Update 11/1/21: Deal is back and valid 11/01/2021 – 11/30/2021
The Offer
Direct Link to offer (shows in the Ultimate Rewards login)
- Chase released today a new redemption option of Ultimate Rewards points to get Apple merchandise through the Chase portal with bonus value of up to 50% more on the points.
The bonus is broken down as follows:
- Sapphire Reserve: 50% bonus
- Sapphire Preferred: 25% bonus
- INK Preferred/Plus: 25% bonus
- Freedom cards and the no-fee Sapphire card: 5% bonus (20% on Airpods)
- Ink Cash/Unlimited: 5% bonus (20% on Airpods)
Instead of each point being worth 1 cent, it can now worth up to 1.5 cents. For example, if you buy a $600 Apple Watch through the Ultimate Rewards portal, it would typically cost 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points, but it’ll now cost just 40,000 points for Sapphire Reserve cardholders.
The Fine Print
- Limited-Time Offer for Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers: From 10/15/2020 – 11/15/2020, each point you redeem for Apple merchandise in the Apple® Ultimate Rewards® Store is worth $0.0150, which means that 100 points equals $1.50 in redemption value. If you choose to use points and your Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card to pay for your purchase, your credit card will be charged the full remaining dollar amount. For example, if you choose to buy Apple merchandise at $120 at $1.50 redemption value and pay for half using points, you would use 4,000 points and your credit card would be billed $60.
- Limited-Time Offer for Chase Freedom cardmembers: From 10/15/2020 – 11/15/2020, each point you redeem for AirPods in the Apple® Ultimate Rewards® Store is worth $0.0120, and each point you redeem for all other Apple merchandise in the Apple® Ultimate Rewards® Store is worth $0.0105 which means that 100 points equals $1.20 in redemption value towards AirPods and 100 points equals $1.05 in redemption value towards all other Apple merchandise. If you choose to use points and your Chase Freedom credit card to pay for your purchase, your credit card will be charged the full remaining dollar amount. For example, if you choose to buy Apple AirPods at $160 at $1.20 redemption value and pay for half using points, you would use 6,667 points and your credit card would be billed $80; if you choose to buy $120 Apple merchandise at $1.05 redemption value you would use 5,714 points and your credit card would be billed $60.
- Readers report that iPhones don’t seem to be included.
Our Verdict
For most people, using the Pay Yourself Back feature will make more sense to get the same 1.5%/1.25% value assuming you have enough grocery/dining spend to use up your points on. But overall it’s still nice to have an additional option and could be useful for someone with an Apple purchase to make. It also could be a little bonus for Freedom cardholders to bump up their earnings by 5% or 20% for Airpod purchases or for INK cardholders who don’t have advertising expenses.
Source: doctorofcredit.com