New Chase Ultimate Rewards Shop With Points on Amazon.com - Good Value?
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Chase cardholders who earn Ultimate Rewards with their credit cards recently learned about a new partnership between Ultimate Rewards and Amazon.com that lets them link their two accounts and use points to pay for purchases directly on Amazon.com at a rate of 1 cent per point.
The following cards are eligible for the Pay with Points option:
-Sapphire
-Sapphire Preferred
-Freedom
-Ink Bold
-Ink Plus
-Ink Cash
-Ink Classic
-Chase Corporate Flex Card
-JP Morgan Palladium Card
-JP Morgan Select Card
Even if your card is already saved in your Amazon.com profile, you'll still need to enroll it for the Shop with Points option. To link accounts, you first sign into your Amazon.com account at this link, then click Get Started. That will take you to the login page for Amazon, and then once you've entered your email and password, you're taken to a page that says "Shop with Points at Amazon.com.
There you enter in your eligible card number, the name on your card, expiration date and billion address, and click to accept the Chase Ultimate Rewards terms and condition.
Once your accounts are linked, you can use points to pay for purchases at a rate of 1 cent per point. What's interesting is that Ultimate Rewards points may be redeemed to pay for all or a portion of eligible purchases made at Amazon.com. Chase will debit the number of points that you elected to redeem for your purchase from your Ultimate Rewards points balance and if you use points to pay for only a portion of the price, the attached credit card to that particular points account will be charged for the rest of the amount. Note: Your points balance may not reflect redemptions for pending purchase transactions until the purchase has been shipped.
Just note: rewards program points cannot be used for all purchases at Amazon.com. Items that currently may not be purchased using Shop with Points include some digital goods, some gift cards, Kindle downloads, Subscribe and Save items, and AmazonFresh items. Currently, you may not use one-click to purchase products using Shop with Points. You can also disable the Shop with Points option by clicking on the Shop with Points link and clicking "disable" do deactivate your card.
You can find the rest of the T&C here.
So if you've got some odd numbers of extra points sitting around, you can liquidate them by paying for a portion of your Amazon.com purchase.
Is This A Good Deal?
I had several readers email me about this new partnership and asking if this is a good use of points. I'll start with my own personal opinion, which is: not really. Is it a horrible use of points? Not necessarily- after all I hate judging uses of points in general because what may be valuable to me (international free flights) may be useless to someone else who may be looking to get holiday presents with their points.
As I mentioned in my Monday post Ranking Top Fixed-Value Points Credit Cards, points with fixed value are usually best for travelers with little flexibility looking to redeem points on coach awards and still earn miles and elite status, even on award blackout dates. In the same way, fixed-value points can be good for shoppers who have no interest in using their points for travel, and want to know they can always get a cent per point in value out of their credit card points.
However, as you know from reading this blog, I am much more interested in using my points for premium travel experiences like my most recent experience booking award tickets for first class seats on Korean Air where I was able to squeeze 6.9 cents in value out of each of the 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points I redeemed. If I were to use those Ultimate Rewards points on Amazon.com, they'd only net me $800 in purchases rather than the $5,500 my Korean Air ticket is worth.
I understand that not everyone is looking to use their miles and points for first-class flights and luxury hotel redemptions like me, but in my opinion, it would just be a shame to use Ultimate Rewards points – which are so versatile and valuable thanks to the fact that you can transfer to British Airways, Korean Air, United and Southwest as well as Hyatt, Marriott/Ritz-Carlton, Priority Club and Amtrak – for a mere cent each.
Even Ultimate Rewards' fixed-value pay-with-points option through the UR travel portal gets Sapphire Preferred cardholders 1.25 cents per point – a 25% bonus over the Amazon.com option.
My advice is, if you're short on cash and need to use points to pay for some purchases or holiday presents this winter, it's good to have yet another option for redeeming Ultimate Rewards points, but personally, I'll stick to the high-yield travel redemptions I value.
[card card-name='Ink Plus® Business Credit Card' card-id='22129636' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 5X | New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Valuable dining and food-related credits
- Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
- Multiple travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.