3X points on other travel and dining and 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Points redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards OR for donations to select charities through the Pay Yourself Back program are worth 50% more. Pay Yourself Back redemptions for gas, groceries or your annual fee are worth 25% more.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass Select.
- Up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
- Enjoy a complimentary Lyft Pink membership, a $199 minimum value.
- AnnualFees annual fee
- Read our full CardName.
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- Earn 100,000 bonus points, worth $1,250 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards, after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Earn three points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary and one point on all other purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.
- Points redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards OR through the Pay Yourself Back program are worth 25% more.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Employee cards at no additional cost.
- AnnualFees annual fee
- Read our full CardName.
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- Earn 75,000 bonus points, worth $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards, after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Earn 5% back on up to $25,000 in combined spending at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year; 2% back on up to $25,000 combined spending at gas stations and restaurant each account year; and 1% back on other purchases.
- Points redeemed via Pay Yourself Back for internet, cable, phone services and shipping are worth 10% more (1.1 cents each) and points redeemed for eligible charitable contributions are worth 25% more.
- Employee cards at no additional cost.
- AnnualFees annual fee
- Read our full CardName.
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- Earn 75,000 bonus points, worth $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards, after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Earn 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases.
- Points redeemed via Pay Yourself Back for internet, cable, phone services and shipping are worth 10% more (1.1 cents each) and points redeemed for eligible charitable contributions are worth 25% more.
- Employee cards at no additional cost.
- AnnualFees annual fee
- Read our full CardName.
Chase Pay Yourself Back categories
While all the cards above offer cardholders the option of Pay Yourself Back rewards redemption, the categories for which they offer it differ depending on your card.
| CARD NAME | CATEGORY | POINTS VALUE | CURRENT END DATE |
| Sapphire Preferred® | Grocery stores and gas stations | 1 cent each | June 30, 2023 |
| Donations to eligible charities | 1.25 cents each (25% more) |
Dec 31, 2023 | |
| Sapphire Reserve® | Grocery stores and gas stations | 1.25 cents each (25% more) |
June 30, 2023 |
| Annual fee | 1.25 cents each | June 30, 2023 | |
| Donations to eligible charities | 1.5 cents each (50% more) |
Dec. 31, 2023 | |
|
Ink Business Preferred® and Ink Plus® |
Internet, cable, phone services and shipping |
1.25 cents each (25% more) |
June 30, 2023 |
| Donations to eligible charities | 1.25 cents each (25% more) |
Dec. 31, 2023 | |
|
Ink Business Cash® and Ink Business Unlimited® |
Internet, cable, phone services and shipping |
1.1 cents each (10% more) |
June 30, 2023 |
| Donations to eligible charities | 1.25 cents each (25% more) |
Dec. 31, 2023 | |
|
Freedom, Freedom FlexSM, and Freedom Unlimited® |
Donations to eligible charities | 1.25 cents each (25% more) |
Dec. 31, 2023 |
What charities are eligible for Chase Pay Yourself Back?
The current list of eligible charities includes:
- American Red Cross
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Feeding America
- Habitat for Humanity
- International Medical Corps
- International Rescue Committee
- Leadership Conference Education Fund
- NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
- National Urban League
- Thurgood Marshall College Fund
- UNICEF USA
- United Negro College Fund
- United Way
- World Central Kitchen
Note that local chapters may not be eligible for Pay Yourself Back, so it’s best to make your donation to the national organization
Is Pay Yourself Back worth it?
Yes, Pay Yourself Back can be worth it, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best value for your points. With the devaluing of the redemption options for the Sapphire cards, redeeming your points for anything other than charitable donations will mean you’re getting less than the base travel redemption value for those points. It will basically equal redeeming your points for cash back.
Sure, many people open Ultimate Rewards-earning cards with travel dreams floating around in their heads. COVID-19 put those dreams on hold and reminded us that everyday expenses are still around. Even if travel is back on your agenda, you no doubt still have other expenses.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with holding onto your points and continuing to use them for travel, but Pay Yourself Back does offer an intriguing alternative option.
