If you’re hoping to earn flexible rewards for travel with a credit card, there are numerous rewards programs and families of cards to choose from. American Express Membership Rewards® and Chase Ultimate Rewards® are two of the most popular, and for good reason. Not only do these programs have a competitive lineup of transfer partners and redemption options, but users can earn them with some of the most popular travel credit cards on the market today.
If you’re considering earning Amex points or Chase points but can’t seem to decide between the two, read on for an overview of both programs and who they’re best for.
Chase Ultimate Rewards®
American Express Membership Rewards®
Best for
- People who want easy, lucrative redemption options outside of travel
- Frequent travel portal users
- People who book travel with Southwest, United, or Hyatt
Frequent international travelers who book premium airfare and hotel stays
Transfer partners
- 11 airlines
- 3 hotel brands
- 18 airlines
- 3 hotel brands
Other redemption options
- Cash back
- Statement credits
- Merchandise
- Gift cards
- Travel through Chase Travel
- Cash back
- Statement credits
- Merchandise
- Gift cards
- Travel through AmexTravel.com
Points pooling
You can combine points across accounts from most cards, and with people in your household
Combine points from most cards in your own account
Average point value for premium travel redemptions
2 cents per point or more
2 cents per point or more
Redemption value for travel through portal
Up to 2 cents per point
- 1 cent per point for airfare
- 0.7 cents per point for hotels, rental cars and other travel
American Express Membership Rewards® details
American Express Membership Rewards® is the currency you can earn with popular travel credit cards like card_name and the card_name. This program lets users redeem their rewards for statement credits, gift cards, merchandise, travel through American Express or point transfers to the program’s 21 airline and hotel partners. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.
The Amex Membership Rewards® transfer partners list includes:
Airlines:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- All Nippon Airways Mileage Club
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Delta Air Lines SkyMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Airways Guest
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hotels:
- Choice Privileges
- Hilton Honors
- Marriott Bonvoy
Most point transfers offered through Amex are offered at a 1:1 ratio, although there are exceptions. For example, 1,000 Amex points turn into 2,000 Hilton Honors points, and 250 Amex points turn into 200 TrueBlue points with JetBlue.
The plethora of transfer partners is one reason to go with Amex Membership Rewards®, particularly if you know how to maximize them for travel. However, the value of Amex Membership Rewards® points isn’t that great for non-travel and even non-airfare options.
For example, users can redeem points for 1 cent each for airfare through AmexTravel.com, but hotels and car rentals only get you 0.7 cents per point. This puts Amex at a significant advantage if you’re comparing the Chase travel portal vs. Amex travel portal. Redeeming for statement credits only gets you 0.6 cents per point as well, and paying with points at checkout gets you 0.7 cents per point with most retailers. Gift cards come with a redemption value of 0.5 cents to 1 cent per point.
Pros
- Flexible redemption options available
- More airline and hotel transfer partners to choose from
- Earning points is easy with the best credit cards for Amex Membership Rewards®
Cons
- Low redemption values for non-travel options
- Lower redemption values when redeeming travel other than airfare through Amex
- No points bonus when you redeem points for travel through Amex
Chase Ultimate Rewards® details
Chase Ultimate Rewards® is the currency you earn with popular travel credit cards like the card_name and card_name. This program lets users redeem their rewards for statement credits, gift cards, merchandise, travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal or point transfers to the program’s 14 airline and hotel partners. The Chase Ultimate Rewards® transfer partners list includes:
Airlines:
- AerClub, loyalty program of Aer Lingus
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards®
- Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus®
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Air Canada Aeroplan
Hotels:
- IHG® One Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
A major benefit of this program is the fact that all point transfers are offered at a 1:1 ratio, and that other redemption values are on the high side. For starters, thanks to Points Boost offers, Chase Sapphire Preferred® your points are worth up to 1.5x on thousands of both top booked hotels and flights with select airlines through Chase Travel – and up to 1.75x on premium cabin tickets on select airlines, whereas Chase Sapphire Reserve® points can be worth as much as 2x through the portal.
The value of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points for cash back and statement credits comes in at 1 cent per point, and the same can be said for gift card options. Many merchandise redemptions also come with a value of 1 cent per point, although points redeemed for shopping through Amazon or PayPal.com get a value of 0.8 cents per point.
Pros
- Flexible redemption options available
- Offers premium airline and hotel partners like Southwest, United and World of Hyatt
- Get better redemption for travel with select Chase travel credit cards
- Points are easy to earn with the best credit cards for Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Pool points from Chase cash back credit cards for premium travel redemptions
Cons
- Fewer transfer partners to choose from
- Limited Chase travel credit cards earn transferable points on their own
The bottom line: Chase Ultimate Rewards® vs. Amex Membership Rewards®
While both of these travel rewards programs have their benefits, it’s highly possible one of them could benefit you more than the other. You may find you can use one program’s transfer partners more often or for better redemptions options, or that you like the actual cardholder perks you get with cards that earn your ideal type of points.
That said, each of these programs tends to suit different types of consumers.
You may prefer American Express Membership Rewards® if:
- You love chasing travel sweet spots with international transfer partners, including premium cabin airfare and luxury hotel stays.
- You want access to more airline and hotel partners overall.
- You want to redeem rewards for airfare and other travel and are less likely to redeem for gift cards or statement credits.
You may prefer Chase Ultimate Rewards® if:
- You travel domestically often with Southwest or United, or you want to be able to transfer points to the World of Hyatt program.
- You love booking travel through a portal and want a value boost when you do.
- You may redeem your points for statement credits or gift cards in the future.
