Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Skip to content. Advertiser Disclosure. The Points Guy. Note: These valuations are not provided by card issuers. Now, we are using a mathematical model that takes into account a number of factors specific to transferable points, including: Unique transfer partners not shared by other card issuers The most valuable individual partners in the program The base redemption value when you redeem points or miles directly for travel Based on this rollout, we are now rounding the valuations for our credit card currencies to the nearest five-hundredths of a point in order to better capture the real-world value they offer cardholders.
American Express Membership Rewards 2. Amtrak Guest Rewards 2. Chase Ultimate Rewards 2. Choice Privileges 0. Delta SkyMiles 1. Diners Club Rewards 2. Frontier Miles 1. Bank FlexPerks 1. Wyndham Rewards 1. Related: Tips and tricks to get maximum value from your Capital One miles New travel credit card offers During the pandemic, we saw several credit card issuers struggle with assessing creditworthiness amidst a world with so many new variables.
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The Points Guy will not sell your email. Please enter a valid email address Please check mailing preferences. Sign-up Successful! Welcome to The Points Guy! Need I say more? DoubleTree by Hilton will open 15 new properties in Southeast Asia. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card.
Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Best: Flights and upgrades on Air Canada, Star Alliance, and other partners, stopovers for just 5, points each with restrictions. Other: Points and Cash awards, eStore, hotels and rental cars, gift cards, and merchandise. The upside of Alaska Mileage Plan comes from its roster of international airline partners, but it offers an above-average return on domestic awards too.
Mileage Plan members still earn miles based on flight distance instead of the cash price of a ticket and can take advantage of a free stopover when redeeming. Alaska Airlines joins the Oneworld airline alliance later in , so Mileage Plan should be on your radar even if you rarely fly this Seattle-based carrier. Medium: Limited transfer options and only a few co-branded credit cards, but Mileage Plan still awards miles for flight activity based on distance flown with opportunities to earn bonuses.
Alaska offers a versatile award search engine capable of booking complex itineraries online, though a handful of international partners still must be booked by phone. Alaska is good with offering award seats on its own flights, but saver availability is often limited. Best: Flights and upgrades on Alaska and a quality assortment of partner airlines, stopover itineraries, distance-based awards for short-haul flights.
The American Airlines AAdvantage program uses dynamic award pricing for American Airlines flights — meaning the award cost varies depending on demand, seasonality, and other factors — but still publishes an award chart with ample sweet spots for flights on Oneworld and non-alliance partners. While American is the largest airline in the world by many measures, the AAdvantage program does not partner with any of the major transferable bank points programs like Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.
However, for a limited time through November 13, , Citi has added American Airlines as a temporary transfer partner. Low to medium: Earning rates for flight activity are mediocre and transfer options are limited, but American Airlines has multiple credit card partners in Citi and Barclays, plus ample partner-earning options. The recently overhauled AAdvantage award search is a little more intuitive for inexperienced travelers, but it disguises saver versus standard availability.
Dynamic award pricing means you can almost always use miles to buy a ticket, but the cost is sometimes laughably high. British Airways Executive Club adds high surcharges to awards on its own flights, but you can avoid those fees by using British Airways Avios points to book Oneworld and non-alliance partners — those flights don't have the same charges added to them.
Thanks to the distance-based award chart, British Airways Avios points are great for short-haul flights outside North America, medium-distance flights within North America, and trips between the West Coast and Hawaii. Awards are priced per segment point A to point B with no stops , so these points are best suited for non-stop itineraries.
Pool Avios among up to six people living together. This limits your ability to purchase awards for anyone outside the pool. High: Earning rates for flight activity are highly dependent on fare class expensive tickets earn more than deeply discounted ones, like fare sales , but the Avios program has multiple quality transfer partners and opportunities to earn via credit card spending.
BA has a sturdy but cumbersome award search engine that makes booking complex itineraries difficult or impossible online. Alaska and Aer Lingus flights don't appear in search results.
Best: Flights and upgrades on BA, Oneworld and other partners, especially short-hauls with distance-based award pricing. Dynamic award pricing where the number of miles required depends on the cash price and demand for a ticket generally limits the upside of the SkyMiles program , though a few sweet spots remain when redeeming for international premium seats.
That lack of upside means there's less incentive to milk every fraction of a cent from your SkyMiles. You get a flat rate per mile from the Pay With Miles feature for Delta Amex cardholders and the option to redeem for Delta gift cards, but Delta has a massive route network and many partners, so it's not hard to find a use for SkyMiles even if the return is uninspiring.
Medium to high: Earning rates for flight activity are mediocre, but Delta has ample co-branded credit cards, earning partners, and transfer options. Delta's online award search engine works great for flights on Delta and all but a handful of partners which must be booked by phone. Search results generally include a wide variety of routing options.
Other: Delta gift cards about 0. Delta Pay With Miles for Delta Amex cardholders , no more award change and redeposit fees on most flights excludes basic economy , long and ongoing history of devaluations. For those who travel along Frontier's route map regularly, the simplicity of the Frontier Miles program may be appealing despite its lackluster value and fees for awards booked less than days from departure. For infrequent Frontier passengers, however, the program's expiration policy is cumbersome enough to make these miles nearly useless.
Pool Frontier Miles among up to eight members. Member in charge must have elite status or have the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard. Medium: Limited transfer options and only a few co-branded credit cards, but Frontier still awards miles for flight activity based on distance flown. Frontier also has a variety of hotel and rental car earning partners. The HawaiianMiles award chart is devoid of true sweet spots, but you can get a decent return on Hawaiian Airlines flights when dynamic pricing works in your favor — that is, when paid tickets are cheap.
The greater problem is that you can generally book those flights at equal or lower rates through other frequent flyer programs, so HawaiianMiles is not a program to target for earning rewards. Unless you're flying between Hawaii and the mainland routinely, you're not likely to accrue enough miles to be of much use anyway, so look to burn these miles at any reasonable opportunity.
Transfer miles to a Hawaiian Airlines credit or debit cardholder at no charge. Medium: Limited transfer options and only a few co-branded credit cards, but Hawaiian still awards miles for flight activity based on distance flown.
Hawaiian's search engine is adequate if a bit sluggish, but you must be logged in to view awards. Partner awards can only be booked by phone. Best: Flights and upgrades on Hawaiian and some airline partners, inter-island flights for 7, miles each way. JetBlue's revenue-based frequent flyer program is easy to understand and use — the number of points required depends on the cash price of a ticket — making it a great option for flyers who value simplicity.
TrueBlue also offers a first-rate points pooling feature, adding value for those who travel often with friends and family. Points never expire, and you have plenty of opportunities to earn more, as JetBlue is the only domestic airline to partner with every major transferable points program.
High: Earning rates from flight activity are good when you book directly, JetBlue has abundant transfer options, multiple co-branded credit cards, and numerous airline, hotel, and other partner-earning options.
JetBlue has a fast and versatile award search engine for its own flights, partner flights Hawaiian Airlines must be booked by phone. With separate award charts for flights on Singapore Airlines, Star Alliance partners, and non-alliance partners, the KrisFlyer program may overwhelm inexperienced award travelers. Nonetheless, it offers sweet spots like opportunities to book first-class seats on Singapore Airlines or discounted awards on United and Alaska Airlines.
KrisFlyer partners with all of the major transferable points programs, so you have abundant options for earning miles. However, those miles expire after 36 months regardless of your account activity, so only transfer miles when you have immediate plans to redeem them. High: KrisFlyer credit cards aren't available to members in North America, but you can transfer points in from all the major partners, earn for flight activity on Star Alliance and other airline partners, and earn through spending with a variety of other travel and shopping partners.
You can book Singapore and SilkAir flights online, but partner awards require a call. We've adjusted our valuations accordingly. The Southwest Rapid Rewards program isn't glamorous, but it offers consistent value with minimal hassle, making it one of the most reliable and useful programs out there for North American flyers.
You can book any available seat with points, and the number of points required is directly tied to the price of a paid ticket. Plus, Southwest's flexible change and cancellation policies extend to award bookings. If you tend to travel with others, you can stretch your points even further by earning the coveted Southwest Companion Pass , and points earned with Southwest credit cards count toward qualification.
Medium to high: Earning rates from flight activity are good, Southwest has two major transfer partners, a variety of co-branded credit cards, and numerous hotel and other earning partners. Best: Southwest Wanna Get Away fares, flights on other airlines occasionally. Southwest Companion Pass, redeem directly for flights on other carriers, no change or cancellation fees. The Spirit Airlines Free Spirit loyalty program recently got a major overhaul, shifting to a revenue-based system meaning points earning and redemption is based on the cash price of a ticket and updating elite status levels, points expiration, and the ability to pool points with others.
Award flights start at 2, points for the cheapest flights, and the cost goes up in point increments as the regular ticket price increases. Pool miles among up to eight members at no cost. Member in charge must have elite status or have a Free Spirit Credit Card. Low: Earnings from flight activity are based on paid ticket price and elite status, limited credit card options, no transfer partners. Spirit's award search runs alongside its normal flight search, and you can toggle between points and cash prices.
The United MileagePlus program uses dynamic pricing for all awards, including flights on Star Alliance and other partners. You can still find opportunities to book at rates offered by the old award chart, but beware that United may show phantom award space seats that show up in search but that you can't book. On the positive side, United miles no longer expire, and the airline eliminated change fees on most award flights.
The Excursionist Perk allows you to add a stop to flights between different MileagePlus regions, adding value to many international awards. Medium to high: Earning rates for flight activity are mediocre, but United has ample co-branded credit cards, earning partners, and transfer options. United's award search is notorious for showing phantom award space, and the calendar view often returns faulty results.
The website also prompts you to log in when you search for awards, though you can continue the search without logging in. Excursionist Perk, no award change fees on most flights, no award redeposit fees more than 30 days from departure, no surcharges, improved award availability for MileagePlus cardholders, close-in booking fee. The abundance of transfer partners with occasional bonuses means you can earn these miles quickly, and then use them to book flights on Delta and other partners.
A recent program update eliminated many of the most favorable award rates, but you'll still get a reasonable award change and cancellation policy, and Flying Club miles no longer expire as of September Just beware of egregious surcharges on flights operated by Virgin Atlantic. Gold Elite members may create a household account that allows you to pool miles at no cost among up to nine members living at the same address. High: Virgin Atlantic has one co-branded credit card available to members in North America, and you can transfer points in from most of the major partners, earn for flight activity on 10 airline partners, and earn through spending with a variety of other travel and shopping partners.
The Flying Club award search engine has mercifully been updated to get rid of some of its more annoying tendencies, but many partner awards still require a phone call. However, since you can redeem points for Best Western gift cards at 0.
One place Best Western Rewards shines is its expiration policy; points don't expire regardless of activity in your account, so you can earn a useful amount over time even if you're an infrequent guest. Transfer to 12 airlines including several major carriers, transfers are mostly , transfer time unknown. Transfer points at no cost to any member who shares your physical address.
Medium: Earning rates from stay activity are good and can be boosted with regular promotions, Best Western has two co-branded credit cards, no inbound transfer partners. Best Western's search engine is sluggish and a bit clunky, but it works well enough.
Best Western uses dynamic award pricing with a bit more predictability than other programs, so you'll almost always find award availability and it will usually be within a certain point range. Choice Hotels boasts a massive global portfolio, but Choice Privileges gets overlooked by many award travelers due to the scarcity of high-end properties. The program has its quirks — awards can only be booked up to days from checkout, and there are no pooling or sharing options of any kind — but it's a good fit for frequent travelers who care more about convenience than luxury.
Amex , instantaneous , Amtrak , Capital One , starting later in , Citi ratio varies by card. Transfer to eight airlines, including several major carriers, transfers are mostly , transfer times are quoted as two to six weeks. Medium: Earning rates through stay activity are good, Choice offers co-branded credit cards, but their earning rates are poor, one major transfer partner in Amex and another in Amtrak.
Choice still bizarrely limits award bookings to days from checkout. This can add value in some cases, since available award nights can't be reserved far out by travelers who are likely to cancel, but it makes planning a lot harder.
Hilton Honors uses dynamic award pricing, so it's hard to get outsized value when redeeming points. The program's month points expiration policy is also less friendly than most. On the plus side, Hilton waives resort fees on award stays, and offers a fifth night free on standard awards for anyone with elite status , adding value to longer stays.
Hilton boasts a large and diverse portfolio, so there are ample opportunities to use these points. Amex , instantaneous, minimum 1, , Virgin Atlantic , up to 30 days, minimum 10, , Hawaiian Airlines , minimum 10, , Amtrak , minimum 5, Transfer to 40 airlines including most major carriers and Amtrak, transfers are mostly or Pool points freely with up to 10 other members, minimum of 1, points per transfer, maximum transfer of , points annually, maximum of 2 million points received annually.
High: Earning rates for stay activity are good and can be boosted with seasonal and other promotions, several co-branded Hilton cards with high earning rates, earn with a variety of partners. Hilton uses dynamic award pricing, so you'll almost always find award availability, but pricing is all over the map. Other: On-property credits limited , Hilton Honors experiences, donations. Hyatt has a smaller portfolio than other major hotel chains, but offers a higher average return on award redemptions.
World of Hyatt lets you book both standard rooms and suites, or redeem points for as much as 1. The program also waives resort fees on award stays and offers a relatively friendly expiration policy. Unfortunately, some Hyatt properties don't always release standard room availability, and peak award pricing makes World of Hyatt points less valuable than they would be otherwise. Transfer to 26 airlines including most major carriers, transfers are mostly with a handful of exceptions, minimum transfer of 5, points, then increments of 1, Medium: Earning rates for stay activity are good and can be boosted with seasonal promotions, only one co-branded card, but can earn Ultimate Rewards instead Hyatt is a transfer partner , earn with AA flights and Avis rentals.
Hyatt claims to have no blackout dates with standard room availability, but at some properties, the definition of what counts as a "standard" room and availability varies. IHG Rewards adopted dynamic award pricing in , but that hasn't substantially devalued these points so far.
On the downside, IHG Rewards charges a prohibitive amount to transfer points to other members, and the once-lucrative PointBreaks promotion where award nights at select hotels were discounted to as little as 5, points has steadily declined and is now on indefinite hold. Transfer to 36 airlines including most major carrier, transfers are mostly with a handful of exceptions, minimum transfer of 10, points, takes up to 21 days and must be processed manually.
High: Earning rates for stay activity are good and can be boosted with seasonal and other promotions, two co-branded cards along with higher earning rates via Chase Ultimate Rewards cards , earn with a variety of partners, common opportunities to buy heavily discounted points.
What sets Bonvoy apart from other hotel programs is the ability to transfer points at a viable rate to over 40 airline partners.
That gives these points a respectable value floor even if you don't book hotels often. Amex , instantaneous , Chase , days , United , for elite members only, up to , points annually. Transfer to 43 airlines including most major carriers, transfers are mostly with a 5,mile bonus for every 60, points transferred , most transfers take a few days, though some can take weeks.
Transfer up to , points annually to any member at no cost, minimum transfer of 1, points, maximum of , transferred points received annually. High: earning rates for stay activity are good and can be boosted with seasonal and other promotions, several co-branded Marriott cards with high earning rates, earn with a variety of partners. Marriott claims to have no blackout dates, but some properties don't always release standard room inventory. Radisson still publishes a fixed award chart with tiered hotel categories and the option to book into both standard and premium rooms.
The average return for award stays is low on a per-point basis, but Radisson Rewards offers exceptional earning rates for qualifying stays, so you can accumulate a sizable balance quickly if you have any paid reservations. The program also features generous expiration and points-sharing policies compared to most competitors.
One negative is that Radisson has few high-end properties in North America, so it's not a great option for luxury-minded domestic travelers. Transfer to 35 airlines, including most major carriers, transfers are , transfer times unknown. Elite members may transfer points to other members. Non-elite members may transfer points to other members with the same address, provided both parties have been members for at least one year.
Medium to high: Earning rates from stay activity are very good and can be boosted with regular promotions, Radisson has co-branded credit cards with good earning rates, no inbound transfer partners for US members. Generally good — Radisson still operates an award chart with the option to book premium rooms directly and no dynamic pricing. Wyndham is the largest hotel chain in the world, yet Wyndham Rewards offers just three award tiers.
The result is that some properties offer great value for points bookings, but more commonly the opposite is true. Look for Go Fast points and cash awards to stretch your points and get more consistent value.
One major negative of this program: Points expire after four years even with qualifying activity in your account, so use them or lose them. Four years from the date of earning; Wyndham Rewards also expire if your account is inactive for 18 months.
Transfer to 11 airline partners, including several major carriers, plus Amtrak and PAYBACK, transfers are in increments of 6, points, transfer times unknown.
Medium: Earning rates through stay activity are good, Wyndham has co-branded credit cards with low earning rates, only one inbound transfer partner with a subpar ratio. Figuring out how much your points, miles, and credit card rewards are worth isn't an exact science. In a few cases, rewards have a fixed value when redeemed in a certain way for example, Capital One miles are worth 1 cent apiece when used to "erase" travel purchases made on your card , but otherwise, your rate of return will depend on how, where, and even when you redeem.
Because there are so many variables, we've come up with low, average, and high cash values per point or mile in each program by taking sample award searches and typical redemptions into account.
It's certainly possible to achieve a return that's much greater than even our high-end numbers, but that involves cherry-picking the most aspirational redemptions very expensive international first-class flights, for example that don't reflect the average reader's experience. Here are the factors we considered in determining how much each program's points and miles are worth:.
With few exceptions, there's plenty of room for disagreement over how much points or miles are worth. We recommend you use these valuations as a point of reference, and then tweak them as you see fit to suit your needs. And understanding how much your points and miles are worth can help you decide when to redeem them, and when to pay out of pocket instead. Of course, the value of miles is subjective; rather than just having a monetary value, it matters what they are worth to you personally, based on the experiences they can buy.
And ultimately, as long as you are saving money on travel, using miles is a win in our book. Like all airline and hotel currencies, United Airlines miles generally do not hold a lot of value. To that end, we recommend using miles sooner rather than later once you earn them.
Unlike credit card points, such as American Express Membership Rewards points or Chase Ultimate Rewards points , airline miles cannot be transferred to other programs. Instead, you can only use them when flying on the designated airline or its partners. Credit card points, on the other hand, can be used on various airlines as well as hotels, and even for offsetting purchases via a statement credit.
Credit card points tend to be more valuable because of this flexibility. United Airlines, like its competitor Delta , does not publish an award chart. That means prices for awards when you redeem your miles can fluctuate depending on the route, date and time. All that said, using United Airlines to offset the price of your travel can help you fly for just the cost of taxes and fees. This strategy can be especially useful when flying in business or first class, as these seats can cost you thousands of dollars, especially on international routes.
To arrive at our valuation of 1. Economy: 1. Note that we calculated the value of an economy class award on the basis of a non-refundable economy ticket, which is what most people buy, and ignored fully refundable economy, which allows more flexibility but is not a popular fare among leisure travelers. We did not calculate for basic economy — a fare class that buys a seat in regular coach, but with restrictions — since there are no corresponding awards.
We also did not factor in taxes and fees, which are a small amount. To gauge the value of a mile on a popular long-haul route, we looked at Newark to Tel Aviv, Israel, in October Business class here means seats that turn into fully flat beds, while premium economy is separate from regular economy, with better service and the same legroom as domestic first class. Business: 1. We have found domestic awards out of major United hubs like San Francisco, Newark and Washington-Dulles for flights this summer that yielded between 2 and 3 cents per mile.
Those are exceptional values, with tickets going for as little as 9, miles round-trip in coach class. If you are fully vaccinated and can resume domestic travel , award tickets at those prices are extremely attractive — but because they may not last long after the summer, we did not consider them representative of the average value of a mile.
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