CSR question

[Anonymous]

So from what I understand, the CSR will allow each UR point I have to be worth 1.5cpp if I were to use the Chase UR portal to book my flights or hotels vs the 1cpp if I were to transfer my UR points directly to my hotels/airlines accounts. So are the redemptions via Chase UR portal just as good if I were to book it via a 1:1 points transfer? If the transfer rate is so good, why would anyone else who has a CSR need to transfer 1:1 to partners? Thanks!

[wasCB14]

If you book travel through Chase, you get 1.5 cents per point. Since the cash prices Chase quotes are pretty similar to what other sites charge, the value proposition is fairly simple.

If you transfer to partners, then it can potentially become a lot more complicated. A small number of airlines have points worth a fixed value, but for most airlines and hotels the value depends on the actual redemption. 1.5 cents per point would be on the high end for IHG, but on the low end for Hyatt. The tradeoff for Hyatt is that there are few properties.

*As far as airlines, it's not unusual to get 4 cents per point on international business class.

[Revelate]

Chase portal is simply Expedia these days, but points instead of cash.

It was working well for me going short hops till I decided to wrap my arms around Southwest as I was going to be flying enough to actually hit at least their first tier A-list without much trouble.

[Aim_High]

Before I got my CSR and after, I have read postings by THE POINTS GUY website.  Look it up online.  thepointsguy.com

He analyzes the value of points offered by different programs including the CSR and other cards, as well as the value of airline and hotel program points.  He does suggest moving UR points to partner programs to fully maximize their value.  He has written quite a few articles to explain why and some tips on how to do it.  It is all pretty complicated but if you're interested in doing this, his analysis will save you a lot of work.

In my case, I doubt I would ever go to that extreme to maximize the points since I'm not a frequent leisure flyer and am not a committed member of any single airline or hotel chain program.  My plan with my CSR is just to use the points on the portal to get the 50% more value.

[K-in-Boston]

TPG is great, but one thing to keep in mind that is very important: hotel, airline, and flexible (MR, UR, TYP) points are valued by conversion to premium cabin award fares.  Any valuation needs to be based on how you yourself will redeem the points.  During the heyday of earning Starwood and spending Marriott in 2017/2018, I was getting about 7.5 - 8 cents per point on Starpoints (2.5 - 2.67 per Marriott point) which worked out to getting 15-16% back across the board on my Starwood card purchases due to the 3:1 transfer ratio.  Compare that 7.5-8 cents to their valuation of 2.1 cents at the time.

One important thing to keep in mind is that you typically will not receive elite benefits or credits for hotels when booked through portals like Chase UR.  That can be a very good reason to not use the portal for hotel bookings.  For airlines, OTA (Online Travel Agency, such as Expedia, Priceline, Amex Travel, Chase UR, Citi TYP, etc.) bookings are still treated as revenue bookings, so in most cases unless the value of an award booking with miles is significantly better than 1.5 cents per mile, it will make more sense to book through the portal at 1.5 cents per point since you would still earn miles and elite-qualifying miles/segments/dollars.