What are points and miles worth?

There is no single set value for most points and miles programs. The valuation is entirely subjective and depends on what points are worth to you and how you plan to redeem them.

Why do Upgraded Points valuations change month to month?

Loyalty programs and the points or miles associated with them are constantly changing. Programs gain or lose transfer partners, change the miles required for a given route, or sometimes ditch their award charts altogether. When these things happen, certain programs’ miles or points can increase or decrease in usefulness.

Are points and miles the same thing?

The terms points and miles are used interchangeably, and it just depends on which term a given program calls its loyalty currency. Some loyalty programs refer to their currency as miles and others as points, but they have the same function.

How many points do you need for a free flight?

That depends entirely on the type of points you have and where you’re hoping to fly. Each airline loyalty program has its method for pricing redemptions. Some use an award chart where the number of miles needed for a certain flight route is predetermined. Others use revenue-based redemptions where the number of points needed for a free flight depends on how expensive the cash price of the ticket is.

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Travel Points and Miles Valuations — How Much Are They Actually Worth? [January 2025]

Senior Content Contributor

Updated: January 5, 2025, 6:21am CST

Edited by:

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Key Takeaways
Upgraded Points’ January 2025 Points and Miles Valuations
Upgraded Points’ Highest-Valued Points
Movers and News
Final Thoughts

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Key Takeaways

Points and miles valuations vary by program, with flexible points like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards often valued higher.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles offers great redemption rates and many transfer partners.
World of Hyatt points offers reasonable redemption rates with all hotels using a standard award chart.

Credit cards, airlines, and hotels don’t publish points and miles valuations, so there are no official answers on what points and miles are worth. It’s up to you to come to your own conclusions on that value.

But we’re here to help.

Many factors come into play when determining this metric. Below are questions you should ask yourself when evaluating the value of points, and we’ve taken them all into account to create our point and mile valuations:

How valuable are these points?
How flexible are these points, and how many transfer partners are there?
What are your redemption options?
How much would you buy points and miles for?
What’s the average redemption value from 3 different bookings?
How abundant is award availability?

Upgraded Points’ January 2025 Points and Miles Valuations

Flexible Points Programs

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Flexible Point Program	December 2024 Value (cents/point)	January 2025 Value (cents/point)	Value of 50K Points	Value of 100K Points
American Express Membership Rewards Points	2.2	2.2	$1,100	$2,200
Bank of America Preferred Rewards Points	1.0	1.0	$500	$1,000
Barclaycard Arrival Miles	1.0	1.0	$500	$1,000
Bilt Rewards Points	1.8	1.8	$900	$1,800
Brex Rewards Points	1.0	1.0	$500	$1,000
Capital One Miles	1.8	1.8	$900	$1,800
Chase Ultimate Rewards Points	2.0	2.0	$1,000	$2,000
Citi ThankYou Rewards Points	1.6	1.6	$800	$1,600
Diners Club Rewards Points	2.0	2.0	$1,000	$2,000
Wells Fargo Rewards Points	1.5	1.5	$750	$1,500

Hot Tip:

Use our dedicated transfer partner tool calculator to review transfer ratios, times, and bonuses for all major flexible point programs.

Airline Loyalty Programs

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Airline Loyalty Program	December 2024 Value (cents/point)	January 2025 Value (cents/point)	Value of 50K Points	Value of 100K Points
Aer Lingus AerClub Avios	1.25	1.25	$625	$1,250
Air Canada Aeroplan Points	1.5	1.5	$750	$1,500
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Miles	1.3	1.3	$650	$1,300
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles	1.6	1.6	$800	$1,600
American Airlines AAdvantage Miles	1.4	1.4	$700	$1,400
All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club Miles	1.4	1.4	$700	$1,400
Asiana Airlines Asiana Club Miles	1.6	1.6	$800	$1,600
Avianca Airlines LifeMiles	1.4	1.4	$700	$1,400
Breeze Airways BreezePoints	1.0	1.0	$500	$1,000
British Airways Executive Club Avios	1.25	1.25	$625	$1,250
Cathay Pacific Cathay Asia Miles	1.3	1.3	$650	$1,300
Delta Air Lines SkyMiles	1.2	1.2	$600	$1,200
Emirates Skywards Miles	1.1	1.1	$550	$1,100
Etihad Airways Etihad Guest Miles	1.4	1.4	$700	$1,400
Frontier Airlines FRONTIER Miles	1.1	1.1	$550	$1,100
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles	0.9	0.9	$450	$900
Iberia Plus Avios	1.25	1.25	$625	$1,250
JetBlue TrueBlue Points	1.3	1.3	$650	$1,300
Korean Air SKYPASS Miles	1.6	1.6	$800	$1,600
Lufthansa Miles & More Miles	1.3	1.3	$650	$1,300
Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios	1.25	1.25	$625	$1,250
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles	1.35	1.35	$675	$1,350
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Points	1.3	1.3	$650	$1,300
Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Points	1.1	1.1	$550	$1,100
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Miles	1.3	1.3	$650	$1,300
United Airlines MileagePlus Miles	1.2	1.2	$600	$1,200
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points	1.4	1.4	$700	$1,400

Hotel Loyalty Programs

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Hotel Loyalty Program	December 2024 Value (cents/point)	January 2025 Value (cents/point)	Value of 50K Points	Value of 100K Points
ALL – Accor Live Limitless Reward Points	2.2	2.2	$1,100	$2,200
Best Western Rewards Points	0.6	0.6	$300	$600
Choice Privileges Points	0.6	0.6	$300	$600
Hilton Honors Points	0.5	0.5	$250	$500
IHG One Rewards Points	0.5	0.5	$250	$500
Marriott Bonvoy Points	0.7	0.7	$350	$700
Radisson Rewards Points	0.25	0.25	$125	$250
World of Hyatt Points	1.5	1.5	$750	$1,500
Wyndham Rewards Points	0.9	0.9	$450	$900

Upgraded Points’ Highest-Valued Points

Not all miles and points are created equal, so naturally, each category has its own winner with the most valued points. Here’s what we ranked as the highest-valued points and why:

Transferable Points: American Express Membership Rewards Points

American Express Membership Rewards continues to be the king of transferable points. Amex partners with all 3 major alliances (SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and Oneworld) and many nonalliance partners, so finding award space with them is easier than with other transferable points. Amex transfer partners include Qantas, Air Canada, and Emirates.

Hot Tip:

It is no secret that transferable points are our favorite rewards, thanks to their flexibility and the powerful redemptions they offer. If you’d like more information on the major transferable point currencies, we’ve compiled complete guides on how we value Amex Membership Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou Points.

Airline Miles: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles

Alaska Airlines has the best of both worlds: a variety of partners and solid redemption rates. Some of Alaska’s Oneworld partners include American and Japan Airlines, and the airline’s nonalliance partners include Emirates, Korean Air, and Singapore Airlines.

Hotel Points: World of Hyatt Points

World of Hyatt has the most reasonable redemption rates of all the major hotel chains. Further, we’ve found that there are virtually no blackout dates and that all hotels are on a standard award chart, so you always pay the same price for a room at any hotel. This allows you to explore fantastic Hyatt redemption opportunities, ensuring maximum value.

Movers and News

It was a busy month in the world of points and miles. Here is what made waves last month:

Alaska Airlines To Launch Premium Credit Card

Alaska Airlines has announced a few details of its upcoming premium credit card, which is set to launch in summer 2025.

We still don’t know everything that the new Alaska Airlines premium card will offer, but the airline has shared a noteworthy details surrounding the earning structure and perks of the card:

3x miles on all eligible foreign purchases and on all eligible dining purchases
Global Companion Award certificates
Waived award ticket fees
Alaska Lounge passes
Wi-Fi vouchers
Accelerated paths to elite status
Same-day confirmed fee waivers
Annual fee of $395

The Global Companion Awards will be usable on any redemption using Alaska miles, regardless of class of service or which partner airline you’re flying with.

Alaska Airlines Will Open New Lounges at Key Hubs, Announces ’Flagship’ Lounge in Seattle

New Alaska Lounges were announced for San Diego (SAN) and Honolulu (HNL), with a new “flagship” international lounge in Seattle (SEA) by 2027.

Details are scarce, but we expect the lounge to compete with United Polaris Lounges, Delta One Lounges, and American Airlines Flagship Lounges. These have better amenities than their respective carriers’ standard airport lounges and are only accessible to business class passengers.

JetBlue Confirms First Class Is Coming in 2026

The New York-based leisure carrier will introduce a new class of service specifically for domestic passengers looking for a more premium experience when they fly in 2026.

JetBlue has revealed neither images nor an in-depth description of the product just yet. What we can expect is a 2-2 configuration similar to what you find when flying other U.S. carriers on domestic routes. JetBlue has confirmed to Upgraded Points that the new first class seats will be installed on all JetBlue aircraft that don’t have Mint, the airline’s lie-flat business class product.

New Delta One Lounge Now Open in Boston

Delta Air Lines has grown its swanky Delta One Lounge network with a dining-focused lounge that opened at Boston (BOS) on December 11, 2024.

The lounge spans 6,700 square feet. Guests can access the lounge via the Delta Sky Club inside Terminal E. Unlike the New York (JFK) Delta One Lounge, the lounge in Boston is dining-centered, with other lounge amenities like the showers and business suites found inside the connected Sky Club. The most exclusive amenity is the 3-course meal, which the airline says it serves in under an hour.

The lounge operates daily from 2 to 9 p.m., aligned with Delta One flights departing from Terminal E. To get into the Boston Delta One Lounge, you will need:

A ticket in Delta One business class, departing or arriving on the same day
Invitation-only Delta 360° status, departing or arriving on the same day in Delta first class
Flying on a same-day departing or connecting flight operated by select Delta partners in their business class cabins (or first class, if they have it), including LATAM, Korean Air, and Virgin Atlantic

New Opportunities To Purchase Points

If you need to boost your mileage balances but aren’t in the market for a new credit card, here are the latest opportunities to purchase points with a bonus:

American Airlines AAdvantage: Up to a 35% discount
Finnair Plus: Up to a 10% discount
Frontier Miles: Up to 150% bonus (ends January 10)
Hilton Honors: Up to a 100% bonus
IHG One Rewards: Up to a 15% discount
Radisson Rewards: Up to a 50% bonus (ends January 13)
Spirit Airlines Free Spirit: Up to an 80% bonus (ends January 17)
World of Hyatt: Up to a 25% bonus (ends January 5)

Hot Tip:

Track the latest point purchase promotions and discounts on our dedicated page, which we update each time a new promotion launches.

New Loyalty Program Transfer Bonuses

Help stretch your points and miles even further by taking advantage of these limited-time transfer bonuses:

Chase Ultimate Rewards to Air Canada Aeroplan: Up to 30% bonus (ends January 15)
Chase Ultimate Rewards to Air France-KLM Flying Blue: 20% bonus (ends January 15)
Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG One Rewards: 70% bonus (ends January 15)

Hot Tip:

You can stay up to date with all of the latest bonuses on our monthly credit card and loyalty program transfer bonuses guide.

Final Thoughts

The value of points and miles can vary, but you should always ensure you get great value when redeeming those hard-earned points.

When it comes to flexible points, Amex Membership Rewards points are valued the highest on a cent-per-point basis. With many Amex airline and hotel partners, these points are highly flexible. Membership Rewards also offers good transfer rates with many redemption options, helping you get the most out of your points.