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’ July 2022 Points and Miles Valuations
Flexible Points Programs
| Flexible Point Program | June 2022 Value (cents/point) | July 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 | June 2022 Value (cents/point) | July 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. Here is what made waves last month:
Bilt Rewards, the loyalty program that allows you to earn points on rent, has launched the Bilt Rewards Travel Portal, which is powered by Expedia and will allow you to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities.
Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card members will earn 2x points per $1 spent on bookings made through the portal, and you’ll be able to redeem your Bilt Rewards points at a rate of 1.25 cents per point through the Bilt Rewards Travel Portal.
British Airways has improved the value of the Travel Together Ticket, which you can earn after spending $30,000 on the British Airways Visa Signature® Card in a calendar year.
Previously, the Travel Together Ticket could be used as a “Buy One, Get One Free” on a British Airways award ticket in any cabin, you’d just need to pay the other passengers’ taxes and fees. Now, the Travel Together Ticket can be used to reduce the cost of your own award flight by 50% — greatly increasing the useability and flexibility of the Travel Together Ticket moving forward.
Cardholders of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, and Capital One Spark Miles for Business can rejoice as these cards now feature access to over 100+ Plaza Premium Lounges worldwide. In addition to the new Plaza Premium Lounges, cardholders can also access Priority Pass lounges and the new Capital One Lounges.
In a deal valued at $675 million, Choice Hotels is acquiring the Radisson Hotels Americas portfolio, which features 624 properties across Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and the U.S.
The majority of Radisson hotels won’t be rebranding as of now — it is likely that there might be some shake-up of the respective loyalty programs.
We don’t know just yet whether the Radisson Rewards Americas program will be folded into Choice Privileges, or if they will continue to operate independently and perhaps allows transfers between the 2 programs for award travelers. That said, we will be sure to provide an update as soon as we know more details.
New Increased Credit Card Welcome Bonuses
Here is a look at the cards that increased their welcome offers last month:
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.
The information regarding the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Spark Miles for Business, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard, and Hotels.com® Rewards Visa® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
Featured Image Credit:
lovelyday12 via Shutterstock
