You can get free flights and hotels in Hawaii. You can also get free rental cars. Here’s how to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for rental cars in Hawaii.
Imagine cruising along the Pacific Ocean in a convertible. The sun shining on your face, the cool breeze blowing through your hair as the waves crashing softly into the white sand beach. Sounds great, right?
What if that rental car was free?
Even better.
You can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to pay for your rental car in Hawaii.
Pro-tip: You can also redeem points to rent cars throughout the world.
Contents
How to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Rental Cars in Hawaii
You can get a free trip to Hawaii by using miles and points for airfare and hotels AND car rentals.
Here’s how to use points for free rental cars.
Some point programs let you redeem your travel expenses as statement credits. While others like Chase Ultimate Rewards, let you pay for your car rental with points.
In this post, you’ll learn how to redeem Ultimate Rewards for rental cars in Hawaii and other cities.
This is the third post in the four-part series on how to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Hawaii.
- Flights
- Hotels
- Rental Cars
- Tours and Activities
It’s easy to rent a car using Chase Ultimate Rewards points. There are lots of ways to earn Ultimate Rewards points, so redeeming them for car rentals makes a lot of sense. Because you can save cash and book a rental car for points.
Cards That Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
| Signup Bonus & Minimum Spending Requirements | Annual Fee | Value of Points Toward Travel | Why I Like This Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Freedom Unlimited® | 3% cash back on up to $20,000 your first year, 6.5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase travel portal, and 4.5% cash back at drugstores and restaurants your first year | $0 | 1 cent | A no annual fee cash back card gives you freedom to redeem points as needed. |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account. | $95 | 1.25 cents | This is a great first card if you're getting started in travel rewards. You can earn up to 5X points on travel and 3X points on dining. |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card | 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account. | $550 | 1.5 cents | The $300 yearly travel credit, 10X points on hotels and car rentals booked through the portal (2X booked direct), 5X points on airfare, and 3X points on dining, plus the free airport lounge access is worth the high annual fee. |
| Ink Business Cash® Credit Card | $750 after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account | $0 | 1 cent | A no fee cash back cards lets you put more money into your business. |
| Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card | $750 after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account | $0 | 1 cent | When using this card to book rental cars, you get primary insurance coverage |
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | 100,000 points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account | $95 | 1.25 cents | Great for businesses with travel expenses because you earn 3X points on travel |
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
With the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, you can earn 3% cash back on up to $20,000 your first year, 6.5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase travel portal, and 4.5% cash back at drugstores and restaurants your first year.
Then, you earn 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase portal, 3% cash back at drugstores and restaurants, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases without an annual fee. Plus you can transfer points to cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 60,000 point signup bonus when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
You earn 5X points on travel when booked through the Chase portal (2 when booked direct), 3X points on dining, and 1 point on all other purchases. Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer on a 1:1 basis to 13 participating partners like Hyatt, United, and Southwest. There are no foreign transaction fees on purchases outside the US.
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card card offers a 60,000 point signup bonus when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
You get a $300 annual travel credit, 10X points on car rentals and hotels booked through the Chase portal (3X booked direct), 5X points on airfare, 3X points on dining, and 1 point on everything else. You also get free airport lounge access and can redeem points for 1.5 cents on travel purchases. You can transfer points on a 1:1 basis to 13 partners like Southwest and Hyatt. Plus there are no foreign transaction fees.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card card offers a 100,000 point signup bonus when you spend $15,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. This equals $1,250 in travel when you use your points through the Chase Travel Portal.
You get 3X points on up to $150K on select categories and 1 point on all other purchases. Points are worth 1.5 cents towards travel. Or you can transfer to 13 participating partners like Hyatt and United.
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
With the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, you can earn a $750 signup bonus when you spend $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
You earn unlimited 1.5% cash back, transfer points to cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, all without an annual fee.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers a signup bonus of $750 when you spend $6,000 in purchases in the first three months.
You get 5% cash back at office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone services, 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. You can transfer points to cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred
How to Book a Rental Car in Hawaii With the Chase Travel Portal
You can use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a hotel in Hawaii through the Chase portal. Here’s how…
Step 1. Log In
Log in to your Chase account.
Choose your Chase card with the highest value when redeeming points. Click the “redeem” link under “Ultimate Rewards” on the right side of your screen.
Or click the blue “Ultimate Rewards” box and choose your Chase card with the highest point redemption value.
Step 2. Choose Travel or Redeem for Travel
Choose Travel from the top menu or “Redeem for travel” in the dashboard in the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Then click on the “Cars” link.
Step 3. Search for a Rental Car
Enter the pickup and drop off location, travel dates, and times.
Use the Advanced Options link if you have a preferred car type and/or rental car company.
Click the green “Search” box.
Step 4. Choose Your Rental Car
Chose your rental car from the options provided.
You can narrow the search by using the “filter cars by” feature on the left side of the screen. You can filter by car type, price, rental car company, and specifics like manual transmission, and air conditioning.
For faster sorting, click the “Price” link in the Sort by section to filter by lowest price.
Pro-tip: Be sure and compare rental car prices from other sites like Expedia and Costco.
Step 5. Pay With Points
Once you’ve selected your rental car you can pay with points, cash, or points plus cash. Both the cash rate and the points rate are shown.
When you check out, you choose how many points you want to redeem for your car rental.
There’s no minimum amount of points required. You can use 1 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to pay for your rental car.
Choose your payment option and confirm your rental car booking.
Pro-tip: When you use points to pay for your rental car in Hawaii, your credit card auto insurance policy usually won’t cover the rental.
Because you’re paying with points vs paying with cash. Your personal auto insurance policy will cover rentals in the United States.
If you rent outside the US and pay with your points, you’ll have to pay for the insurance coverage.
Credit Cards that Provide Insurance for Rental Cars
You can save a lot of money by declining the optional insurance on rental cars. But only do so if you have a personal auto insurance policy or have a credit card that provides insurance for car rentals.
Some credit cards offer collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance. This means they’ll reimburse you if you damage the rental.
But coverage can vary depending on the credit card.
Some cards offer primary coverage which pays for everything. While others offer secondary coverage which requires your personal auto insurance, homeowners or other insurance to pay first before the credit card company will pay.
These credit cards offer primary insurance on car rentals:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- JP Morgan Reserve
- Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite
- United℠ Explorer Card
- The Platinum Card® from American Express – (up to $24.95 for primary coverage)
Pro-tip: Some countries prohibit credit card companies from providing primary coverage. Check with your credit card before your rental to make sure you have the right coverage.
These business credit cards also provide primary CDW insurance:
You have to pay for the rental with your business card and be on a business trip. Otherwise, you void the CDW policy
Conclusion
You can get a free Hawaii vacation using miles and points for flights, hotels, and car rentals. You can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for rental cars in Hawaii and other cities.
Redeeming points for car rentals is easy through the Chase Travel Portal. In less than 5 minutes you can book and pay for your rental car with Ultimate Rewards points.
There are lots of ways to earn points. But the fastest way is from a signup bonus on cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Chase Ink Business Preferred.
You have the option to pay for your rental using all points, a combination of points and cash, or cash. There’s no minimum amount of points required. So you could use as few as 1 point!
Where have you used Chase Ultimate Rewards points for rental cars?
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Freedom Unlimited®
craig
Saturday 22nd of June 2019
seems to be a problem though with chase ultimate rewards with renting cars I have check places like sydney australia, melbourne, and aruba and there is no ability to rent cars with your points find it no problem with Expedia but when using ultimate rewards nothing is found even called in they couldn't find anything either and they didn't know why is there a reason for this that you know of?
Debra Schroeder
Saturday 12th of October 2019
Hi Craig,
I haven't tried renting a car with points in Sydney or Melbourne. Public transportation is great in both cities and they are very walkable so I didn't rent cars in either one.
Just looked and you're right, I couldn't find a rental car through the portal in Sydney, Melbourne, or Aruba. But I was able to find rental cars using Chase Ultimate Rewards points in several other cities like London, Rome, Madrid, and Helsinki. Looks like they aren't available in some countries.
Nish
Wednesday 20th of March 2019
Getting reward points is the best. I use AMEX, and have enjoyed some great benefits using the card.
Debra Schroeder
Thursday 21st of March 2019
Hi Nish,
Glad to hear it!
Gavin
Wednesday 20th of March 2019
That’s the one thing (other than amazon prime) that I miss about living in the states. We used to use our AMEX and Delta all the time to travel on the cheap. Sadly OZ ain’t as good with rewards as America is
Debra Schroeder
Thursday 21st of March 2019
Hi Gavin,
True, we have more travel rewards cards in the US. I think OZ has been adding more cards, there are even a few Australian miles and points blogs.
Alisha
Wednesday 13th of March 2019
I didn't start credit card hacking until this year and because of it, I was able to fly at a discounted rate. Chase is the best one I have heard but I am currently using Amex gold.
Debra Schroeder
Wednesday 20th of March 2019
Hi Alisha,
Credit card rewards are awesome! They're on the best ways to travel more for less. :)
Dalene Ekirapa
Wednesday 13th of March 2019
I'm a fan of such loyalty programs. Currently, I'm using my loyalty card hoping to get a free international trip come December as a reward.
Debra Schroeder
Wednesday 20th of March 2019
Hi Dalene,
That's awesome! Hope you have a great trip.