Chase Pay Yourself Back: How it Works and How to Get the Most From It

Chase Ultimate Rewards are popular with travelers because the points are so flexible. Savvy cardholders use them to book travel through the Chase travel portal or transfer to one of the many Chase transfer partners for additional value. However, with more people staying home during the coronavirus pandemic, redeeming points for travel hasn't been as appealing.

Chase recognized this and added a limited-time offer called Chase Pay Yourself Back to encourage cardholders to continue spending on their cards. In this article, we'll explain how Chase Pay Yourself Back works, what it's really worth, and whether you should use it.

What is Chase Pay Yourself Back?

Chase Pay Yourself Back is a limited-time feature added to some of the best travel credit cards, as well as business cards and cashback cards. Although numerous Chase credit cards earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, only a few are eligible to use Chase Pay Yourself Back:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve^®
• Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card
  
• Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card
  
• Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card
• Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card
• Chase Freedom
  
• Chase Freedom Unlimited^®
  
• Chase Freedom Flex℠

This feature was added by the credit card issuer due to the coronavirus pandemic. Because so many people were staying home and focusing their spending on the basics, Chase Pay Yourself Back was designed to be more in alignment with current spending habits. This feature allows you to redeem your points for a better rate than a typical statement credit, though how the redemption works varies depending on the card you have.

Normally, you can redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards at 1 cent per point for cash back or gift cards. With Chase Pay Yourself Back, you can redeem your points for either 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point to directly erase these sorts of purchases, which is an increase of 25% to 50% of the normal redemption rate. 

You have up to 90 days from the date of your purchases to erase your spending with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. This gives you extra time to earn additional points so you can erase more of your purchase.

Another big difference between Chase Pay Yourself Back redemptions and other redemption options is that you'll also earn Chase Ultimate Rewards on the original purchases. When you use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book travel, transfer to an airline or hotel partner, or get cash back or gift cards, you don't earn any points for those redemptions.

Let's look at the specific cards now so you know how to make the most of your Chase credit card.

Chase cards in the Pay Yourself Back program

Chase Sapphire cards

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is able to redeem Chase points to erase eligible purchases at an increased redemption value formerly reserved for booking travel. The Sapphire Reserve can get you either 1.25 center per point (25% bonus) or 1.5 cents per point (50% bonus) on specific redemption categories.

With the new Pay Yourself Back benefit, you can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for purchases in the following categories if you have the Sapphire Reserve card:

• Grocery stores (25% bonus)
• Gas stations (25% bonus)
• Annual membership fee (25% bonus)
• Select charities (50% bonus, valid through Dec. 31, 2023)

Sapphire Reserve cardholders have access to the Chase Pay Yourself Back program through March 31, 2023. 

Check out our full Chase Sapphire Reserve review.

If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for purchases at a 25% bonus for select charities through Dec. 31, 2023, along with gas stations and groceries at 1 cent per point through March 31, 2023. 

Learn more in our full Chase Sapphire Preferred review.

Chase Ink cards

Certain Chase Ink cards can now get you a value of 1.1 cents per point (10% bonus) or 1.25 cents per point (25% bonus) if you use them to erase purchases in the following categories:

• Internet, cable, and phone services (10% bonus)
• Shipping (10% bonus)
• Select charities (25% bonus, valid through Dec. 31, 2023)

These Chase Pay Yourself Back categories are set to last through March 31, 2023.

Chase Freedom cards

The Chase Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, and Freedom Flex can now get you a value of 1.25 cents per point if you use them to erase spending on select charitable contributions. Freedom cardholders have access to this redemption option through Dec. 31, 2023, though it's possible that the deadline may be extended.

Note: The Chase Freedom is no longer available from Chase.

Check out our full Chase Freedom Flex card review.

How does Chase Pay Yourself Back work?

Here are the steps to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points using the Chase Pay Yourself Back feature.

1. Go to the Chase Pay Yourself landing page, then log into your Chase account with your standard username and password.
2. Your eligible purchases from the past 90 days will show on the screen. Select one (or multiple) and click "Continue."

3. Enter the cash value of how much of your purchase you would like to erase with Chase Yourself Back. You can choose any amount, from 1 cent to the full amount of your purchase. The screen will show you many points you are redeeming, including the bonus value you receive of either 25% or 50% depending on which card you have.

4. After clicking "Confirm & Submit," your redemption will proceed and you'll receive a confirmation.

From there, the points will be deducted from your Chase Ultimate Rewards account balance.

And a credit for Chase Pay Yourself Back will post to your transaction history.

Is Chase Pay Yourself Back worth it?

With fewer people traveling and so many jobs lost due to the coronavirus, having the option to redeem your credit card points for more than 1 cent each is a great opportunity. To understand the potential value of Chase's new feature, let’s walk through an example.

Let's say you order takeout for dinner this Friday night for your family. It's a special occasion, so you splurge a little, and the bill comes out to $150. You pay with your Chase Sapphire Reserve because you earn 3X points for every dollar you spend on other travel and dining. Plus, you know this restaurant purchase is eligible for Chase Pay Yourself Back when using the Sapphire Reserve.

In this example, you earn 450 points on your $150 dinner purchase. To entirely erase the $150 purchase, you redeem 10,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, as each Sapphire Reserve point is worth 1.5 cents using this redemption method ($150 divided by 1.5 cents = 10,000 points). But because you also earned 450 points on this purchase, you really only put out 9,550 points to pay for your dinner. This then further increases the value of your points to 1.57 cents each ($150 divided by 9,550 = 0.0157).

When you consider that without Chase Pay Yourself Back your other option to recoup your dinner costs would have been to redeem your points for a statement credit at a value of 1 cent per point, this new redemption benefit is definitely worth it.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points bonus categories

If you're looking to earn extra Chase Ultimate Rewards points to redeem with Chase Pay Yourself Back, it pays to compare credit cards and notice how different Chase cards earn bonus points. That’s because if you have other cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, you can still use those points with Pay Yourself Back.

Here's how to make all your Chase cards pay yourself back:

1. Make eligible purchases with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
2. Transfer Ultimate Rewards points from your other cards to your Sapphire account.
3. Erase the eligible purchases from your Sapphire Reserve card.

Remember, points can transfer from one Ultimate Rewards account to another for free. You can transfer points within your household and from your business to your personal account and vice versa. If you already know about the Chase Trifecta, then you can use it to make Chase Pay Yourself Back a powerful tool.

Here are the Ultimate Rewards earning Chase cards that are available and their bonus categories:

These credit cards range from personal to business credit cards, and while some have annual fees, others do not. So there is a card for everybody. 

Bottom line

Chase Pay Yourself Back is a limited-time redemption option in which points are worth up to 1.5 cents each when used toward eligible purchases. You have 90 days from the date of purchase to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

This promotion won't last forever, so there is a limited time frame to cash out your points. With points valued the same as booking travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, Chase Pay Yourself Back is a great opportunity to erase some of your everyday purchases while you can't make travel plans.

Premium Travel Benefits

Chase Sapphire Reserve^®

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Chase Sapphire Reserve^®

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Current Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

Annual Fee

$550

Rewards Rate

5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining & 1X points per dollar on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• Earn 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠ (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually)
• Priority Pass airport lounge access
• $300 annual travel credit
• 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs

Drawbacks

• High annual fee
• Excellent credit required

Card Details

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
• $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
• Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
• 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
• Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more
• Member FDIC