The Chase Pay Yourself Back program was introduced in the early days of the coronavirus as people stopped traveling. Instead of having points be used for things like travel, Chase made it possible to redeem points – at the same value as using them directly for travel – for things like grocery store shopping, home improvement stores, charitable giving, dining, annual fees, and even Airbnb.
Chase Pay Yourself Back 2023 – New Categories and Lower Rates
As I wrote just before 2023, Chase had quietly released changed redemption rates for the Pay Yourself Back program. Well, now that we are here in 2023, here are what the Pay Yourself Back categories are and the redemption rates that go with them.
Prior to this, the redemption rate for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card was 1.5 cents per point and the redemption rate for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Chase Ink Business Premier card were 1.25 cents per point. In both cases, it was the same as if you redeemed your points directly for travel.
Now, in 2023, Chase has changed things up a bit. Here is what we have now.
Chase Ink Business Preferred
Here are the categories that the Pay Yourself Back program has with the Chase business card through March 31, 2023. Historically, these dates get extended but that is the current timeframe.
- Shipping – at 1.25 cents per point
- Internet, cable and phone services – at 1.25 cents per point
- Select charities – at 1.25 cents per point
The redemption rate for the Chase Ink Business Preferred has stayed steady.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Here are the categories and redemption rates for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card through March 31, 2023.
- Gas stations – at 1 cent per point
- Grocery stores – at 1 cent per point
- Select charities – at 1.25 cents per point
I find it interesting that they had added gas stations to this card since it is the Chase Ink Business Preferred that has gas stations as a bonus earning category. Also, I like how Chase is kind of throwing a bone to charities in not having customers take a hit on lower redemption rates for the charities. 🙂
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Here are the categories and redemption rates for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card through March 31, 2023.
- Gas stations – at 1.25 cents per point
- Grocery stores – at 1.25 cents per point
- Select charities – at 1.50 cents per point
- Annual fee – at 1.25 cents per point
Bottom Line
So, just like that, Chase has let it be known that they would hope customers stop getting so much value out of the Pay Yourself Back program. But, they still want customers to use their points for these categories, just not with the value that they offered before.
I had said before – for Chase, this is a more expensive proposition since this is a fixed rate, they are having to refund you real money on purchases you already made (and earned points on!). On the travel redemption side, they own the travel portal so it likely isn’t the same real money cost when you redeem points directly for travel. Also, you are using your points for outright redemptions so Chase doesn’t have to pay you any bonus points for the purchase itself.
For sure, going forward, I can definitely not recommend using points from a Chase Sapphire Preferred account for those Pay Yourself Back categories. You are now getting the same rate as if you cash the points out directly for statement credits on anything or cash back in your account. They lose their value proposition now that the rate is equal with many other cash-out options.
For the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Chase Ink Business Premier, there may be customers that will still find value there, but only if they aren’t traveling as much as they had before. All-in-all, I think many of us had a good run on the way it used to be! Remember when Chase was giving 10x points on grocery store purchases and letting you redeem points at 1.5 cents per point for those purchases? 🙂 Good old days!
