Chase may close your account for other reasons
Keep in mind that Chase may close your account for reasons other than inactivity. In that case, you may not receive any warning. For example, if Chase thinks you are gaming the system, it may abruptly close your account.
Card issuers aren't required to notify you of closure in these situations, and you may not get to redeem your points first. But if you're using your card normally, you likely have nothing to worry about.
How to use your points before closing a Chase card
Let's say that you're going to close your Chase card, or Chase is going to close it for inactivity. Here's how you can earn the most value with your Chase points:
- Open another Ultimate Rewards® card: Your Ultimate Rewards® points pool into one rewards account across multiple points cards. For example, say you're closing or downgrading an Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. You can pool those points with earnings from a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which allows you to retain your Ultimate Rewards® points.
- Transfer to a travel partner: If you use a particular airline or hotel frequently, you can transfer your points there and book travel with them later. This method works well when you don't want to use your points yet. Keep in mind that airline and hotel points usually do expire, so you need to use them before that happens.
- Book travel through the Ultimate Rewards® portal: This only works if you have planned travel you already prepared to book. You can go through the Ultimate Rewards® portal to book and receive a fixed rate for your points.
- Redeem for cash back: Consider it a last resort, but Ultimate Rewards® points are worth $0.01 per point when redeemed for cash back. While that's a solid rate, this method isn't ideal as a first choice, since higher-value options are available.
Why you shouldn't wait to use your points
Since Ultimate Rewards® points don't expire, you could conceivably hold onto them a long time. This isn't a good idea, though, because travel rewards points don't have a steady value. Redemption options can change with little notice.
Ultimate Rewards® points are among the more stable reward currencies, because there's a large lineup of transfer partners, and you can always fall back on fixed-rate redemptions. Still, Chase could cut ties with your preferred transfer partner or make other changes to its program. That's why you should aim to use your points within a reasonable time frame.
You don't need to rush to use your credit card rewards, but there's no sense in hoarding them, either. When you have a trip on the horizon, you might as well cash in those points for a free flight or hotel -- or both.