Got your eyes on a fancy new carry-on bag or other luggage? Here's your best chance to do it for next to nothing.
Way back last fall, Chase added a few exciting new categories to their popular Pay Yourself Back benefit, allowing you to use Chase points to book Airbnbs as well as buy new Away Luggage. One of those options will end today, March 31 … but the other has been extended.
Chase updated its Pay Yourself Back categories recently to show that Airbnb has been extended through June 30, 2022. But using Chase points to purchase an Away carry-on bag is ending after today, March 31, 2022.
That means if you want to use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to make a purchase at Away Luggage, you must do it by the end of the day. You'll then have up to 90 days to pay yourself back for the purchase with your points.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can also continue redeeming Chase points on dining or to cover the card's $550 annual through June 30, 2022, after an extension – two options that aren't available on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Points will continue to be worth 25% or 50% more when redeemed on these new categories, depending on which card you've got.
Read our complete guide to using Chase Pay Yourself Back!
This is the latest change since Chase first rolled out Pay Yourself Back back in May 2020, when travel screeched to a standstill and banks realized they needed to give their cardholders more options to redeem points. It's been an incredibly popular offering, as cardholders can use points and get the same value as they do when booking flights or hotels through the Chase travel portal.
At this point, it seems obvious that Chase Pay Yourself Back is here for good – we'll just continue to see rotating categories.
With this recent extension, here's a look at what's available through Pay Yourself Back on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card:
- Airbnb through June 30, 2022
- Away Luggage ends today March 31, 2022
- Select charities through Dec. 31, 2022
The list is more expansive if you've got the Chase Sapphire Reserve:
- Dining through June 30, 2022
- Airbnb through June 30, 2022
- Away Luggage ends today March 31, 2022
- Annual Fee through June 30, 2022
- Select charities through Dec. 31, 2022
Related reading: Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Preferred: Which is Best for You?
How Does Chase Pay Yourself Back Work?
In addition to using your Chase Ultimate Rewards points with Chase transfer partners or through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, Pay Yourself Back allows you to use them to remove purchases made directly with Airbnb, Away Luggage, and at restaurants (for Sapphire Reserve cardholders).
So let's say you have a stash of 100,000 Chase points. Those points would be worth $1,250 towards these categories.
At its core, it works like this: Put your Airbnb or Away Luggage charge on your Sapphire card, then go back and cover the charge with points. If you are familiar with the Capital One Purchase Eraser feature, this Pay Yourself Back feature from Chase works much the same.
After making a purchase in one of the select categories, you can simply log into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account on desktop or through the Chase mobile app and select “Pay Yourself Back” from the drop-down menu.
From there, you will be able to select from recent eligible transactions up to 90 days prior to the purchase and choose to redeem points for all – or just a portion – of the purchase.
Since I hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, my points are worth 1.5 cents each. If I held the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card®, my redemption value would be 1.25 cents for each point. As mentioned, this is the same value that they have through the Chase Travel Portal.
After selecting a transaction (or multiple transactions), you’ll be given the option to use points to cover all or part of the transaction. Once you make that decision, just hit “Confirm & Submit.”
And just like that, your points will be deducted from your balance of Chase Ultimate Rewards points and you should see a statement credit on your card account within a few days to cover the charge. You can even use points to cover the annual fee on your card if you choose to do so.
Our Analysis
Last May when Chase first introduced the Pay Yourself Back benefit, travel was largely off the table. And consumers were spending on home improvement projects and at grocery stores. So those Pay Yourself Back categories largely made sense and kept cardholders from getting rid of their travel cards.
As more cardholders are getting back to travel, it is clear that Chase is adjusting the categories to meet cardholders where they are at. There is no question that using Chase points on grocery store spending was an extremely valuable and easy way to use them as most cardholders spend regularly in that category. But times have changed since then.
Cardholders who frequently use Airbnb should love this extension, as this has now become the best way to use credit card points for an Airbnb stay – and you can use them for Airbnb Experiences too.
While it is possible to use Capital One Venture Miles through the Capital One Purchase Eraser feature for an Airbnb stay, your Chase points will simply go further with this new Pay Yourself Back option.
If you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, your Chase points will be worth 25% more (1.25 cents each) when you use them at Airbnb, Away Luggage, or dining. With the Sapphire Reserve card, they will be worth 50% more (1.5 cents each).
That means if you were to book an Airbnb stay that cost $500, you could use 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points to remove the charge with the Sapphire Preferred Card (or 33,333 points if you hold the Sapphire Reserve).
Airbnb now remains an option through at least June 30, while Away will end at the end of the day, March 31, 2022.
A Chase spokeswoman previously said: “Pay Yourself Back is intended to be an ongoing redemption option within Ultimate Rewards to give cardmembers another choice in how they can redeem, with categories and redemption values that will continue to evolve over time.”
That means we will likely see some new redemption categories tomorrow.
Bottom Line
You've got more time to redeem your Chase points for an Airbnb thanks to this latest Pay Yourself Back extension. But if you're in the market for a new carry-on bag using Chase points, time is running out.
You must make your Away Luggage purchase by the end of the day, March 31, 2022.
My question is if I make an Away luggage purchase before March 31st, can I erase the purchase with my points next month? Or do I have to redeem my Chase points towards the purchase before March 31st too?
You can redeem for up to 90 days after the purchase. You just have to have made the purchase by March 31.
Unfortunately I tried to take advantage of this deal on March 31 and it didn’t post to my card until April 1 so I can not do the Pay myself back feature because it is not elegible since it did not post until too late. Would have been a great deal on expensive luggage otherwise. I’ll be returning it for a refund.
Have you tried contacting Chase about this? They may be able to make it right if you haven’t.