I Saved 230,000+ Points on the Same Exact Hotel
Marriott wanted 349,500 points for three nights at the Tokyo Edition Toranomon. I booked the same hotel, same room, for 107,427 Chase points and a $250 credit I was going to use anyway. That's over 230,000 fewer points for the exact same stay.
The strategy? The Chase Travel Portal. And before you scroll away because you've heard that the portal is "for beginners," hear me out. The math on this one is hard to argue with.
The Hotel: Tokyo Edition Toranomon
Tiffany, our kid, and I have stayed at the Hyatt Centric in Tokyo a couple of times and loved it. But we were ready for something different. The Park Hyatt didn't have any award availability, and we weren't interested in the new CAPTION by Hyatt, so we started looking at Marriott properties.
The Tokyo Edition Toranomon made the top 50 hotels in the world list in 2025, and it matched our vibe. Modern, clean aesthetic, great location. We'd had our eye on it for a while.
The problem? Booking it with points wasn't cheap.
What Marriott Wanted: 349,500 Points
I checked the Marriott website and the cost for three nights came out to 349,500 Marriott Bonvoy points. If I transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio, that's 349,500 Chase points gone.
That's a lot of points for a three-night hotel stay. For context, you could book multiple international business class flights with that many points. So I started looking for a better way.
The Chase Travel Portal + Points Boost
Here's where it gets interesting. I pulled up the same hotel in the Chase Travel Portal and the regular price was 239,854 points. Already less than what Marriott was charging directly, but still a big number.
Then I noticed the little rocket ship icon next to the listing. That means the hotel is Points Boosted, which is a feature in the Chase Travel Portal that increases the value of your points beyond the standard redemption rate.
Here's how Points Boost works depending on which card you have:
With my Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Points Boosted price dropped to 119,927 points for all three nights. That's 2 cents per point in value, which is solid.
That alone is a massive improvement over 349,500 points through Marriott. But I wasn't done.
Stacking the $250 EDIT Hotel Credit
The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with a $250 annual hotel credit for EDIT hotels. The EDIT collection includes properties like the Edition, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, and others.
Since the Tokyo Edition Toranomon is part of the EDIT collection, it qualifies for the credit. So I split the payment: I redeemed points for the bulk of the stay and left exactly $250 in cash on my Chase Sapphire Reserve to trigger the hotel credit.
Final cost: 107,427 Chase points + $250 paid on the card (fully covered by the EDIT credit).
Compare that to 349,500 points through Marriott. Same hotel. Same room. Less than a third of the points.
The Triple Dip: Why This Really Works
Here's the part most people don't realize. When you book through the Chase Travel Portal, you don't lose your Marriott benefits. As long as you see the little tag that says "Marriott Bonvoy eligible" on the listing, you still get:
- Marriott Elite Night credits for your stay
- Marriott Bonvoy points earned on the stay
- EDIT benefits include daily breakfast or a $200 property credit, early check-in, late checkout (if available), and room upgrades (if available)
So you're saving on points, using your $250 EDIT credit, AND earning Marriott status and points on the back end. That's three layers of value from one booking.
Key Takeaway: Booking through the Chase Travel Portal with Points Boost doesn't mean giving up your hotel loyalty benefits. Look for the "Hotel Loyalty Program Eligible" tag on the listing.
When the Portal Wins (And When It Doesn't)
I'm not going to pretend the Chase Travel Portal is always the best option. It's not. But there are specific situations where it clearly wins:
The portal wins when:
- The hotel is Points Boosted (look for the rocket ship icon)
- You can stack the EDIT $250 credit
- Marriott's award pricing is inflated (peak dates, high-demand properties)
- There's no award availability to transfer points to
Transferring points wins when:
- The hotel isn't Points Boosted in the portal
- Marriott's award chart pricing is reasonable
- You have enough points in a specific hotel program already
- You want guaranteed elite benefits through a direct booking
The thing is, most people never even check the portal. They just assume transferring is always better because that's what gets hyped up online. But when you actually sit down and run the numbers, you'll find opportunities like this one.
Another benefit of the portal: It doesn't depend on award availability. The Park Hyatt Tokyo had zero award nights available for our dates. Even if it did, three nights would have cost 120,000 Hyatt points (40,000 per night), which is still more than the 107,427 I paid for the Edition.
The Step-by-Step Strategy
Here's exactly how to replicate this for your next hotel booking:
Step 1: Go to the Chase Travel Portal and search for your hotel. Toggle the "Points Boost Only" filter to see which properties are boosted.
Step 2: Compare the Points Boosted redemption rate to what you'd pay for transferring points directly to the hotel program. Write both numbers down.
Step 3: Check if the hotel is part of the EDIT collection. If it is, you can stack the Chase Sapphire Reserve's $250 annual hotel credit by splitting the payment.
Step 4: Look for the "Hotel Loyalty Program Eligible" tag. If it's there, you'll still earn hotel points and elite night credits for your stay.
Step 5: Pick whichever option gives you the most value. Sometimes that's the portal. Sometimes it's a direct transfer. The point is to check both.
The Bottom Line
I know Points Boost gets a bad rap. And I'll be honest, it is a devaluation from what the Chase Travel Portal used to offer. But there are still real opportunities to get strong value if you know where to look.
For our Tokyo Edition stay, booking through the portal saved us over 230,000 points compared to transferring to Marriott. We stacked the $250 EDIT credit. We're still earning Marriott status and points. The math just works.
Take five minutes to check the portal before your next booking. You might be surprised.
Max's Take: I'd take advantage of Points Boost right now. Chase has a history of devaluing the travel portal over time, so the current rates won't last forever. If the math works on a booking, lock it in.
