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Crystal Cox/Business Insider
- Chase introduced Pay Yourself Back as a limited-time feature in response to the pandemic.
- Consumers continue to want flexible ways to redeem rewards that don’t involve travel.
- It makes sense for Chase to keep Pay Yourself Back as a permanent cardholder benefit.
- Read Insider’s guide to the best rewards credit cards.
The last 18 months have been a never-ending stream of change. At this point, nearly every medical and public health professional agrees that COVID-19 will become endemic, meaning like the flu or the common cold, we’ll never fully be rid of it.
Even if it were to magically disappear tomorrow, the consumer mentality has been permanently altered. People are placing a higher premium on flexibility, and are opting for more unique cultural and dining experiences close to home when long-distance travel may not be as realistic.
Like most major credit card issuers, Chase responded to this changing landscape by updating its credit card offerings, most notably by adding the “Pay Yourself Back” feature. Having already extended the expiration date of this limited-time offer multiple times, it’s time for Chase to make Pay Your Back a permanent feature of its credit card family.
What is Chase Pay Yourself Back?
Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature allows you to cash out your Ultimate Rewards points at fixed values to erase certain eligible charges off your statement, essentially giving you a cash-back option to consider instead of using your points to book free travel.
Just like the redemption rates you’ll get when booking travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal, the Pay Yourself Back categories and rates vary based on what card(s) you’re holding.
As of now, here are the current options:
| Chase card | Pay Yourself Back categories and bonus value |
|
Grocery stores, dining, home improvement stores through September 30, 2021 – 50% bonus (1.5 cents per point) Lyft “Fund a Ride” donations through September 30, 2021 – 50% bonus (1.5 cents per point) Eligible charities through December 31, 2021 – 50% bonus (1.5 cents per point) |
|
|
Grocery stores, dining, home improvement stores through September 30, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) Lyft “Fund a Ride” donations through September 30, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) Eligible charities through December 31, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) |
|
|
Ink Business Plus® Credit Card (no longer available to new applicants) |
Home improvement stores, shipping, internet, cable, and phone service purchases through September 30, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) Lyft “Fund a Ride” donations through September 30, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) Eligible charities through December 31, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) |
|
|
Internet, cable, and phone service purchases through September 30, 2021 – 10% bonus (1.1 cents per point) Lyft “Fund a Ride” donations through September 30, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) Eligible charities through December 31, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) |
|
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Up to $250 in dining purchases from July 2 through September 30, 2021 – 10% bonus (1.1 cents per point) Lyft “Fund a Ride” donations through September 30, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) Eligible charities through December 31, 2021 – 25% bonus (1.25 cents per point) |
You’ll notice that for the Sapphire cards the cashout rate is the same as what you’d get booking travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, while for Chase’s no-annual-fee cards (the Freedom family on the personal side and the
Read more: The best Chase credit cards of 2021
The actual redemption process is lightning fast and incredibly simple. Simply open up your Ultimate Rewards portal on either a computer or your phone, select the “Pay Yourself Back” category on the left, and you’ll see a list of charges made in the last 90 days that fall into one of the eligible categories.
If you have enough points you can erase the entire charge, or you can do a smaller amount, but once you use any amount of points against a charge you won’t be able to come back and redeem for that charge again.
Chase
Why Pay Yourself Back needs to stay
While you can usually get a better value from your points when you transfer them to airline and hotel travel partners instead of redeeming them for a fixed value, Chase’s transfer options have become less competitive over the years. With the exception of World of Hyatt, they don’t have many unique transfer options that provide a worthy value.
Read more: How to earn, redeem, and maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Even before COVID, I found myself transferring more of my Amex Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles to partners, and redeeming a lot of my Ultimate Rewards at a rate of 1.5 cents each through the Chase portal (including to score a great deal on round-trip business class tickets to Europe!).
So much has changed over the last year and a half. Where I once would’ve been eagerly looking forward to a weekend getaway, now I’m relishing the ability to safely eat outside with my friends and family. But I still want to use my points!
We form some of our strongest memories over food, and whether it’s a date night with my girlfriend or picking up groceries to cook at home, Pay Yourself Back has been the main reason that my
Read more: I’m underwhelmed with recent changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve – has it lost its luster?
Bottom line
Big picture, one of my favorite things about Chase has always been the simplicity of its cards. From broadly defined bonus categories to a travel credit on the Sapphire Reserve that automatically applies to eligible purchases, Chase is a notable departure from some of its competitors, where you’ll need an advanced spreadsheet to make sure you’re using all your benefits.
Extending the same cashout rate that it’s willing to offer on travel to other categories like dining and groceries is a logical jump, and I’m hoping Chase responds to the demand and makes this benefit permanent.
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