- Points and miles don't all have the same value. Many points are worth less than 1 cent each, while others can easily be worth four times as much.
- Flexible rewards points such as American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards are often the best value, since you have the most redemption options — including transferring rewards to airline and hotel programs.
- It's helpful to have an idea of how much your points and miles are worth, but if you have a specific travel plan in mind, focus on earning the rewards you need to make it happen.
- See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards »
What are points and miles worth? There's not one answer to this question — because the value of your rewards depends on the particular airline, hotel, or credit card program, and how you're planning to redeem them.
Some points are worth 1 cent each most of the time, but the value can go up and down depending on how you redeem them. Other types of rewards — especially airline miles and hotel points — come with valuations that can vary dramatically depending on how you cash them in.
At the end of the day, point valuations can be all over the place, yet having points in your travel arsenal is always better than having none. With that being said, it's smart to have an idea of approximately how much your points are worth with each of the major programs.
How much are credit card points worth?
Some rewards credit cards let you rack up points in flexible travel programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and American Express Membership Rewards.
Points in flexible programs are typically worth around 1 cent each for travel booked through the bank, but you can also redeem for gift cards, merchandise, and more at varying values.But there are lots of variables to be aware of, and many situations where your points could be worth more or less.
With Chase Ultimate Rewards, for example, points are worth 1 cent each when redeeming for gift cards, statement credits, and most other non-travel options. But the credit card you have can impact how much they're worth if you book travel through Chase. With the
American Express Membership Rewards points are typically worth 1 cent each when you redeem for airfare through Amex, but they're worth 0.6 to 0.7 cents per point when redeemed for hotels and statement credits. You do usually get 1 cent per point in value when you redeem points for gift cards.
With Citi ThankYou points, on the other hand, you'll typically get 1 cent per point for travel booked through Citi but less than 1 cent per point for non-travel options like merchandise. On the flipside, you can cash in Citi points for 1 cent each if you opt for a statement credit or payments to your mortgage or student loans.
Also keep in mind that flexible points can transfer to airline and hotel partners, where they can be used to achieve different values depending on the redemption you make. This is the easiest way to get lots of value from your points, especially when you book expensive hotel rooms or first-class flights.
How much are airline miles worth?
As if things weren't complicated enough, airline miles are another type of loyalty currency whose values can be all over the place.
While The Points Guy publishes a monthly valuations round-up that places values like 1.4 cents apiece for American AAdvantage miles and 1.2 cents each for Delta SkyMiles, these are estimates based on the average redemption value. At the end of the day, airline miles can be worth a lot or a little depending on the itinerary you book.
Here's a good example:
Let's say you want to fly from Indianapolis to Cancun using American AAdvantage miles. For the dates we've chosen below, you could fly round-trip for 30,000 miles plus taxes and fees in economy or 63,000 miles round-trip in business class. Both flights come with identical charges for airline taxes and fees.
If you look at the cash price, however, you'll see that you could pay $459 round-trip for an economy flight or $753 round-trip to fly business class. When you subtract the airline taxes and fees from these amounts, the new charges work out to $372.31 and $666.31. When you divide those figures by the number of miles required, you'll find the following values:
Economy for 30,000 miles = a little more than 1.2 cents per mile
Business for 63,000 miles = a little more than 1 cent per mile
This is just one example, but you'll probably find out that most airline miles are worth around 1 cent to 2 cents each.
In some cases, though, you can get a higher-than-average value for your miles.
Take this flight available with the Air France/Flying Blue program, for example. You could fly round-trip from New York to Paris in business class on dates in 2021, but you would have to fork over $628.33 in airline taxes and fees.
However, the cash price for this flight is $2,775.13. So, when you subtract the $628.33 in airline taxes and fees, you'll see you're getting around 1.5 cents per mile with this redemption.
According to the The Points Guy, Air France/Flying Blue miles are worth approximately 1.2 cents each, but this is just one example where you can get more value depending on the itinerary you book.
How much are hotel points worth?
Hotel points tend to be worth less than other types of rewards currencies, but there are a few exceptions. For example, Hilton Honors points are only worth around 0.6 cents each and IHG Rewards points are only worth around 0.5 cents each, but you can get about 1.7 cents per point in value when you book a hotel stay with the World of Hyatt program.
Once again, however, it really depends on the hotel you book, whether you're traveling during off-peak or peak season, and the program you're using.
With the Hilton Honors program, for example, you can frequently get more than 0.6 cents per point.
As an example, take this booking from the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island for early 2021. You can book a standard award in a beach villa for 95,000 points per night when the cash rate is $1,050.
With this redemption, your points are worth about 1.1 cents each, or almost twice as much as average.
How much are points worth from a cash-back credit card?
Some cash-back credit cards, offer rewards as a percentage of cash back, such as 1% back on every purchase. Cards in this category include the
With the
Another cash-back credit card, the
But these points are 1 one cent each, which makes them the equivalent of cash back. New cardholders can earn 15,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 within the first three months of account opening, which Citi says are "redeemable for a $150 gift card at thankyou.com.
You can also cash in Citi ThankYou points for travel, statement credits, payments to your mortgage or student loans and more.
The bottom line: It all depends on how you use your points and miles
Some points are worth a set value, while others vary dramatically depending on how you use them. However, your rewards are yours to spend how you please, and you should use them for what you want — not just for the travel that gives you the highest per-point value.
Figure out the travel you want, earn the rewards you need, book your trip, and don't look back.
