If Chase’s Pay Yourself Back hasn’t been on your radar for a while, this redemption option is worth looking into.
Not only has the option expanded to a broader list of Chase cards, but some of the redemption rates aren’t something to sneeze at, especially since some airline miles have devalued when using miles for more traditional uses. Chase Southwest Airlines Cards and Aeroplan® Credit Cardamong others.
To illustrate how this can be useful if you have a United credit card, you can use miles to offset annual fees as high as 1.75 cents per mile, which is higher than the rate. TPG values United miles for travel and is worth your consideration. With the $525-per-year United Club℠ Unlimited Card, you can offset the annual fee (and gain access to United Club for an entire year in the process) for just 30,000 United miles.
Additionally, many of these redemption options were previously scheduled to expire at the end of June but are now good through September 30.
Here’s what you need to know about using Chase Pay Yourself Back.
What is Chase Pay Yourself Back?
In 2020, when most of the world was not traveling, Chase initially introduced Pay Yourself Back as an ongoing redemption option within it. Ultimate Rewards products to give cardmembers another choice in redeeming points. Categories have evolved over time, removing options such as grocery and home improvement stores and adding others.
In short, the Pay Yourself Back option allows cardholders of many Chase cards to use points at the same redemption value as travel bookings. This will generally not give you the maximum value for your Ultimate Rewards points that you can get with strategic use of transfer partners; However, it can be a good choice if you’re looking for a simple return or are sitting on a pile of points without immediate use.
And some airline cards are now eligible for pay yourself back, a rate you can redeem for some categories that’s higher than the average return you’ll get when you use miles to book travel.
Related: Best Chase Credit Cards
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What purchases are eligible for Pay Yourself Back?
These are the current categories that are eligible for self-pay:
| card | Redemption value | Current Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Select charities: 1.5 cents per point
Gas stations, pet supply stores and services, wholesale clubs and cardholder annual fee: 1.25 cents per point |
September 30, 2024 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Select charities: 1.25 cents per point | September 30, 2024 |
| Chase Freedom Flex®, Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Chase Freedom | Select charities: 1.25 cents per point | September 30, 2024 |
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, Ink Business Premier® Credit CardInk Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card | Select charities: 1.25 cents per point | September 30, 2024 |
| Chase United Credit Cards (except for no annual fee cards) | Cardholder annual fee and airfare tickets purchased through United: 1.5 — 1.75 cents per mile for annual fee redemptions, depending on card
Airfare transactions purchased through United: 1 cent per mile |
continued; There is no specific end date |
| Aeroplan Credit Card | Travel purchases within the last 90 days or card annual fee: 1.25 cents per point | None, but there is an annual limit to redeem 50,000 points per year |
| Southwest Airlines Personal Credit Cards | Annual cardholder fee: 1 cent per point
Up to $350 in credit for home improvement purchases (must be requested within 90 days of purchase date): 0.8 cents per point |
September 30, 2024 |
| Southwest Airlines Business Credit Cards | Annual cardholder fee: 1 cent per point
Up to $350 in credit for Internet, cable and phone services: 0.8 cents per point |
September 30, 2024 |
Information for the Chase Freedom Card is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The list of charities for Pay Yourself Back includes:
- American Red Cross
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Feeding America
- GLSEN
- Habitat for Humanity
- International Medical Corps
- International Rescue Committee, Inc.
- Leadership Conference Education Fund
- Make-A-Wish America
- NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
- National Urban League
- Out and equal workplace advocates
- Sage
- Thurgood Marshall College Fund
- United Negro College Fund
- UNICEF USA
- United Way
- World Central Kitchen
Let’s say you made an eligible donation at Chase Sapphire Reserve. For most purchases, you’ll get a $100 statement credit when redeeming 10,000 points. But for the same 10,000 points, you’ll get a $150 credit when you redeem them for your eligible charity donation. You may get more value by transferring your points to travel partners, but this redemption rate matches the rate offered on Chase Travel℠ redemptions for that card.
Credit Request
Requesting credit through Chase’s Pay Yourself Back program is relatively easy. Log into your eligible Chase account via the mobile app or desktop and select the “Pay Yourself Back” option in the redemption menu.
Next, you will see a list of eligible purchases for which you can redeem points. Points can be redeemed for purchases prior to 90 days.
Assuming you have enough points to cover it, you can offset the entire purchase amount or redeem smaller amounts if you wish.
From there, you can confirm the redemption value and the amount of points required and then choose to complete the transaction. Your statement credit should be posted within three business days.
Statement credit options on other purchases
Chase has long offered the option to redeem points for statement credit — it’s not new. To do this, log into your Ultimate Rewards account, click on the drop-down menu and select “Cash Back”.
You will be given the option to enter the amount you wish to redeem and where you wish to deposit your rewards. All cash-back redemptions are fixed at 1 percent per point, just half of TPG’s July 2024 Valuation for Ultimate Rewards and less than any of the Pay Yourself Back options above.
Related: Points of View: Can I cash out my points and is it worth it?
Still, Chase’s traditional cash-back option is more generous than you might expect from some other issuers. Here’s how it breaks down for some of the most popular programs and cards:
The information for the Citi Prestige Card is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature provides valuable flexibility for many cardholders. Ultimately, whether you should redeem your balance this way depends on how you plan to use your points, how many you currently have, and whether or not you would benefit significantly from statement credits.