Redeeming for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal or transferring your rewards for the right travel transfer partner will squeeze the most value from your points, but Chase is remarkable for how many redemption options it provides that allow a 1:1, 1-cent redemption value, including:
Cash back (as a statement credit or electronic direct deposit)
Gift cards
Products from the Shop Through Chase store and Apple Ultimate Rewards Store
The main redemption option that doesn’t provide a full 1:1 value that you may want to avoid is using your points for purchases through PayPal and Amazon.com via the “Shop with Points” feature.