As everyone knows, for a long time Chase Ultimate Rewards only allowed transfers to your own frequent flyer account, or to the account of your spouse or domestic partner. In all other cases, the only workaround was to first transfer points to your own airline or hotel loyalty program account, and then use that program to book flights or hotel stays for a third person. But this had a major drawback: if one person did not have enough points to book a flight or hotel, there was still no way to combine both people’s Ultimate Rewards points to make up a small shortfall.
But that is about to change this weekend (November 15, 2015).
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Ultimate Rewards Points Earned from Personal Chase Credit Cards
Starting November 15, 2015, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to the frequent flyer account of:
- yourself, or
- one person who lives at the same address as you and is an authorized user on that Chase credit card
Ultimate Rewards Points Earned from Chase Business Cards
Starting November 15, 2015, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to the frequent flyer account of:
- yourself, or
- another authorized user on that Chase Business credit card
Analysis
This change allows roommates to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to each other’s frequent flyer accounts, as well as other people who previously could not share points with one another, such as boyfriends/girlfriends, coworkers, and classmates. At the same time, though, it also adds some restrictions: a spouse now also needs to be an authorized user on your credit card in order to share points. That said, this is not a major issue, since many Chase cards have offered a 5,000-point bonus for adding an Authorized User, so many people may already have done this. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.