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 based on the changes made.

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 & Miles Valuations — How Much Are They Actually Worth? [November 2024]

Updated: November 18, 2024, 5:51am CST

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Key Takeaways
Upgraded Points’ November 2024 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 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’ November 2024 Points and Miles Valuations

Flexible Points Programs

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Flexible Point Program	October 2024 Value (cents/point)	November 2024 Value (cents/point)	Value of 50K or 100K Points
American Express 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
Bilt Rewards	1.8	1.8	$900 / $1,800
Brex Rewards	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	October 2024 Value (cents/point)	November 2024 Value (cents/point)	Value of 50K or 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	October 2024 Value (cents/point)	November 2024 Value (cents/point)	Value of 50K or 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 non-alliance 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 non-alliance 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:

Bilt Rewards Adds ALL – Accor Live Limitless and TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go as Transfer Partners

Bilt Rewards has added 2 more transfer partners to its lineup: ALL – Accor Live Limitless and TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go. The addition of these programs expands Bilt’s transfer partner lineup from 16 to 18 airline and hotel brands.

The transfer ratio between Bilt and ALL is 3:2 — higher than any other ALL transfer partner. For comparison, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Points transfer to ALL at 2:1. The best way to redeem ALL Reward points is for hotel stays. ALL offers a fixed redemption value of €40 (around $43) off your hotel booking when you redeem 2,000 points, with each point worth around 2.2 cents.

TAP Miles&Go is Bilt’s newest airline partner, with transfers at a 1:1 ratio. This is Bilt’s fifth airline partner, and because it’s part of the Star Alliance network, it opens up some great opportunities to fly to Portugal and elsewhere.

Citi ThankYou Rewards Adds Preferred Hotels and Resorts as Transfer Partner

Now, you can transfer your Citi ThankYou Rewards points to the program’s 19th transfer partner, Preferred Hotels and Resorts, giving you a total of 5 hotel transfer partner options.

With every 1,000 Citi ThankYou Reward points transferred netting you 4,000 iPrefer points — creating a 1:4 transfer rate. The Preferred Hotels and Resorts iPrefer program boasts the ability to book award nights at over 600 boutique hotels in 80 countries.

That said, at the moment, we would not advise you to transfer your valuable Citi ThankYou Points to a hotel program where the vast majority of properties are either not bookable with points or offer absurd pricing.

First Look at the Delta One Lounge at LAX

If you want to not feel like you’re in the airport while waiting for a flight — perhaps you want to feel like you’re waiting at a private club or swanky restaurant — the new Delta One Lounge in Los Angeles is just what you’re looking for.

Located in Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) Terminal 3, guests access this intimate lounge with a private check-in area and security checkpoint. The lounge opened on October 10, 2024, and spans 10,280 square feet with seating for 191 people.

Amenities include an outdoor terrace, a full-service restaurant, wellness spaces, a sushi bar, and more. To access the lounge you need to be arriving or departing with a Delta One ticket.

Live: Virgin Atlantic Saver Awards and Dynamic Pricing

As of October 30, 2024, the U.K.-based carrier has made every seat on every Virgin Atlantic flight available to book using Virgin Points.

However, Virgin now uses dynamic pricing for award seats. This means that the number of points needed for an award seat can get sky-high in a similar way that cash seats do when aircraft are close to sold out.

On the other hand, some seats now sell as new so-called Saver award seats, which are now on sale for less than Virgin Atlantic has ever offered before. For example, you can now redeem Virgin Points for flights between the East Coast and London for as low as 6,000 points!

United MileagePlus Elite Status Changes Coming in 2025

United Airlines has announced changes to how flyers will qualify for elite status in its MileagePlus program in 2025. Unfortunately, elite status will now be harder to earn going forward, but United is also adding additional ways to earn status to soften the blow.

At each elite status level, the number of Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) and Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) or PQPs alone, is increasing by 20% to 25%.

That said, United is giving co-branded credit card holders a 5% boost toward the number of PQPs they’ll need to earn if they plan to qualify based on PQPs alone and a 6% boost if they plan to qualify by PQPs and PQFs.

Further, United is also adding new ways to redeem your PlusPoints and improved PQP earning rates on United MileagePlus credit cards.

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:

Hot Tip:

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

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, ensuring you can get the most out of your points.