Chase Pay Yourself Back is a rewards redemption option for Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards. It may not offer as much redemption value as travel, but it can give you more value for your points than cash back. Read this guide to see when using your Ultimate Rewards points on Chase Pay Yourself Back makes sense.
[Read: Best Credit Cards.]
How Chase Pay Yourself Back Works
With Chase Pay Yourself Back, you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points as statement credits for eligible purchases. Eligible purchases can be from various categories within the last 90 days, but some categories qualify for greater points value.
“People usually think of travel or dining when it comes to rewards, but Pay Yourself Back lets you redeem points for things like home improvement purchases, charitable donations and even grocery bills,” says Paul Carlson, certified public accountant and managing partner of accounting and finance service Law Firm Velocity.
Promotional Redemption Value
Standard redemptions are worth 1 cent per point, but promotional redemptions can be worth 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point. For example, you could spend 9,705 points to get a statement credit for a restaurant purchase of $97.05. However, if Chase offers a 1.25-cents-per-point redemption rate for gas station purchases, you could get a statement credit for a $28.35 gas station purchase by using 2,268 points instead of 2,835.
Chase Pay Yourself Back promotion categories depend on which card you have and change throughout the year. Through Jan. 31, 2025, Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can get 25% more points on Pay Yourself Back redemptions for utilities, insurance, gas stations, fitness and gym club memberships, and their card’s annual fee. Cardholders can also get 50% more points for select charities, including the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Make-A-Wish America, United Negro College Fund, UNICEF USA and United Way.
With the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can get 25% more value when redeeming points for select charity donations through Dec. 31.
Co-branded cards typically offer Pay Yourself Back options with the brand. For example, you can redeem Disney Rewards Dollars for qualifying Disney purchases made with the Disney Visa Card and the Disney® Premier Visa® Card, though there’s no 25% or 50% promotional value bonus. However, the Aeroplan® Credit Card offers a 25% bonus on Pay Yourself Back redemptions applied to annual fees and travel purchases.
Pay Yourself Back vs. Cash Back
When you redeem points for a standard statement credit without a value promotion of 25% or 50% more points, you’ll get the same 1-cent-per-point value as you do for a regular cash back redemption.
With a cash back redemption, you can get a statement credit for the value of your points or a direct deposit in your bank account. With Pay Yourself Back, you can get a statement credit for a recent purchase of your choice.
It may make the most sense to use Pay Yourself Back if you can redeem it for a purchase made within the past 90 days that qualifies for 25% or 50% more value. Otherwise, you can use your points for travel or other redemption options.
“You have a 90-day window to select the redemptions for specific purchases, but if you don’t do this within the time period, you still get to keep your points and can use them at a later time, perhaps when a higher redemption percentage will be offered for a purchase category you’re more likely to use,” says Anthony Miyazaki, professor of marketing and logistics at Florida International University.
[Read: Best Rewards Credit Cards.]
How to Redeem Chase Points With Pay Yourself Back
You can redeem Ultimate Rewards points by logging in to your Chase account. Follow these steps to make a Pay Yourself Back redemption:
1. Log in to your Chase account and navigate to your account page.
2. At the top, you’ll see your balance and other details, including your Ultimate Rewards balance. Click the arrow next to your points balance to enter the Ultimate Rewards dashboard.
3. In the Ultimate Rewards dashboard, click “Convert to cash” in the top navigation, then select “Pay Yourself Back.”
4. On the Pay Yourself Back page, you’ll see a list of eligible purchases from the past 90 days. You can search by merchant name or keyword, or filter by promotion amounts, promoted categories and merchants, or purchase amount.
5. Select up to 12 transactions at a time, then hit “Continue” to proceed to the next page for redemption.
6. On the final page, you’ll review your points transaction to confirm the statement credit amount, the number of points you’re spending and the card you’re making the redemption on.
7. Click “Use your points” to complete the redemption. You should see a statement credit within three business days. Once you redeem points to pay for a purchase, it won’t be eligible for Pay Yourself Back again.
[Read: Best Cash Back Credit Cards.]
When to Use Chase Pay Yourself Back
Using Pay Yourself Back is a good option to redeem your points for nontravel expenses, especially if you have purchases that qualify for promotional redemption rates with 25% or 50% more value. Pay Yourself Back makes sense if ease and flexibility are a higher priority to you than maximizing point value.
Consider using Pay Yourself Back if:
— Statement credits are more valuable to you than travel. For example, you might rather pay less on your credit card bill than apply rewards for an upcoming trip.
— Your purchases qualify for a higher Pay Yourself Back redemption rate.
— You want to offset large nontravel expenses.
That said, Chase Pay Yourself Back may not be the best option if your purchases don’t qualify for promotional value or you have travel expenses that you could use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for.
When you use Pay Yourself Back, you could miss out on getting more value from your points with a great flight or hotel redemption, says Julian Kheel, founder and CEO of Points Path. “However, finding a high-value redemption on a partner requires extra work and research compared to the ease of redeeming with Pay Yourself Back.”
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