Should you purchase points and miles?

Usually, you’d be better off redeeming points and miles that you already have, rather than purchasing more. That said, if your point balances are dwindling, and you have a redemption in mind where you know you’ll get more value than the cash price you pay for the points, then, yes, it can make a lot of sense to purchase the points. You might always find it worthwhile to purchase points if you just need a small amount to make a certain redemption or if you’re trying to keep miles from expiring.

How much does it cost to purchase points?

That depends on the program, but generally, it will cost anywhere from 1 to 3 cents per point. However, we recommend timing your point purchases alongside promotions that offer a discount or bonus when you buy — both of which bring down the per-point cost you’ll pay.

Are there limits to the number of points you can purchase?

Yes, most programs implement a maximum number of points you are allowed to purchase each calendar year, though the amount varies drastically by the program.

How often are there point purchase promotions?

This varies by program, but usually in any given month, there are multiple current purchase promotions. We update this page each month to help you stay up-to-date on all of the latest point promotions you can take advantage of.

Do purchased points count towards elite status?

Unfortunately, no airline or hotel programs count purchased points or miles towards elite status qualification.

Home›
News

February 2025 Buy Points and Miles Promotions and Bonuses

Updated: February 19, 2025, 5:44pm CST

Edited by:

Jump to Section

Latest Buy Points Promotions
When Should You Purchase Points?
Final Thoughts

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

There’s no shortage of ways to earn points and miles. From credit card welcome offers to bonus categories to shopping portals to dining programs, the list goes on and on.

Given the numerous options, travelers are often conflicted about purchasing points for their trips. After all, why purchase points when you can amass points with your everyday purchases?

This is a fair point and a solution that works for many. However, there are some instances where purchasing points and miles can make sense. We will explore each of those options later in the post, but first, let’s dive into all of the current promotions that allow you to receive a discount or bonus on your points and miles purchases.

Latest Buy Points Promotions

Finnair Plus

Promotion:
- Buy up to 5,000 Avios without a bonus
- Buy 6,000 to 10,000 Avios, get a 30% bonus
- Buy 11,000 to 99,000 Avios, get a 35% bonus
- Buy 100,000 to 200,000 Avios, get a 40% bonus
Deadline: February 23, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Finnair: Capital One Miles; but any other Avios can be transferred to Finnair Plus, meaning any credit card earning nearly any type of transferable points should help you accrue Finnair Avios
Purchase Link

Air Canada Aeroplan

Promotion:
- Purchase 2,000 to 9,000 points without a discount
- Purchase 10,000 to 19,000 points with a 15% discount
- Purchase 20,000 to 75,000 points with a 20% discount
- Purchase 80,000 to 95,000 points with a 25% discount
- Purchase 100,000+ points with a 30% discount (1.7 cents each)
Deadline: February 18, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Air Canada: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

If you don’t already have a large balance of these points or don’t have enough transferable points, buying Aeroplan points could be valuable. Doing so will allow you to purchase a ticket for less than the ordinary cash cost.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Promotion:
- Buy 4,000 to 10,000 miles, get a 40% bonus
- Buy 12,000 to 22,000 miles, get a 60% bonus
- Buy 24,000 to 100,000 miles, get a 70% discount (1.79 cents per mile)
Deadline: March 9, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Flying Blue: American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Wells Fargo Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

We value Flying Blue miles at 1.3 cents apiece, so this sale means you’re buying them at a higher price than that. However, it’s easily possible to get above 1.3 cents per point in value with Flying Blue redemptions, due to multiple sweet spots in the program — including its monthly Promo Rewards for discounted travel.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Promotion:
- Buy 3,000 to 19,000 miles and get a 40% bonus (2.11 cents per mile)
- Buy 20,000 to 39,000 miles and get a 50% bonus (1.97 cents per mile)
- Buy 40,000+ miles and get a 60% bonus (1.85 cents per mile)
Deadline: February 21, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Alaska: Bilt Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

Purchase Alaska miles if you have a specific redemption in mind that will provide more than 1.85 cents per mile in value. It can also make sense if you’re on the cusp of a redemption but don’t have quite enough miles to complete the booking.

American Airlines AAdvantage

Promotion:
- Purchase 6,000 to 24,000 miles and get a 10% discount
- Purchase 25,000 to 79,000 miles and get a 15% discount
- Purchase 80,000 to 104,000 miles and get a 20% discount
- Purchase 105,000 to 149,000 miles and get a 25% discount
- Purchase 150,000 miles and get a 35% discount (2.44 cents per mile)
Deadline: None specified
Programs That Transfer to American: Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

American Airlines AAdvantage is a well-known program, offering numerous redemptions. This sale doesn’t have an end date at this time, and it won’t make sense for most people — unless you’re redeeming your miles at a value above the costly price of buying them. We value AA miles at 1.4 cents apiece, so buying at 2.44 cents is best avoided in most circumstances.

Avianca LifeMiles

Promotion:
- Buy 1,000 to 10,000 miles, get a 140% bonus
- Buy 11,000 to 25,000 miles, get a 150% bonus
- Buy 26,000 to 200,000 miles, get a 160% bonus (1.27 cents per mile)
Deadline: March 14, 2025
Programs That Transfer to LifeMiles: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Wells Fargo Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

We value LifeMiles at 1.4 cents each, so this sale lets you buy them at a better price than the miles are worth. Despite a recent devaluation, LifeMiles remain valuable, thanks to their multiple solid redemptions and the program’s lack of heavy fees when booking premium seats on Star Alliance partners.

Copa Airlines ConnectMiles

Promotion:
- Buy 3,000 to 9,000 miles to get a 25% discount (2.25 cents each)
- Buy 10,000 to 15,000 miles to get a 35% discount (1.95 cents each)
- Buy 15,000+ miles to get a 45% discount (1.65 cents each)
Deadline: February 22, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Copa: Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

Examples of Copa ConnectMiles awards you might consider include:

Flights within the U.S. or Canada for 12,500 miles per person in economy
U.S. and Canada to Central America or the Caribbean for 17,500 miles per person in economy
From the U.S. or Canada to northern South America for 20,000 miles per person in economy or 40,000 in business
U.S. and Canada to southern South America for 30k in economy or 60k in business

Finnair Avios (Targeted)

Promotion:
- Buy 5,000+ Avios and receive a 10% discount (1.97 cents per Avios)
Deadline: N/A
Programs That Transfer to Finnair: Capital One Miles
Purchase Link

Finnair’s award chart allows you to redeem 62,500 Avios for a one-way business class flight from the U.S. East Coast to Finland.

You could purchase 62,500 Avios (at 1.97 cents each) for $1,231.25. Considering that the same flight often costs over $4,000, you’ll save a lot by buying Avios here.

Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles

Promotion:
- Purchase 10,000+ miles and get a 50% bonus (1.87 cents per mile)
Deadline: February 21, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Hawaiian: Amex Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

We value HawaiianMiles at 0.9 cents apiece. Buying miles at a price higher than that (1.87 cents each) doesn’t make sense in most situations.

Hilton Honors

Promotion:
- Purchase 5,000+ points and get a 100% bonus or 50% discount (0.5 cents per point)
Deadline: March 14, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Hilton: Amex Membership Rewards and Bilt Rewards
Purchase Link

We value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents per point, so this could be a good opportunity to stock up on points if you’re planning to make a redemption that offers higher value than that.

JetBlue TrueBlue

Promotion:
- Purchase 3,000+ points and get a 120% bonus (1.47 cents per point)
Deadline: February 24, 2025
Programs That Transfer to JetBlue: Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards
Purchase Link

In our experience, you’ll receive somewhere between 1.3 cents to 1.5 cents per point in value on your JetBlue redemptions. So if you purchase JetBlue points at 1.47 cents per point, you’re buying points at the upper end of that range. That means you might get better value for your points than the price you paid for them, but there’s a good chance you won’t.

Marriott Bonvoy

Promotion:
- Buy 2,000 to 9,000 points with a 35% bonus
- Buy 10,000 to 19,000 points with a 40% bonus
- Buy 20,000 to 150,000 points with a 45% bonus (0.86 cents per point)
Deadline: March 30, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Marriott: American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, and Chase Ultimate Rewards
Purchase Link

We value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents apiece. In general, purchasing Marriott points is rarely a good deal, and that’s especially true when you’re paying more than their average value. In rare situations, buying points could make sense, but do the math first.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Promotion:
- Buy 7,000+ points and receive a 50% discount (1.5 cents per point)
Deadline: February 23, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Southwest: Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

We value Southwest points at 1.3 cents apiece. In general, purchasing Southwest points is rarely a good deal, especially when you’re paying more than their average value, but it can make sense if you need to top off your account for a redemption.

United MileagePlus

Promotion:
- Buy 2,000 to 4,000 miles with no bonus
- Buy 5,000 to 14,000 miles, receive a 15% discount
- Buy 15,000 to 49,000 miles, receive a 30% discount
- Buy 50,000 to 200,000 miles, receive a 45% discount (~1.92 cents per mile)
Deadline: February 28, 2025
Programs That Transfer to United: Chase Ultimate Rewards, Bilt Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy
Purchase Link

Note that this price is still significantly more expensive than what we value United MileagePlus miles at: 1.2 cents apiece.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Promotion:
- Purchase 5,000 to 24,000 points and get a 20% bonus
- Purchase 25,000 to 69,000 points and get a 40% bonus
- Purchase 70,000 to 124,000 points and get a 60% bonus
- Purchase 125,000 to 200,000 points and get a 70% bonus
Deadline: March 7, 2025
Programs That Transfer to Virgin Atlantic: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and Wells Fargo Rewards
Purchase Link

We value Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points at 1.4 cents apiece, so the 70% bonus allows you to purchase points far lower than that valuation if your account is based in the U.K. Plus, the Virgin Atlantic award chart has some killer sweet spots that help make the promotion worth considering either way.

When Should You Purchase Points?

As promised, let’s examine some examples of when it might be wise to purchase points and miles.

American Airlines B737 8 MAX at SNA — Sometimes it can make sense to purchase airline miles. Image Credit: Ryan Smith

Topping Off Your Account

It can be frustrating to have a redemption you’d like to make, with available award space to boot, but you don’t have quite enough points or miles to make the booking. Of course, you could wait until you do, but if you’re looking to book a business- or first-class award ticket, award space can vanish quickly.

In cases like these, it can make sense to purchase a small number of points to acquire the number of points or miles needed to book the award.

Price Arbitrage

We frequently discuss the opportunity to take advantage of price arbitrage when talking about purchasing points or miles.

For instance, say you’d like to fly from the U.S. to Europe in business class. You pull up Google Flights, pop in your desired destination and travel date, and the results reveal that the best nonstop option is an American Airlines flight that costs a whopping $2,500 — yikes.

While the best award redemptions require locating award space at the saver level, assuming it is available on the date you’d like to travel, you could purchase the points needed for this ticket for far less. For example, you could purchase 58,000 American Airlines miles for just over $1,400 — more than $1,000 less than the retail price.

Bottom Line:

Simply put, purchasing points and miles can be a great way to get a substantial discount on flights you were planning to purchase anyway.

Preventing Points From Expiring

One of the annoyances of some loyalty programs is that their points or miles expire after a set period, usually 1 to 3 years. Depending on your travel habits, you may be at risk of your points expiring if you go long periods without earning or redeeming points within the program.

Fortunately, most programs count purchasing points as a qualifying earn activity, allowing you to extend the life of your miles simply by purchasing a small number of them.

Final Thoughts

In most cases, your primary points strategy should be earning them through new credit card welcome bonuses, everyday card spending, and other point-earning activities like shopping portals, as these activities shouldn’t require a significant expense beyond your everyday spending habits.

That said, there is a time and a place when it can make sense to purchase points and miles. In those cases, promotions that allow you to receive a discount or bonus miles on your purchase can offer you even more value.

Of course, you should always run the numbers when deciding which path makes the most sense for your next redemption, but it is always great to have options.