Chase updates Pay Yourself Back redemption options

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, including some co-branded cardholders.

The guide below explains the full Pay Yourself Back program and how you can leverage it. Remember that, usually, the best value for your Ultimate Rewards points will be transferring to a travel partner, but best overall value doesn’t mean it’s YOUR best option; everyone has different needs and expectations for their credit card rewards.

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 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.

More recently, Chase expanded Pay Yourself Back to include a few co-branded cards: All Southwest Airlines co-branded cards (consumer and business), all United Airlines co-branded cards (consumer and business) and the CardNamediscontinued.

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 Ink Plus®, Chase Freedom® and Chase Freedom Flex^SM 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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Unlimited matched cash back. Use your card for all your purchases and at the end of your first year, Chase will automatically match all the cash back you earned! There is no limit to how much you can earn. Every dollar in cash back rewards you earn is a dollar Chase will match.
Earn 5% on travel purchases with Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
Points redeemed through the Pay Yourself Back program are worth 25% more.
No annual fee.
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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 Flex^SM 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
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Earn 100,000 bonus points, worth $1,250 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards, after you spend $8,000 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 $900 bonus cash back 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 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 $900 bonus cash back 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 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.

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 Pay Yourself Back 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 equal redeeming your points for cash back.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with a getting a base value back on your rewards if that’s what you want to do. Credit card rewards are yours to use and if you feel good about the redemption, it’s the right redemption for you. Just know that there are strategies to maximizing your rewards value

➤ LEARN ABOUT MAXIMIZING ULTIMATE REWARDS:Guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards

The conversation is a little different when it comes to the United cards option. At a value of 1.5 to 1.75 points per cent, this could be a great redemption to cover your annual fee. The CardNamediscontinued requires a AnnualFees annual fee, but you could redeem just 30,000 United points to cover that fee. That’s likely a far better value than redeeming those points for airfare – especially considering that annual fee secures you access to United Clubs for the year.