Chase has quietly added a new way to use Ultimate Rewards points: convert them into cash and drop it straight into a J.P. Morgan investment account. Announced on September 16, "Invest Your Points" gives you one cent per point — so 100,000 points becomes $1,000 to invest. All Freedom, Ink and Sapphire cards qualify, including Sapphire Reserve for Business.
Eligible destinations include J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing accounts, custodial accounts for minors, trust accounts, and taxable brokerage accounts managed with a J.P. Morgan advisor. Retirement accounts are excluded. Timing is decent: requests made before 4:30 p.m. Eastern on a business day usually process the same day, and the cash is typically investable within three business days. You'll find the option in the Chase app or website under Benefits & Travel, then Rewards or Redeem Rewards.
Handy? Sure, if you already bank with J.P. Morgan and genuinely value points at a penny each. But that's the catch — a penny per point is the floor of what your points are worth, not the ceiling.
Two easy ways to beat it. First, Chase's Pay Yourself Back programme pays more than one cent per point against certain card charges, with current rates running through September 30, 2026. Sapphire Reserve cardholders get 1.25 cents against the annual fee, 1.2 cents at gas stations and on public transit, and 1.5 cents for eligible charities. Sapphire Preferred earns 1.1 to 1.25 cents depending on the category, and Freedom and Ink cards get 1.25 cents against charitable donations. Since eligible charges can be up to 90 days old, a $120 fuel bill already on your Sapphire Reserve can be wiped out with 10,000 points — versus just $100 if you'd invested them instead.
Second, and this is where travellers win: use points for trips you were going to buy anyway, then invest the cash you didn't spend. Redeem 100,000 points towards travel at two cents apiece and you've freed up $2,000 to invest — double what the new feature delivers. The maths only works if the redemption genuinely replaces spending you'd have made, though. Points cover a $10,000 business class seat doesn't help if you'd only ever have paid $800 for economy, and Marriott and IHG transfers often yield less than a penny per point anyway.
For points-and-miles travellers, the takeaway is simple: Invest Your Points is a convenient new exit ramp, but it's the lowest-value one Chase offers. If your goal is really to grow your money, book the trip with points and move the untouched cash into your brokerage yourself.