What is Chase Pay Yourself Back?

What purchases are eligible for Pay Yourself Back?

Here are the current categories eligible for Pay Yourself Back:

The information for the J.P. Morgan Reserve, Chase Freedom, Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Premier has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The list of charities for Pay Yourself Back includes:

• American Heart Association
• American Red Cross
• Equal Justice Initiative
• Feeding America
• GLSEN
• Habitat for Humanity
• International Medical Corps
• International Rescue Committee
• Leadership Conference Education Fund
• Make-A-Wish America
• NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
• National Urban League
• Out and Equal Workplace Advocates
• SAGE
• Thurgood Marshall College Fund
• United Negro College Fund
• UNICEF USA
• United Way
• World Central Kitchen

Let’s say you wanted to redeem 10,000 points on your Chase Sapphire Reserve. For most purchases, you’ll get a $100 statement credit when redeeming 10,000 points.

Requesting a credit

Requesting a credit through Chase’s Pay Yourself Back program is relatively straightforward. Log in to your eligible Chase account via the mobile app or desktop and select the “Pay Yourself Back” option in the redemption menu.

Next, you’ll see a list of eligible purchases for which you can redeem points. Points can be redeemed for purchases as far back as 90 days.

You can offset the full purchase amount, assuming you have enough points to cover it.

From there, you can confirm the redemption value and amount of points required and then choose to complete the transaction. Your statement credit should post within three business days.

Statement credit options on other purchases

Chase has long offered the option to redeem points for a statement credit — that’s not new. To do this, log into your Ultimate Rewards account, hit the drop-down menu and select “Cash Back.”

Bottom line

Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature provides valuable flexibility for many cardholders.

Ultimately, whether you should redeem your balance in this way depends on how you plan to use your points, how many you currently have and whether or not you’d benefit significantly from the statement credits.

‘Restaurants,’ according to Chase

Here’s how “restaurants” are defined, according to Chase’s website:

‘This category’s merchants’ primary business is sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast food restaurants and fine dining establishments. Merchants that sell food and drinks located within facilities such as sports stadiums, hotels and casinos, theme parks, grocery and department stores will not be included in this category unless the merchant has set up such purchases to be classified in a restaurant category. Bakeries, caterers, meal kit delivery services, and gift card merchants are not included in the category. Delivery and takeout services will be included if they classify as a restaurant merchant.’

While the term “restaurants” is pretty straightforward, in practice, this category is broader than it appears on the surface. Essentially, any establishment that serves (as opposed to sells) food or drinks counts.

The purchase will qualify if a merchant classifies itself in a restaurant category when applying to accept credit cards.

What does Chase typically count as dining purchases?

• Bars
• Breweries
• Cafes
• Coffee shops
• Fast food restaurants
• Juiceries
• Restaurant delivery services (Caviar, DoorDash, Eat24, Grubhub and Seamless, but not Postmates)
• Restaurants
• University dining halls
• Vending machines

What does Chase typically not count as dining purchases?

• Bakeries
• Catering services
• Food and drink establishments located within larger merchants
• Grocery stores
• In-flight food and drinks
• Meal kit subscriptions

Bottom line