Turning 4,000 Chase Points into 2.5¢ Per Point on a Simple Road Trip Stop
One of my favorite things about points and miles is that you don’t need luxury redemptions to get outsized value. Sometimes the best wins happen on the most boring nights—like a one-night hotel stop on a family road trip.
On our drive to Great Wolf Lodge, we needed a clean, convenient place to crash for the night. Nothing fancy—just beds, a bathroom, and a good night’s sleep for the kids.
That’s where Chase points quietly came through.
The Booking Details
We booked Holiday Inn & Suites Barstow for one night using the Chase Travel Portal.
Here’s how it broke down:
Points used: 4,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards
Cash price at booking: $125
Point value through portal: 1.25¢ per point
Out-of-pocket cost at booking: $75
At first glance, this looks like a pretty standard Chase portal redemption. Nothing flashy.
But this is where stacking benefits matters.
The Statement Credit That Changed Everything
Because we paid the remaining $75 with our Chase Sapphire Preferred, we later received a $50 statement credit.
That means:
$75 charged
− $50 statement credit
Real cost: $25 out of pocket
Now let’s redo the math.
The Real Value of This Redemption
Total room value: $125
Points used: 4,000
Effective cash paid: $25
That means our points covered $100 of the stay.
💥 $100 ÷ 4,000 points = 2.5¢ per point
That’s double the standard Chase Travel Portal value—on a one-night highway hotel.
Why This Matters for Families
When you’re traveling with kids, especially on road trips:
You don’t always need aspirational hotels
You do need flexibility
You want to reduce cash costs wherever possible
Using a small number of points for a practical overnight stop let us:
Save cash for the actual vacation
Avoid transferring points to a hotel program with terrible value
Stack a statement credit for outsized return
This is a great reminder that “boring” redemptions can still be incredible redemptions.
The Takeaway
Chase Travel Portal redemptions aren’t just a fallback option
Statement credits can dramatically boost point value
Even 4,000 points can go a long way when stacked correctly
We didn’t just save money—we stretched our points twice as far, and that’s exactly how we make family travel more affordable.