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? [August 2025]

Updated: August 6, 2025, 10:31am CDT

Edited by:

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Table of Contents

Key Takeaways
Upgraded Points’ August 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 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’ August 2025 Points and Miles Valuations

Flexible Points Programs

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Flexible Point Program	July 2025 Value (cents/point)	August 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	2.0	2.0	$1,000	$2,000
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
Mesa Points	1.3	1.3	$650	$1,300
Rove Miles	1.5	1.5	$750	$1,500
Wells Fargo Rewards Points	1.5	1.5	$750	$1,500

Hot Tip:

Utilizing transfer partners is the best way to get the value shown above. 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	July 2025 Value (cents/point)	August 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 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
Club 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	July 2025 Value (cents/point)	August 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 Launching Premium Credit Card in August

Full details aren’t available yet, but Alaska Airlines is teasing its new premium credit card at this landing page. It says the card is coming “summer 2025.”

The plan to launch this new card was first announced in December 2024. Since then, we’ve learned a few new details about the card:

3x Mileage Plan miles on foreign purchases outside the U.S.
3x miles on dining, bars, nightclubs, and fast food restaurants
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

At the moment, these announced benefits and perks do sound exciting, especially the ability to earn 3x miles on foreign transactions, Global Companion Award certificates, and waived award ticket fees.

Amex To Launch Sidecar by Centurion — A New Lounge Concept

American Express has just announced its newest airport lounge concept, Sidecar by Centurion. It is designed for those who are short on time or prefer a more expedited experience before their flight.

This new lounge concept will operate in airports where Amex already offers a Centurion Lounge. It will offer a speakeasy concept, allowing guests to sit down in a premium space and enjoy a cocktail and a few small bites before heading off to their flight.

Given that this new concept is an express option, you won’t find nearly as many amenities offered in the Sidecar as you’d find in a normal Centurion Lounge. However, guests can still expect food and drinks, fast Wi-Fi, and clean restrooms.

While exact opening dates have yet to be announced, American Express has said that the first Sidecar by Centurion location will open next year in Las Vegas at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS).

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card Launches

Citi has officially launched its new premium card, the Citi Strata Elite card, bringing it back into the premium credit card space for the first time in 4 years.

The card boasts numerous benefits in exchange for its $595 annual fee, including lounge access and several spending credits, and cardholders can earn a ton of points quickly on their purchases.

Some of the top perks include an up to $300 annual Citi Travel hotel credit, up to $200 annual Splurge Credit (redeemable with select merchants), up to $200 annual Blackstone credit, Priority Pass Select lounge access, 4 Admirals Club lounge passes each year, and more.

Citi Brings Back Point Transfers to American Airlines

As of July 27, eligible Citi cardholders can transfer their Citi ThankYou Points to American Airlines AAdvantage miles at a 1:1 ratio — with no maximum limit. To take advantage of this new transfer option, you’ll need to have one of the following Citi travel credit cards:

Citi Strata Elite card ($595 annual fee)
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card ($95 annual fee)
Citi Prestige^® Card ($495 annual fee; no longer available to new applicants)

If you have a no-annual-fee Citi card, such as the Citi Double Cash^® Card or the Citi Strata℠ Card, you won’t be able to transfer your rewards to AAdvantage automatically. However, if you also hold one of the eligible premium cards listed above, including the brand-new Citi Strata Elite card, you can combine your rewards and then transfer the Citi ThankYou Points to AAdvantage.

Hyatt Improves Website Feature, Making Redeeming Points and Certificates Easier

World of Hyatt has improved its points calendar feature on its website and mobile app (iOS, Android), making it far easier for members to redeem points and free night certificates for stays online.

Now, the points calendar will adjust dynamically based on searches for destination, a specific hotel, stay dates, and number of guests. The calendar will show members whether or not a given night or nights are available for points reservations and at what rate, according to your search parameters. It will also display the lowest available cash rate.

Major Changes Announced for Chase’s Southwest Airlines Credit Cards

Chase and Southwest have teamed up to refresh the entire lineup of Southwest Airlines co-branded credit cards, including both personal and business cards, and these changes include new perks, bonus categories, higher annual fees, and more.

Southwest went through a series of changes and devaluations recently when the airline removed popular perks like free checked bags and open seating. Now, the airline is adding some of those back, though only for the most loyal flyers who qualify for elite status or hold one of the Southwest credit cards.

Plus, Southwest is offering incredible 6-figure bonuses on some of these cards to coincide with the changes and increased annual fees.

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 (ends TBD)
Avianca LifeMiles: Up to a 160% bonus (ends August 11)
Choice Privileges: Up to a 40% discount (ends August 25)
EVA Air Miles: Up to a 35% bonus (ends August 12)
Frontier Miles: Up to a 150% bonus (ends September 10)
Hawaiian Airlines: Up to a 50% bonus (ends August 16)
Hilton Honors: 100% bonus (ends September 25)
Iberia Avios: 50% bonus (ends August 8)
JetBlue TrueBlue: Up to a 125% bonus (ends August 11)
Lufthansa Miles & More (ends August 15)
Southwest Rapid Rewards: Up to a 50% discount (ends August 20)
United Airlines: Up to a 30% discount or 60% bonus (ends December 31)

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:

Amex Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors: 30% bonus (ends TBD)
Capital One to Avianca LifeMiles: 15% bonus (ends August 31)
Chase Ultimate Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy: 50% bonus (ends August 15)
Citi ThankYou Rewards to ALL – Accor Live Limitless: 100% bonus (ends TBD)
Citi ThankYou Rewards to Leading Hotels of the World: 25% bonus (ends August 23)

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.