How I used 75,000 Chase points to fly business class to New Zealand

20.05.2024 - 21:23 / thepointsguy.com / Katie Genter / Ita Airways

When I first started at The Points Guy all the way back in 2011, it wasn't unusual for me to spot a mileage deal, grab my suitcase and hop on a plane at the drop of a hat. These days, however, I'm more likely to plan ahead and plot out each trip I take moment by moment well in advance (mainly so I don't annoy my partner with the frequent disappearing acts!).

However, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to take up some of my old ways last month when my colleagues at TPG presented me with the challenge of using 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to maximum effect.

Why 75,000 Chase points, you might ask?

Well, two of the best travel rewards credit cards are currently offering just that number of welcome bonus points at the moment. For a limited time, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (which I carry) are both offering new applicants 75,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points after they spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Katie Genter leveraged Chase's valuable airline and hotel transfer partners and used her passel of 75,000 points for a last-minute all-inclusive Mexico getaway, and Tanner Saunders stretched his 75,000 points for a weekend jaunt to Greece, thanks to transfers to Emirates and Hyatt.

For me, I decided on one huge points splurge for my fly-by-night adventure, not to overcomplicate a very short, very spontaneous trip.

Here's my take on using 75,000 points to hop down to New Zealand for an incredible weekend of wine, hiking and big-city fun in Auckland.

One of the conditions of using 75,000 Chase points for this challenge was deciding on a trip and then taking it ... all within a matter of about 10 days. Even so, thanks to Chase's many airline and hotel transfer partners, I almost had too many options.

I could have transferred points to Virgin Atlantic to book a quick round-trip to the U.K. (in economy, premium economy or Upper Class — though I was wary of high taxes and fees) on Virgin itself, or to Rome on its partner, ITA Airways.

I also considered converting the Chase points to Flying Blue miles and flying Air France or KLM to various cities in Europe, including Prague and Budapest. I briefly considered transferring them to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and using the miles to tag on a business-class flight from New York to Frankfurt after some business meetings on the East Coast.

But then I came across a rare award ticket that was just too hard to pass up.

While determinedly searching through possible destinations, I stumbled upon a veritable treasure trove of Air New Zealand business-class award availability from both Los Angeles and San Francisco to Auckland in April. Return tickets were also available, but because