Travel Points and Miles Valuations – How Much Are They Actually Worth? [March 2021]
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Credit cards, airlines, and hotels don’t give out their own point and mile valuations, so, unfortunately, there are no official answers on what points and miles are actually worth. Therefore, it’s up to you to make your own conclusions on that value. However, 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 what we’ve taken 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?
Table of contents
Table of Contents
Upgraded Points’ March 2021 Points and Miles Valuations
Flexible Points Programs
| Flexible Point Program | February 2021 Value (cents/point) | March 2021 Value (cents/point) | Value of 50,000 / 100,000 Points |
| Amex Membership Rewards Points | 2.2 | 2.2 | $1,100 / $2,200 |
| Bank of America Preferred Rewards | 1.0 | 1.0 | $500 / $1,000 |
| Barclaycard Arrival Miles | 1.0 | 1.0 | $500 / $1,000 |
| Brex Rewards | 1.5 | 1.5 | $750 / $1,500 |
| Capital One | 1.35 | 1.35 | $675 / $1,350 |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards Points | 1.95 | 2.0 | $1,000 / $2,000 |
| Citi ThankYou Points | 1.6 | 1.6 | $800 / $1,600 |
| Diners Club Rewards Points | 2.0 | 2.0 | $1,000 / $2,000 |
Airline Loyalty Programs
Hotel Loyalty Programs
| Hotel Loyalty Program | February 2021 Value (cents/point) | March 2021 Value (cents/point) | Value of 50,000 / 100,000 Points |
| Choice Hotels Choice Privileges Points | 0.6 | 0.6 | $300 / $600 |
| Hilton Hotels Hilton Honors Points | 0.5 | 0.5 | $250 / $500 |
| Hyatt Hotels World of Hyatt Points | 1.5 | 1.5 | $750 / $1,500 |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts IHG Rewards Points | 0.5 | 0.5 | $250 / $500 |
| Marriott Hotels Marriott Bonvoy Points | 0.7 | 0.7 | $350 / $700 |
| Radisson Hotels Radisson Rewards Points | 0.3 | 0.3 | $150 / $300 |
| Wyndham Hotels & Resorts 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 highest valued points. Here’s why we ranked the highest valued points as such:
Transferable Points: American Express Membership Rewards Points
American Express Membership Rewards continues to be the king of transferable points. Amex partners with all alliances (SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and Oneworld), along with many non-alliance partners, so it’s easier to find award space compared to other transferable points. Some of Amex’s transfer partners include Qantas, Air Canada, and Emirates.
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 partners include American Airlines, Emirates, Japan Airlines, and more. Redemption rates are lower than other partners across the board — for example, a one-way business class flight on Japan Airlines from the U.S to Tokyo costs just 55,000 Mileage Plan miles.
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’ll always pay the same price for a room at any hotel. This allows you to explore fantastic Hyatt redemption opportunities ensuring maximum value.
Movers
Delta Devalues Partner Awards
For the second time in 6 months, Delta has devalued partner awards again. Partner business class awards will now cost 120,000 miles one-way, up from the 95,000 cost they were devalued to in October 2020. Partners award between the U.S. and North Asia/India are being increased from 102,500 to 120,000 one-way, and partner award from the U.S. to Southeast Asia are being increased from 147,500 miles to 165,000 miles one-way.
This is another big blow to the usefulness of Delta SkyMiles when trying to fly in premium cabins with partner airlines. However, it hasn’t altered our value of Delta SkyMiles from 1 cent per point as this is the minimum value that you’ll always be able to receive when using Delta SkyMiles to pay for your flight.
Airline and Hotel Elite Status Extensions
If you have elite status with an airline or hotel, there’s no rush to try and redeem your points or miles before that status expires, as almost every major airline and hotel program has extended the elite status expiration of all members through 2021, and many have also lowered the qualification requirements for 2021. See our guides to how COVID-19 has impacted airline elite status extensions and hotel elite status extensions.
Virgin Atlantic Loses Delta Sweet Spots
Virgin Atlantic has devalued many sweet spots for booking Delta Airlines flights, specifically long-haul Delta One flights to Asia and Africa, which will now cost 60% to 100% more depending on your destination. While this is certainly a blow to the program, note that it does not apply to nonstop Delta flights between the U.S. and Europe. So customers can still book Delta One business class flights from the U.S. to Europe for 50,000 points one-way.
Spirit Airlines Revamps Loyalty Program
Spirit decided to shake up its Free Spirit loyalty program recently, and the changes were largely positive. This is a refreshing sight to see in a world where many airlines are cutting back benefits. Here are the highlights for the new program:
- Mileage earnings are now revenue-based instead of distance-based
- The old award chart has been discontinued, and now award flights will be priced in relation to the cash cost of the flight
- The $9 Fare Club is now the Spirit Saver$ Club, where members will receive discounted fares, up to 50% off bag fees, discounts on seat assignments, and discounts on additional perks
- New and improved Silver and Gold elite status tiers
Hot Tip: We’ve assembled a coronavirus guide for travelers, regularly updated, with everything you need to know about the virus, affected countries, symptoms, treatment, and what to do if your travel plans have been affected.
Final Thoughts
While the value of points and miles can vary, you want to ensure that you’re getting a great value when redeeming those hard-earned points. When it comes to flexible points, Amex Membership Rewards points are valued at the highest cent per point. Given the number of Amex airline and hotel partners, these points are extremely flexible. Amex Membership Rewards also offers good transfer rates with a ton of redemption options. All of these elements ensure that you get the most of your points.
