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Not all rewards points are valued the same. Everyone is always asking things like “How much is a point or mile really worth?”. It can be confusing, especially if you haven’t been involved in the points and miles community for a long time. Marketing and television commercials don’t make it any better by telling you how many points you earn per dollar. That’s not the most important thing when it comes to reward points value.
Redemption rate is the key ingredient. You could have a points program that earns 5 points per dollar spent but also only has a redemption rate of 0.4 cents per point. Earning points with that program would essentially give you 2 cents of redemption value for every dollar spent. On the flip side, you could have a points program that earns 3 points per dollar and a redemption rate for those points of 2.0 cents per point. With this points program, you would get 6 cents of redemption value for every dollar spent. It’s all about the redemption rate!
What are Your Reward Points Currently Valued at?
Most airlines and hotels don’t have a set amount that their reward points are valued at. It’s up to the customer to determine that. We’ll help you out by analyzing each program from our own experiences and the experiences of other frequent travelers. I’ve also taken into consideration the values given by some other trusted travel sources. Our goal is to give you a good estimation of what you can expect to redeem your points for.
Another thing that makes valuing reward points hard is the fact that rewards programs are always changing. Redemption rules, transfer partners, and loyalty programs are changing all the time which can make the reward points value fluctuate. For this reason, we will update our reward points values every month if there are changes.
There are 3 Main Types of Points
- Transferable Credit Card Points
- Airline Points
- Hotel Points
There are three types of points that we focus on, here at Travel Freedom. They are transferable credit card points, airline miles, and hotel points. For the most part, transferable credit card points are the most valuable because you can transfer them to a multitude of airlines and hotels. Airline points typically have a better redemption value than hotels. There are 14 airlines that have an average reward points value of at least 1.4 cents per point. With hotels, there is only one rewards program that has a points value of over 1.4 cents and that is the World of Hyatt program.
These reward points values are determined with the informed points traveler in mind. It takes into effect the ability to transfer points to partners to make the most of your points. Honestly, many of the valuations (especially of the transferable points) are on the low end. There are times when Chase Ultimate Rewards, for example, can be redeemed for more than double what their value is listed at. Let’s go ahead and take a look at the current reward points value in each program.
Transferable Credit Card Points Value
| Rewards Program | Reward Points Value |
|---|---|
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | 2.0 Cents |
| Amex Membership Rewards | 2.0 Cents |
| Citi Thank You Points | 1.7 Cents |
| Capital One Miles | 1.4 Cents |
| Barclaycard Arrival Miles | 1.0 Cents |
Airline Points Value
| Rewards Program | Reward Points Value |
|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1.5 Cents |
| Alaska Mileage Plan | 1.8 Cents |
| American AAdvantage | 1.4 Cents |
| ANA Mileage Club | 1.4 Cents |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1.3 Cents |
| Avianca Lifemiles | 1.7 Cents |
| British Airways Avios | 1.5 Cents |
| Delta Skymiles | 1.4 Cents |
| Emirates Skywards | 1.2 Cents |
| Etihad Guest | 1.4 Cents |
| Air France Flying Blue | 1.2 Cents |
| Frontier Miles | 1.1 Cents |
| Hawaiian Miles | 0.9 Cents |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1.3 Cents |
| Korean Air Skypass | 1.7 Cents |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | 1.4 Cents |
| Singapore Krisflyer | 1.4 Cents |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 1.7 Cents |
| United MileagePlus | 1.3 Cents |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1.5 Cents |
Hotel Points Value
| Rewards Program | Reward Points Value |
|---|---|
| Best Western Rewards | 0.7 Cents |
| Choice Privileges | 0.6 Cents |
| Hilton Honors | 0.6 Cents |
| IHG Rewards Club | 0.5 Cents |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.9 Cents |
| Radisson Rewards | 0.4 Cents |
| World of Hyatt | 1.7 Cents |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1.2 Cents |
Remember, just because a reward points value isn’t the highest in our tables doesn’t mean you can’t get good value out of it. Ultimately, if you’re saving your money by using points instead, you’re winning. The value of the redemption just scores how much you’re winning by.
The Best Travel Credit Cards to Earn Each Type of Point
-
Best Transferable Credit Card Points Value Card
[earnist_link ref=”chase-sapphire-preferred-card” id=”6313″]Chase Sapphire Preferred[/earnist_link] – Personal
[earnist_link ref=”chase-sapphire-preferred-card” id=”6313″]
[earnist_link ref=”ink-business-preferred-credit-card” id=”6240″]Ink Business Preferred[/earnist_link] – Business
[earnist_link ref=”ink-business-preferred-credit-card” id=”6240″]
-
Best Airline Points Value Card
[earnist_link ref=”southwest-airlines-rapid-rewards-plus-credit-card” id=”6747″]Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus[/earnist_link] – Personal
[earnist_link ref=”southwest-airlines-rapid-rewards-plus-credit-card” id=”6747″]
[earnist_link ref=”united-explorer-business-card” id=”11120″]United Explorer Business Card[/earnist_link] – Business
[earnist_link ref=”united-explorer-business-card” id=”11120″]
-
Best Hotel Points Value Card
[earnist_link ref=”the-world-of-hyatt-credit-card” id=”6276″]World of Hyatt Credit Card[/earnist_link] – Personal
[earnist_link ref=”the-world-of-hyatt-credit-card” id=”6276″]
None – Business
Keep in mind what you’ve learned here. Reward points are not valued the same. They are not all worth 1 cent. Yes, understanding reward points value can be confusing, but now you are educated on the subject. Remember that points earned per dollar is not the whole story.
Reward point redemption rates are the most important factor in their value. It’s important to remember that if you earn fewer points from a far more valuable program it can be more valuable than more points earned in a less valuable program. Do the simple math and you’ll be fine. Earn them hard and redeem them wisely to gain your own travel freedom.
