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?
Upgraded Points’ June 2022 Points and Miles Valuations
Flexible Points Programs
| Flexible Point Program |
May 2022 Value (cents/point) |
June 2022 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 |
| Bilt Rewards |
1.8 |
1.8 |
$900 / $1,800 |
| Brex Rewards |
1.5 |
1.5 |
$750 / $1,500 |
| 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 |
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
| Airline Loyalty Program |
May 2022 Value (cents/point) |
June 2022 Value (cents/point) |
Value of 50,000 / 100,000 Points |
| 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 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
$900 / $1,800 |
| 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 |
$650 / $1,300 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles |
1.3 |
1.3 |
$650 / $1,300 |
| Delta Air Lines SkyMiles |
1.0 |
1.0 |
$500 / $1,000 |
| 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 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue Miles |
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 |
| 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 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
$650 / $1,300 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points |
1.4 |
1.4 |
$700 / $1,400 |
Hotel Loyalty Programs
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 Oneworld partners include American and Japan Airlines, and the airline’s non-alliance partners include Emirates, Korean Air, Singapore 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 and News
It was a busy month in the world of points and miles, with some good news and some bad. Here is what made waves last month:
After a surprise bid and campaign from JetBlue, Spirit continues to remain all-in on its planned merger with Frontier.
The airline’s board of directors said that it had “unanimously determined” that JetBlue’s proposal did not constitute a “superior proposal” and that it would work to complete a transaction with Frontier.
On May 19, 2022, the annual membership price of CLEAR increased by $10 from $179 to $189.
While there are several credit cards and airline memberships that can help you save on this fee, there were also 2 promotions announced in May — an Amex Offer that can save you half off and the return of up to a 15k-mile sign-up incentive for United MileagePlus members.
Southwest’s new fare category is now live and will be great for travelers who need flexibility in their tickets with same-day standby and changes, with the ability for more Rapid Rewards points to be earned.
Brazil’s GOL and Colombia’s Avianca are to become sibling airlines under the charge of a new parent group, Abra Group Limited.
Both airlines will continue to operate separately in the same way as they do now, however, passengers will be able to book 1-ticket itineraries when flying both airlines, allowing for seamless transferring between GOL and Avianca flights.
New Airline Route Changes
Here are the airlines that announced last month that they were adding, removing, or relaunching routes:
U.S. Airlines
International Airlines
Final Thoughts
While the value of points and miles can vary, you want to ensure you’re getting a 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. Given the number of Amex airline and hotel partners, these points are extremely flexible. Membership Rewards also offers good transfer rates with a ton of redemption options, ensuring you can get the most out of your points.
Featured Image Credit:
lovelyday12 via Shutterstock
