April 2024 Buy Points Promotions and Bonuses

There is no shortage of ways to earn points and miles. From credit card welcome offers to bonus categories, shopping portals, and 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 just save up the points you earn from 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

Air Canada Aeroplan

• Promotion: 
  • Purchase 15,000+ miles and get an 80% bonus (1.43 cents per mile)
• Deadline: April 5, 2024
• Programs That Transfer to Aeroplan: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy
• Link to Purchase

We value Air Canada Aeroplan points at 1.5 cents apiece, so buying points at this price can be a great option if you have a very high-value redemption lined up.

American Airlines AAdvantage [Targeted]

• Promotion: 
  • Purchase 5,000 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 30% discount (2.45 cents per mile)
• Deadline: N/A
• Programs That Transfer to American: Bilt Rewards
• Link to Purchase

Keep in mind that this is a targeted offer, so the exact discount you see on your account may differ. We value American Airlines miles at 1.4 cents per mile, so we wouldn’t recommend purchasing miles at these prices unless you are topping off your account for a specific redemption.

Avianca LifeMiles [Targeted]

• Promotion: 
  • Purchase 1,000 to 15,000 miles and get a 140% bonus (1.375 cents per mile)
  • Purchase 16,000 to 30,000 miles and get a 155% bonus (1.29 cents per mile)
  • Purchase 31,000+ miles and get a 170% bonus (1.22 cents per mile)
• Deadline: April 9, 2024
• Programs That Transfer to Avianca: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy
• Link to Purchase

We value Avianca LifeMiles at 1.4 cents apiece. Therefore, this promotion offers a solid opportunity for those looking to stock up on LifeMiles for a specific redemption.

Choice Privileges [Targeted]

• Promotion: 
  • Buy 1,000 to 5,000 points and get no bonus (1.28 cents each)
  • Buy 6,000 to 180,000 points and get a 40% bonus (0.74 cents each)
• Deadline: April 30, 2024
• Programs That Transfer to Choice: Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards
• Link to Purchase

At Upgraded Points, we value Choice Privileges points at 0.6 cents per point, so this 40% bonus promotion allows you to purchase points close to that value. That said, it’s certainly possible to get more than 0.6 cents per point in value depending on how you redeem Choice Privileges points.

Hilton Honors

• Promotion: 
  • Purchase 5,000+ points: 100% bonus points
• Deadline: May 14, 2024
• Programs That Transfer to Hilton: Amex Membership Rewards
• Link to Purchase

For reference, we value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each, so this is a great opportunity to stock up on points for upcoming travel

Qatar Airways

• Promotion: 
  • Buy 3,000 to 15,000 Avios and get a 20% bonus
  • Buy 16,000 to 30,000 Avios and get a 30% bonus
  • Buy 31,000 to 250,000 Avios and get a 50% bonus (1.53 cents per Avios)
• Deadline: April 7, 2024
• Programs That Transfer to Qatar: Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy
• Link to Purchase

If you max out this promotion, you’ll be purchasing Avios at a rate of 1.53 cents per. This is more expensive than our valuation of Qatar Airways Avios at 1.25 cents per Avios, so it’s not necessarily a great deal.

However, there are certain situations in which buying Avios like this can be a good deal, especially since they’re interchangeable with British Airways Avios, Aer Lingus Avios, and Iberia Avios.

Radisson Rewards

• Promotion: 
  • Purchase 5,000 to 14,000 points: 20% bonus points
  • Purchase 15,000 to 29,000 points: 30% bonus points
  • Purchase 30,000 to 49,000 points: 40% bonus points
  • Purchase 50,000 to 250,000 points: 50% bonus points
• Deadline: April 3, 2024
• Programs That Transfer to Radisson: N/A
• Link to Purchase

We value Radisson Rewards points at 0.25 cents per point. In general, purchasing through this sale really is only practical if you’re very close to a redemption with points you already have. Buying points simply to spend on a new redemption likely doesn’t make sense in most circumstances.

Southwest Rapid Rewards

• Promotion: 
  • Buy 3,000 to 9,000 points, get 40% off
  • Buy 10,000 to 14,000 points, get 45% off
  • Buy 15,000+ points, get 50% off (1.5 cents per point)
• Deadline: April 2, 2024
• Programs That Transfer to Southwest Rapid Rewards: Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Link to Purchase

Southwest Rapid Rewards is a revenue-based program, so you likely won’t get outsized value from point redemptions above our value of 1.3 cents apiece. Still, this discount allows you to buy points at a reasonably discounted rate if you need the extra boost.

World of Hyatt

• Promotion: 
  • Buy 5,000+ points, receive a 20% discount (1.54 cents per point)
• Deadline: April 9, 2024
• Programs That Transfer to World of Hyatt: Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Link to Purchase

This is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen to purchase Hyatt points, which are a fan favorite for their wide range of redemptions. Category 1 hotels at the standard rate cost just 5,000 points, so you can get outsized value from buying points instead.

When Should You Purchase Points?

As promised, let’s go through some examples of when it might make sense for you to purchase points and miles.

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 business class 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 53,000 American Airlines miles for less than $1,700 — nearly $1,000 less than the retail price.

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 welcome bonuses, everyday card spending, and other point-earning activities like shopping portals, as these activities shouldn’t require a significant expense beyond what you might have spent anyway.

That said, there is a time and a place for 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.