Chase Ultimate Rewards points do not expire as long as your credit card account stays open and in good standing. There is no inactivity clock: you can go years without earning or redeeming and your balance will still be there. What ends points is not time but events — closing the account, falling seriously behind on payments, or being found to have misused the program.1Chase. Do Chase Rewards Points Expire?
No Expiration While the Account Is Open
Unlike many airline programs that void miles after a period of inactivity, Ultimate Rewards has no built-in expiration date. Your balance is tied to the credit card account, and as long as that account remains open and current, the points stay put.1Chase. Do Chase Rewards Points Expire?
Chase does reserve the right to change the program: how you earn, how you redeem, point values, or even whether the program continues. Under the rewards program agreement, the bank must give you at least 30 days’ notice before making those changes.2Chase. Chase Sapphire Reserve With Ultimate Rewards Program Agreement
What Causes You to Lose Points
Closing the Account
If you close your Chase credit card and have no other card enrolled in Ultimate Rewards, any unredeemed points are forfeited the moment the account closes. There is no grace period afterward to redeem or transfer them.1Chase. Do Chase Rewards Points Expire?
Missed Payments
Falling 60 days behind on the minimum payment can trigger a temporary suspension of your ability to use points. If the delinquency continues and Chase closes the account, you lose your entire balance.2Chase. Chase Sapphire Reserve With Ultimate Rewards Program Agreement Federal consumer protection rules do not prevent this: Regulation Z permits card issuers to terminate rewards when a cardholder fails to pay on time.3eCFR. 12 CFR Part 226 – Truth in Lending (Regulation Z)
Program Misuse or Fraud
Chase monitors for attempts to manipulate the rewards system. If the bank concludes you engaged in fraud or program misuse, such as manufactured spending through prohibited methods, it can strip your points. These forfeitures usually cannot be reversed.1Chase. Do Chase Rewards Points Expire?
Returns That Push Your Balance Negative
Returning a purchase reverses the points you earned on it, including any bonus. If you already redeemed those points, your rewards balance goes negative and future earnings are applied against that deficit before you can redeem again.4Chase. How Refunds and Returns Work on a Credit Card
How to Keep Points If You Want to Close the Card
Anything you plan to do with your points has to happen before the account closes. A few options work.
Move Them to Another Chase Card
You can transfer points to another Chase card enrolled in Ultimate Rewards, provided the receiving account belongs to you or a member of your household. Neither account can be restricted from earning or using points at the time of the transfer. Transfers can be started at chase.com/ultimaterewards, by phone, or at a branch.5Chase. J.P. Morgan Reserve With Ultimate Rewards Program Agreement Points can also move between personal and business cards, and business cards allow transfers to a company co-owner’s account.6Chase. Transferring Points With Chase Ultimate Rewards
Transfer to an Airline or Hotel Partner
If you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Business Preferred card, you can transfer points to participating airline and hotel programs in 1,000-point increments. Partner transfers are final. You can send points to your own frequent traveler account or to one authorized user who is a household member.7Chase. Chase Transfer Partners – Everything You Need to Know Other Ultimate Rewards cards can be used to book travel through Chase’s portal but do not support direct partner transfers.
Downgrade Instead of Closing
A product change to a no-annual-fee card in the same family keeps your points balance and your account history intact while eliminating the annual fee. You may lose premium perks such as lounge access and earn at a lower rate going forward.8Chase. Navigating Credit Card Changes – Understanding Credit Card Downgrades
Redeem First
If no transfer or downgrade fits, redeem before you close. Cash back, statement credits, and gift cards all value points at one cent each.9Chase. Chase Ultimate Rewards – How Our Program Works
If the Cardholder Dies
Points cannot be inherited or moved to a survivor’s Ultimate Rewards account. When Chase’s estate services department handles a deceased cardholder’s account, points are typically redeemed automatically as a statement credit rather than transferred to a family member.10Chase. Estate Services If keeping points in the family matters to you, work out a strategy with the primary cardholder while the account is still active.