About the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall
While many rewards credit cards are tied to an affiliate’s loyalty program, some banks offer their own proprietary points system for use with their credit cards. Integral to these points programs are a means to redeem the currency for products and services. These programs can also allow customers to make purchases at select merchants in order to earn additional rewards. Chase’s Ultimate Rewards mall allows customers to redeem points earned and to earn bonus points for making purchases at featured retailers.
How The Ultimate Rewards Mall Works
Chase’s best credit card offers fall into three different card families that are eligible to participate in their Ultimate Rewards program, their Freedom cash back credit card, Sapphire, and Ink offers which that already earn Ultimate Rewards points from their purchases. When it comes time to redeem these points, cardholders can visit the online shopping portal to redeem points for travel, cash back, experiences, merchandise, and gift cards. Points are generally worth one cent each with most redemption opportunities, but cardholders will receive a 25% bonus when making travel reservations through the Ultimate Rewards web site.
Unlike some other credit card loyalty programs, the Ultimate Rewards website is also a shopping portal where members can receive bonus points for their purchases at eligible retailers. Bonuses range from 1 to 25 points per dollar spent, with the vast majority of merchants offering between bonuses at a rate of between 2 and 5 points per dollar. Note that these points are in addition to those normally received from the cardholder’s credit card spending. Some of the best deals include four points per dollar spent on travel booked through Hotels.com, five points per dollar at purchases at JC Penny, and seven points per dollar at Sears.com.
Who This Program Works Best For
Chase is strongly encouraging holders of eligible Chase rewards credit cards to consider their Ultimate Rewards Mall when shopping online, not just when redeeming reward points. While many of the best rates of bonus points are reserved for purchases at high margin, specialty gift retailers, there are still several attractive options for receiving high rates of cash back at discounters such as Target. Additionally, businesses that use Chase’s Ink cards can save significant money on purchases of computer equipment and office supplies at several competitive outlets such as TigerDirect and Staples. These benefits are built into many Chase cards, and card members would be smart to take advantage of these money saving opportunities.
