DannyDealGuru has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. DannyDealGuru and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Redeem Points with 20% Bonus on Apple Products

If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, then you are probably into travel. The card has a $550 annual fee, so it is not worth it if you don’t take advantage of its perks and benefits, which are mostly geared towards travelers. You get things like a $300 annual travel credit and 3x points on travel and dining. Additionally the card makes all your Chase Ultimate Rewards points more valuable, since you can redeem for travel at a value of 1.5¢ per point.

But since most people are currently not traveling due to the coronavirus pandemic, Chase is offering a promotion where you can redeem your points for Apple products with a 20% bonus. This is a targeted offer, so not every Reserve cardholder will see it in their account. This offer is available through June 18, 2020.

Chase points are normally worth just 1¢ when you use them for Apple products. So this promotion now gives you a value of 1.2¢ toward purchases of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, or whatever other Apple purchases you’re planning.

Is It a Good Idea?

Simple answer is no. With some quick math, 1.5 is greater than 1.2, so you are better off using these points for travel. Even better, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to travel partners and get even more value out of them. So the only reason I see to use Chase Ultimate Rewards this way is if you never plan to travel and cannot book travel for anyone else at all, or if you have a large stash of points and not enough cash and really want some of those Apple gadgets.

But even then, there are some other factors to consider. You have to purchase through the Ultimate Rewards portal, so you cannot shop around to find the best deals. Also, you will not earn cash back on these purchases, since you can’t go through a shopping portal.

Guru’s Wrap-up

I’m skipping this deal for two reasons. The first being that I don’t think it’s a good deal, and the second, I have never owned any Apple products. Let me know if you think this might be a good redemption. Chase Sapphire Reserve also offers purchase protection. It covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year.

If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card you might see a 10% bonus and some Chase Freedom cardholders are seeing a 5% bonus.

DannyDealGuru has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. DannyDealGuru and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.