Note: The following information is accurate as of 1/12/26, but if you’re viewing this at a later date, information may no longer be accurate.

Chase Ultimate Rewards are an incredibly valuable points currency for those of us seeking out nearly free travel. But what do you do once you met the welcome bonus? How do you keep earning points for awesome travel?

Well today we’re diving in to a few methods to keep earning those points – even after the welcome offer is long gone! With the right Chase cards (and a few helpful partnerships!) you can consistently earn lots of points on your everyday spending.

I’ll get into several ways to keep your Ultimate Rewards replenished as well as a sample month of realistic earnings.

WHY ARE CHASE ULTIMATE REWARDS WORTH EARNING LONG TERM

Chase Ultimate rewards are some of the most valuable points in the travel space thanks to:

• High value transfer partners (like Hyatt, United, Air Canada, Southwest, etc)
• Flexible redemption options
• Bonus multipliers across multiple cards
• Ability to pool Chase points with household members

USE BONUS MULTIPLIERS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Chase’s ecosystem is strongest when you pair together certain cards together. Each card has categories that earn elevated rewards – meaning you can turbocharge your everyday spending. And when you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (or other annual fee cards) , you can combine all those earnings into one pot!

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• 5x on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
• 3x on dining
• 3x on online groceries (excluding Target/Walmart)
• 2x on selected streaming
• 2x on all travel
• 1x on everything else

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• 8x on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
• 4x on flights/hotels booked directly
• 3x on dining
• 1x on everything else

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

• 5x on internet, cable, phone
• 5x on office supply stores
• 2x on gas
• 2x on restaurants

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

• 3x on dining and drugstores
• 1.5x on everything else

Chase Freedom Flex®

Note: You may not hear about this card often. If you ever need to downgrade a Sapphire or Reserve, this is a common card you can be asked to downgrade to if you don’t want to give up a 5/24 slot!

• 5x on rotating categories (up to $1500 per quarter)
• 5x on travel booked through Chase
• 3x on dining
• 3x on drugstores

By combining these cards for your everyday purchases, you’re essentially ‘stacking the deck’ to ensure that you earn 2-5x on all your purchases.

MAXIMIZING QUARTERLY Chase Freedom Flex® CATEGORIES

The Chase Freedom Flex® has rotating quarterly categories that earn 5x points. They include customer favorites such as:

• Grocery stores
• Gas Stations
• Wholesale Clubs
• PayPal
• Amazon

With a little preplanning you can likely maximize out the quarters – or most of them! Likewise you’ll be earning a cool 7500 points each time you maximize out the categories. That’s 30K points per year!

USE THE POWER OF THE CHASE TRAVEL PORTAL

For people who book paid travel each year, this can earn tens of thousands of points. This works for cruises, cars, hotels, flights and activities! Using the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve can earn you 5-8x on purchases made through the Chase Travel portal.

LEVERAGE PAID HOTELS AND FLIGHTS

Additionally, people who book large quantities of hotels/flights direct with the brand will want to consider the Sapphire Reserve. Earning 4x on those purchases can add up quickly. You can learn more about the Sapphire Reserve here.

EARN POINTS WITH BILT + RAKUTEN

While not a Chase product, it is a huge ecosystem booster.

• Bilt now partners with Rakuten. Sign up for a free Bilt account here.
• Rakuten allows you to earn Bilt points. Bilt points can be converted into Hyatt points.
• Hyatt is a favorite transfer partner of Chase.

Since a lot of Chase collectors redeem their points for Hyatt stays, combining Chase + Bilt + Rakuten can become a powerful long term strategy.

This gives you more Hyatt points without depleting your Chase points.

Keep in mind that Bilt allows renters to earn points on their monthly rent. Likewise, in the future, homeowners will be able to earn points on their mortgages. This gives another option to earn points for Hyatt stays – while preserving your Chase points. You can learn more about Bilt here.

SAMPLE MONTH: HOW MANY CHASE ULTIMATE REWARDS CAN BE EARNED WITHOUT WELCOME BONUSES?

First, I’ll be honest. I do not do this very often. I am typically working toward a welcome offer, so I prefer to use that card to earn a large chunk of points.

This is a realistic example for someone REALLY trying to maximize Chase earnings using the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Freedom Flex, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, and a little brain power, as your go-to cards.

Monthly Spending Example

Category	Spend	Card Used	Multiplier	Points Earned
Dining	$400	Sapphire Preferred	3X	1200
Groceries (online providers)	$500	Sapphire Preferred	3X	1,500
Gas	$200	Ink Cash	2X	400
Utilities/internet/cable/phone	$250	Ink Cash	5X	1,250
Drugstores	$75	Freedom Flex	3X	225
Travel booked through Chase	$100	Sapphire Preferred	5X	500
Office supply stores (household goods)	$150	Ink Cash	5X	750
Miscellaneous spending	$800	Ink Unlimited	1.5X	1,200
Quarterly 5X category (example: Amazon)	$300	Freedom Flex	5X	1,500

Total Monthly Points:

~8,500

Annual Points (without bonuses)

~102,300

That’s enough for:

• 5-8 Hyatt nights,
• 2-3 domestic round trip flights, or
• 1-2 premium flights using transfer partners.

I know what you’re thinking. It seems complicated to shuffle around four cards all month long. I can attest that once you get in a groove, it becomes second nature to pull out the right card!

CONCLUSION

Even after you’re feeling stuck and when your welcome bonuses are long gone, you can earn thousands of Chase Ultimate Rewards each month. It just takes a bit of planning and having the right card combination. Add in partnerships like Bilt + Rakuten for Hyatt lovers and you can keep earning Chase points!

If you treat points like a long-term strategy, Chase Ultimate Rewards can take your family on nearly free vacations for many years to come.