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Do Ultimate Rewards points expire?

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are a highly sought after point system that connects a number of Chase credit cards. Ultimate Rewards points value is a minimum of $0.01 per point and it’s buying power can be increased based on how you redeem the rewards, making it one of the most attractive credit card rewards systems. With valuable points, the goal is to always keep earning to be able to reap big rewards.

However, there is always a lingering concern that those points could expire. Do Chase Ultimate Rewards points expire?

Chase ultimate rewards

This concern is valid as there is quite a range of expiration dates. Most airline and hotel based travel rewards have an expiration ranging anywhere from 12 months to 36 months. Of course, some never expire.

What about Chase Ultimate Rewards? Thankfully, the Ultimate lives up to its name – it sits amongst the points that will never expire. You can maintain your Ultimate rewards on your account for as long as your account is open and you stay in good standing with Chase.

Tip: you can earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

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How do I keep my Chase Ultimate Rewards from expiring?

The dreaded point expiration or loss comes about when your account closes. If your account closes, then your points will immediately expire and there is no way to recover them. To avoid this misfortune, you simply have to ensure that your account stays open.

Be sure to pay any applicable annual fees on the card and pay your balance according to the terms of the card. In addition, be sure to not abuse or misuse the points program. Don’t be a fraudster, as any of these actions could, of course, cause the closure of your account.

Another obvious one is to avoid is personal bankruptcy. That will do you no good with your lenders and your points will disappear, though that might be low on your list of concerns in that case.

You may also want to intentionally close your Chase credit card if you are trying to take advantage of a different bonus offer or rewards system and want to limit your active cards. If so, you simply need to redeem your points before closing your account OR combine them with another Ultimate Rewards account.

Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for cash, travel or gift cards through online redemption. Keep in mind that if you’re looking to take it our directly as cash, you may have to have at least 2,000 points to redeem.

Transferring Your Ultimate Rewards to a Travel Partner

You should also note that you are able to transfer your Ultimate Rewards to partner frequent travel programs. If you have your Ultimate Rewards in a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Plus® Business Card account, you will be able to transfer your points to United MileagePlus and many other transfer partners. However, airline and hotel loyalty programs often have expiration dates.

If you’re transferring points, you’re likely doing so for a reason. If you transfer and redeem your points, then there’s no concern. However, if you’re saving your points for a big trip in a couple of years, you’re better off keeping those points in your expiration-proof Ultimate Rewards balance.

Transferring to Another Chase Ultimate Rewards Card Holder

If you’d like to close your account but save the points, you can transfer the points to another Chase Rewards card you own, or to your spouse or common-law partner. If your points are in good standing, you can transfer them and they won’t expire.

Of course, we need to consider the fact that rewards companies can change their policies at any time.

Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Chase offers three personal cards that can collect Ultimate Rewards.

The most popular option is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, particularly for travelers. You can earn 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining and 1 point on everything else. Currently, this card offers a 50,000 point sign-up bonus offer if you spend $4,000 within three months of opening your account.

The Chase Freedom card is a cash-back card that tracks cash back as Ultimate Rewards points. Most purchases are 1% cash back. So for every dollar spent on the card, you earn 1 point. Each 100 points collected is equivalent to $1 in cash back.

However, this card also has quarterly categories that allow you to earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the current category. All those points add up to cash, and you don’t need to worry about it disappearing

The Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card provides 1.5% cash back on every purchase. There is currently a bonus offer of $150 after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening (or if you haven’t received a new card member bonus in 24 months). For people who don’t like to follow categories and aren’t traveling much, this card is a good option to earn points that can be saved for a long time, if needed, without worry of expiry. There isn’t even an annual fee with this card that could provide an account hiccup.

Conclusion

The delightfully simple answer to the question of if Chase Ultimate Rewards expire is: no. Chase Ultimate Rewards points do not expire as long as you keep your card account open. If you maintain your Chase credit card, you maintain your points. By keeping your account open, paying your annual fee, and following the payment terms, you’ll have an on-going collection of points.

These points are handy to collect over time, as you may want to cash in for a certain big trip with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Or, you may follow categories and spend big only once or twice a year on the categories that fit well with your interests with the Freedom card. Or, you may choose to stick with a reliable 1.5% point/cash-back earning with the Freedom Unlimited card and slowly collect points over a number of years.

In any of these scenarios, the freedom from expiration concerns is a big bonus in Chase’s own reward system.

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