The Chase Freedom is my favorite no-annual-fee card because it’s flexible!
If you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer offered) card, you can transfer points earned from the Chase Freedom to airline and hotel partners.
The World Awaits: Transferable Points Give You Many More Options for Big Travel With Small Money
One fun way to use your Freedom bonus points is for a flight with American Airlines.
You can NOT transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points directly to American Airlines. But there’s still a way to fly with them. I’ll show you how!
About the Chase Freedom Card
Link: Chase Freedom Card
Link: My Full Review of the Chase Freedom Card
The perks of the Chase Freedom card include:
- $150 sign-up bonus (15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after you spend $500 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account
- $25 (2,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) when you add an authorized user who makes a purchase in the 1st 3 months of opening your account
- 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (on up to $1,500 in spending) in rotating categories each quarter when you activate the bonus!
- No annual fee
This is also a good card for folks who are new to points & miles, because you can be approved even if you don’t have a long credit history.
Keep in mind, it’s not a good card to use overseas, because it adds a 3% foreign transaction fee.
And sure, you can use the Freedom signup bonus for $150 cash back. But if you’re like me and prefer Big Travel…here’s what you can do!
Transfer Your Ultimate Rewards Points to Travel Partners
If you also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer available), you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways.
Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Indirectly to British Airways From the Chase Freedom When You Have Cards Like the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Then you can use those British Airways Avios points to fly on its oneworld partner, American Airlines.
You can use British Airways Avios points on American Airlines as long as there are saver award seats available. And the best way to look for award seats is to 1st search on the American Airlines website.
Make Sure You Only Look for “MileSAAver” Award Seats
Then once you find your flights, book your award ticket on the British Airways website. You can also call British Airways to book, but there’s a $25 phone service fee.
Read my post about how to take a family vacation with British Airways Avios points and American Airlines.
Remember, you can NOT transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points directly to American Airlines!
Fun Ways to Use Your Freedom Bonus on American Airlines
Link: British Airways Avios Calculator
Link: Book Flights With British Airways Avios Points (Sign-In Required)
Link: Wandering Aramean Avios Tool
When you open the Chase Freedom card and spend $500 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account, you’ll earn 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
Here are a few ways to use those 15,000 points for British Airways Avios points to fly on American Airlines!
American Airlines Within Mainland US
Maybe you’re looking to escape the cold weather and head to Florida. You can use your Freedom bonus to get you there!
Philadelphia Is a Beautiful City. But It Can Get Cold During Winter!
A round-trip ticket from Philadelphia to Miami costs 15,000 British Airways Avios points. So, your 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points Freedom bonus will be just enough!
Going From Philadelphia to Miami Would Cost 25,000 American Airlines Miles Round-Trip
And booking with British Airways Avios points will cost you much less! The same flight that costs 15,000 British Airways Avios points would cost 25,000 American Airlines miles.
American Airlines to Hawaii From the West Coast
One of the best uses of British Airways Avios points for domestic coach award tickets is to fly from the West Coast to Hawaii.
For example, a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, Hawaii costs 12,500 British Airways Avios points for a 1-way ticket in coach on partners Alaska Airlines or American Airlines.
12,500 British Airways Avios Points Gets You a 1-Way Coach Ticket From Los Angeles to Honolulu
So you’d pay 12,500 British Airways Avios points for a 1-way coach ticket from Los Angeles to Honolulu instead of 22,500 American Airlines miles.
Using British Airways Avios Points to Fly From Los Angeles to Honolulu Is About Half the Cost of Using American Airlines Miles
American Airlines to Bermuda
You can use British Airways Avios points to book American Airlines international award flights (except to Europe and Asia), including flights to Bermuda and the Caribbean, and pay NO fuel surcharges!
You can use your 15,000 Freedom bonus to get there.
There Are Saver Level Award Seats Available Almost Every Day in April 2016
There are plenty of available award seats from New York (JFK) to Bermuda in April 2016.
There Are Lots of Saver Award Seats Available For a Round-Trip Flight From New York to Bermuda!
This round-trip flight would cost 35,000 American Airlines miles. But it only costs 15,000 British Airways Avios points. That’s less than half the miles!
American Airlines to Mexico
You can use your Freedom bonus for a round-trip flight to Cancun from many US cities!
Relax in Cancun in the Clear Blue Waters of the Riviera Maya
For example, Charlotte to Cancun is only 7,500 British Airways Avios points each way. And I found a lot of award flights available in the coming months.
There Are Saver Award Seats Available From Charlotte to Cancun Almost Every Day in April 2016!
When you transfer your 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points Freedom bonus to British Airways, you can fly for nearly free on American Airlines from Charlotte to Cancun!
American Airlines to Peru
You can use British Airways Avios points to fly on American Airlines to South America too. American Airlines flies from Miami to Lima, Peru.
1-Way From Miami to Lima, Peru Costs 15,000 American Airlines Miles
It costs 15,000 American Airlines miles from Miami to Peru. This same flight would only cost 12,500 British Airways Avios points.
Visit Breathtaking Machu Picchu on Your Trip to Peru! Your Freedom Bonus Can Take You There!
Here’s my post on how to visit South America using British Airways Avios points.
American Airlines to Costa Rica
You could even fly from Dallas 1-way in coach to San Jose, Costa Rica, with your 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points Freedom bonus.
It costs 15,000 American Airlines miles to make this trip. But it will only cost you 10,000 British Airways Avios points!
It’s 15,000 American Airlines Miles for a Saver Award Ticket From Dallas to Costa Rica
Because a 1-way ticket between these 2 cities is only 10,000 British Airways Avios points, you’ll have 5,000 points left over from your 15,000 Freedom bonus. That’s ALMOST enough points for your ticket home! A round-trip ticket costs 20,000 British Airways Avios points.
If you add an authorized user to your Freedom card, you’ll get another 2,500 Ultimate Rewards points bonus when they make a purchase within the 1st 3 months of account opening. That would give you 17,500 Ultimate Rewards points (15,000 Ultimate Rewards bonus + 2,500 Ultimate Rewards bonus) to use.
You only need another 2,500 Ultimate Rewards points for your ticket home. Maybe you could use some of my tricks to meet minimum spending requirements to help you earn them!
Bottom Line
You can earn 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($150) when you sign-up for the Chase Freedom card and spend $500 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account.
You’ll also get 2,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($25) when you add an authorized user who makes a purchase in the 1st 3 months of opening your account.
If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold card, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned from the Chase Freedom to airline and hotel partners like British Airways!
You can then use those British Airways Avios points to fly domestically and internationally on its oneworld partner, American Airlines. And that can save you a lot of miles & points!
You will NOT pay fuel surcharges on partner airlines like American Airlines within the US and to the Caribbean and South America. And there are NO last-minute booking fees!
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