If you are ready to look at the current offer, my best offers page is always up to date: See current best offers

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I want to tell you about the card that has taken our family to some of the most beautiful hotels we have ever stayed in — and the five ways we actually use the points it earns.

The Hyatt Regency Maui. The Grand Hyatt Kauai. Scotland Yard in London. The Andaz and Thompson in New York City. Mar Monte Hotel in Santa Barbara. Lost Pines outside of Austin.

These are not budget hotels. They are the kind of properties most families think are out of reach. We have stayed at almost all of them on points earned from the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

This post is going to walk you through exactly how those trips happened, the five best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points as a family, whether this card makes financial sense for your situation, and the current welcome offer.

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What is the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a premium travel rewards card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points — one of the most flexible and valuable points currencies available to consumers. It earns 3x points on travel and dining and 1x on everything else, with a suite of travel credits and benefits that can significantly offset the $795 annual fee.

The current welcome offer is 150,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.

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The 5 best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points as a family

1. Transfer to World of Hyatt for luxury hotel stays

This is my single favorite use of Chase Ultimate Rewards points and the one I recommend first to every family in my community.

Chase transfers to World of Hyatt at a 1 to 1 ratio — one Ultimate Rewards point becomes one World of Hyatt point. Hyatt points are widely considered the most valuable hotel points in the world because the number of points required to book a night has not inflated as dramatically as other hotel programs.

Here is what that looks like in real life for our family.

The Grand Hyatt Kauai is one of the most beautiful resort properties in Hawaii. Cash rates run $600 to $900 per night depending on the season. On World of Hyatt points it costs 25,000 to 35,000 points per night. The 150,000 point welcome bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve alone is enough to cover four to six nights at a property like this. That is a Hawaii family vacation for a family of four covered almost entirely by a welcome bonus.

The Hyatt Regency Maui is another property we have stayed at on points — oceanfront, multiple pools, one of the best resorts on the island for families with kids. Same math. Cash rates that would make most families pause, points rates that make it completely accessible.

Beyond Hawaii, here are properties we have personally stayed at on World of Hyatt points transferred from Chase:

Scotland Yard Hotel in London — one of the most iconic addresses in the city, now an Unbound Collection by Hyatt property. Staying here feels completely different from a standard London hotel. The Andaz Fifth Avenue and Thompson Central Park in New York City — both extraordinary properties for a family city trip. Mar Monte Hotel in Santa Barbara — an Alila property which is part of the World of Hyatt portfolio, right on the water in one of the most beautiful coastal towns in California. Southlake Pines outside of Austin — an Hyatt property that feels like a full resort experience within driving distance of most Texas families.

The World of Hyatt portfolio includes Hyatt Regency, Grand Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz, Thompson, Alila, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt Residence Club timeshare properties, and dozens of independent boutique hotels through the Unbound Collection. You can search the full portfolio at hyatt.com and see the points cost for any property on any date.

No blackout dates. No award chart complexity. You search, you find your rate, you book.

2. Transfer to airline partners for flights

Chase Ultimate Rewards has one of the strongest transfer partner lineups of any flexible points program. You can transfer points at a 1 to 1 ratio to over a dozen airline loyalty programs including United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, British Airways Avios, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Aer Lingus AerClub, Iberia Plus, and more.

For families flying domestically, transferring to Southwest Rapid Rewards is one of the most straightforward uses. Southwest miles work on a revenue-based system which means you can book any available flight with no award chart to navigate. Transferring enough Chase points to cover a family’s round trip flights to a vacation destination is one of the most popular uses for families in my community.

For international travel, Flying Blue and United MileagePlus are the most useful partners for most families. We have used Flying Blue miles — transferred from a Capital One card rather than Chase, but the concept is identical — to cover flights to Nairobi for our Africa trip. The same transfer strategy with Chase Ultimate Rewards would work the same way.

3. Book through the Chase Travel Portal

Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can book flights, hotels, rental cars, vacation rentals, and other travel through the Chase Travel portal and receive enhanced value on their points.

With the Chase Points Boost feature, select flights and hotels are eligible for up to 2 cents per point in value when booked through the portal. Everything else — including vacation homes, cruises, and activities — redeems at 1 cent per point.

The travel portal is the easiest entry point for families who are just starting to use their points. There is no transfer process, no separate loyalty account to manage, and no award availability to worry about. You search like you are booking a normal trip and pay with points instead of cash.

4. Use for vacation rentals and Airbnb

Chase Ultimate Rewards can be used to cover vacation rental and Airbnb bookings. You can book through the Chase Travel portal which now includes vacation home rentals, or you can book directly and use Pay Yourself Back to cover the charge with points after the fact.

For families who prefer a full house over a hotel room — especially for longer trips — this flexibility is significant. The ability to cover a beach house or mountain cabin with points and then reimburse yourself through Pay Yourself Back means you are not limited to what is available in the Chase portal.

5. Pay Yourself Back for statement credits

Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature allows you to apply points toward eligible purchases at a rate of 1 cent per point or higher depending on your card and the category. For the Sapphire Reserve this includes travel, dining, and select other categories.

This is the most flexible use of points for families who want maximum control over how they redeem. Book whatever travel makes the most sense for your family, pay with your card, and then use Pay Yourself Back to cover the charge at a competitive rate. No portal. No transfer. No award availability. Just points covering your actual travel spending.

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The credits — and why the annual fee is more manageable than it looks

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a $795 annual fee. That is a real number and I want to be completely honest with you about it. This card is not right for everyone. But here is how the credits work and why many families find the annual fee easier to offset than they expect.

The $300 annual travel credit is the easiest credit on any card I have ever used. It applies automatically to the first $300 in travel purchases each year — flights, hotels, rental cars, Uber, parking, tolls, and more. For most families who travel at all this credit applies within the first month or two of card membership. That immediately brings the effective annual fee from $795 to $495.

The StubHub and Viagogo credits offer $150 in biannual credits for tickets to sports, concerts, and events. Because of when this card launched, new cardholders in 2026 can earn three rounds of these credits in their first year — $450 in total potential value. If your family goes to sporting events, concerts, or theater, these credits can be genuinely useful.

The OpenTable Dining Credits also offer $150 in biannual credits, also with three rounds in the first year for new cardholders — another $450 in potential value. OpenTable is accepted at restaurants across the country including many restaurants you are likely already visiting.

The Edit Collection Hotel Credits give you two $250 hotel credits per calendar year for stays of two nights or more at Edit Collection properties, bookable through Chase Travel. These are typically upscale independent hotels and boutique properties. A family using both credits in a year gets $500 in hotel credits. Two more credits become available after January 1, 2027.

The Select Hotels credit is a one-time $250 credit in 2026 for a two-night minimum stay at select hotels booked through Chase Travel, including IHG properties like Holiday Inn and Kimpton. This can be stacked with the Edit Collection credits for up to $500 off a two-night stay.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit — up to $120 for the application fee, renewing every four years.

Airport lounge access for the cardholder plus two guests at Priority Pass lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounges. For families who travel frequently through airports with Sapphire Lounge locations, this benefit alone can be worth hundreds of dollars per year.

Apple Music, Apple TV, Lyft, and Peloton credits round out the benefits package with smaller but potentially useful monthly credits.

The honest math: if you use the $300 travel credit, one round of StubHub credits, and one round of OpenTable credits, you have already recouped $600 of the $795 annual fee. Adding the hotel credits or lounge access pushes many cardholders well past break-even in year one, especially given the 150,000 point welcome bonus.

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Is this card right for you?

This card makes sense if:

You travel as a family at least a few times per year and can easily use the $300 travel credit. You eat at restaurants that participate in OpenTable. You attend sporting events, concerts, or theater where StubHub credits would be useful. You can spend $6,000 in 3 months on normal household expenses to earn the welcome bonus. You are interested in transferring points to Hyatt for hotel stays or to airline partners for flights. You are comfortable managing the credits to offset the annual fee.

This card does not make sense if:

You carry a balance month to month. Always pay your card in full — this is non-negotiable for making points and miles work for your family. You would not use enough of the credits to offset the annual fee. The $6,000 minimum spend in 3 months would require you to change your spending habits. You are early in your points journey and a no-annual-fee card would be a better starting point.

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The current welcome offer

150,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

At the World of Hyatt transfer rate, 150,000 points can cover multiple nights at properties like the Grand Hyatt Kauai, Hyatt Regency Maui, Andaz Fifth Avenue, or dozens of other Hyatt properties worldwide. That is the Hawaii trip. That is the New York City family vacation. That is the long weekend at Mar Monte in Santa Barbara or Lost Pines outside of Austin.

If you are ready to apply or want to see the current offer alongside everything else I recommend, my best offers page has everything in one place: See current best offers

And if you have questions about whether this card makes sense for your specific situation, my DMs are open on Instagram at @pointsandmilesteachers. I read every single one.

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The editorial content here is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.