How to Value and Use Points—A Lazy Redemption Roadmap
Tl;dr: Every major bank rewards program has a safe, easy way to redeem points for at least 1¢ each. From there, the ceiling depends on how much effort you want to put in, but some options are easier and more valuable than others.
Points can feel mysterious. I’ve had many friends tell me they don’t know how to spend their points—or even how to compare them—and are reluctant to dive into the world of points because of it. Sure, the Amex Gold earns 4 points per dollar on dining, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 3, and the Citi AA card earns 2. But that is only half the story; how can you compare those earn rates without knowing how much each point is worth, or how easy it will be to get that value?
The bad news? There’s no right answer to valuing points. The good news? If the whole thing feels confusing or intimidating, you don’t have to figure it all out to get started. In this post, I’ll lay out a lazy roadmap from can’t-miss, guaranteed-value (1¢ per point+) uses of your points that work with any transferable points currency, all the way to the types of high-effort, high-cost, high-reward redemptions for aspirational travel (with some links to some other sites that actually host that content–we’re here to keep it lazy).
Easy street: 1¢+ Per Point in Value for Travel
Every major transferable currency has a safe redemption floor.
Chase and Wells Fargo points can be redeemed for statement credits at 1¢ per point (10,000 points = $100 off your next bill).
Capital One miles can be redeemed to “erase” travel purchases at 1¢ per point (10,000 points = $100 travel charge removed from your statement).
All transferable points can be redeemed for travel via the issuer’s travel portal. Bilt offers 1.25¢ per point, so a $100 hotel room would require 8,000 Bilt points. Chase points are worth 1¢ per point on most travel, but some select flights and stays (often higher end) can be booked with a “Points Boost,” so Sapphire cardholders can redeem for up to 2¢ per point. Capital One, Citi, and Wells Fargo points can be redeemed at 1¢ each in the portal. Amex points, unfortunately, generally only get 1¢ per point on flights. Mesa points are new, and I don’t have any of them yet, but some reports indicate that they are worth over 1¢ per point in the Mesa portal.
So if you want consistently elevated value, Bilt points are best. Chase points, meanwhile, are useful for their flexibility (redeem on anything for 1¢ per point, with some chances to get more). But any of these points can reliably net you 1¢ per point in travel—while often offering much, much more valuable sign-up bonuses, travel perks, and consumer protections than cash back cards.
Transfer Partners 101
While you can always redeem through your bank’s travel portal, transferring points to airline and hotel partners is where the real magic starts. But with most issuers having over a dozen transfer partners to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start and how to redeem them. If you want to dip your toe without diving in, though, there are four programs that provide excellent value fairly reliably:
Alaska Airlines (transfer from Bilt)
American Airlines (Citi)
Hyatt (Bilt and Chase)
Choice (Citi and Wells Fargo)
Each of these programs offer some sort of award chart pricing, meaning that the prices of most redemptions are relatively stable, predictable, and favorable—at least while saver-level inventory is available. It’s not impossible to go wrong but you can generally expect to get more than 1¢ per point in real value redeeming with these partners. (In the case of Choice, that is only thanks to Citi and Wells Fargo’s 1:2 transfer ratios.)
To avoid value traps, just remember that 10,000 points = $100 at 1¢ per point, so if the points cost doesn’t look like something you’d be willing to pay (e.g. a 100,000-point flight you wouldn’t pay $1,000 for), that might be a booking to avoid. Or you can just pull up our calculator to double check your value.
The Amex/Delta Vortex
They get a bad rap, but as a frugal traveler, I love Delta SkyMiles for their frequent rock-bottom award sales. If you’re willing to wait for a deal, you can fly basic economy to Europe for 40k miles or less, or Asia under 70k, often from dozens of US airports. Main cabin prices are solid as well (but Delta’s business class award prices are famously astronomical).
To earn them most efficiently, you’ll probably want an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points that can be transferred to Delta, like an Amex Gold Card that earns 4x on dining and groceries and 3x on flights. And to redeem them efficiently, you’ll want a Delta co-brand card, because their premium cards come with a 15% discount on award flights, vastly improving redemption values. And to make sure you catch wind of the very best sales, you might want to sign up for a service like Thrifty Traveler, which delivers them (and deals on other airlines, too) right to your inbox. Even Delta’s own “Award Deals” page usually has some good options, even if there isn’t a major sale at any given time.
If you’re patient, flexible, and not too picky about your next international destination, the Delta and Amex combo can be a lazy dream. (I’ve written about that combo before if you want to read more about it.)
Relatively Safe Options
If you’re not able to take advantage of any of the transfer partnerships above, there are still a number of programs that can offer solid value with minimal risk: Accor (via Bilt or Mesa), JetBlue (via Chase or Citi), United (via Bilt or Chase), and Southwest (via Bilt or Chase).
While there are some low-value redemptions out there with these programs, you’ll usually get more than 1¢ per point in value. Note that while Accor and JetBlue have other transfer partners, those ratios are usually less favorable, making good value harder to achieve.
Getting Fancy, Staying Lazy
If you have a somewhat bigger budget, or just want a taste of the high life, Air Canada (Amex, Bilt, Chase, Capital One, and Mesa), ANA (Amex), and JAL (Bilt) all have relatively navigable websites where you can reliably find “good” deals on business class international award tickets. It’s not completely foolproof, and you should expect to spend tens of thousands of points or pay hundreds of dollars in taxes and fees (or both). But your ‘cents-per-point’ value will still likely look great given the sky-high cash cost of these lie-flat seats.
Note that Alaska (Bilt) and American (Citi) also have great business class redemptions, sometimes even with minimal cash costs.
Redeeming for hotel stays is generally less valuable than using points for flights, but Amex’s 1:2 transfer ratio makes Hilton’s sky-high redemption rates more palatable. I’ve found Hilton has reasonable 40–60k point rates for many Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties, especially in Europe. Citi’s partnerships with Leaders Club and iPrefer, meanwhile, can also offer solid value if you think those luxury hotels are worth face value. And Bilt and Chase’s partnership with Hyatt also offers opportunities to turn points into stays at high-end properties.
Diving into the Deep End 🤿
This is where we leave you.
If you really want to stretch your points to their maximum potential, there are a million ways to do it, including working with dozens of transfer partners that haven’t made the list yet. FlyingBlue, Virgin Atlantic, Avianca, and the Avios airlines are the best places to start, but plenty of others have their moments. Booking with these programs, though, generally means some combination of:
High taxes, fees, and/or fuel surcharges
Websites with clunky UI
Minefields of low-value redemptions
Points that might expire if not used
Limited route options from the US
Onerous change or cancellation policies
“Phantom” awards space
Point-transfer delays
There are also all sorts of techniques you can use to snag high-value awards:
Fly flexibly, especially last-minute
Use positioning flights
Book one-ways, including with multiple different programs
Watch for sales like Flying Blue promos or Singapore Spontaneous Escapes
Take advantage of transfer bonuses
Research award program “sweet spots” (like Frequent Miler’s guides to Amex, Capital One, Chase, and Citi points)
Finally, there are tools, especially paid ones, that can help you find more efficient redemptions:
Search for award flights across multiple programs with Roame or Seats.aero (I’m currently testing Roame—review to come, but I like it so far. Sign up via our referral link to try it out and support us; I receive compensation for referrals.)
Sign up for flight alerts with services like Thrifty Traveler, Going, or Daily Drop Pro
Compare points and cash booking options on Google Flights with Points Path
The more often you fly (especially internationally) and the more you tend to pay to do so, the more the extra time, cost, and effort here can pay off.
Plenty of great sites can help you master these high-effort, high-reward plays. We love One Mile at a Time, Frequent Miler, Daily Drop, Award Wallet, The Points Guy, View From the Wing, and others, and they have great insight on turning points into luxury travel. That’s not our niche, though—we’re here to keep it simple and lazy.
Lazy Take 🦥
You don’t need to dive into the deep end to get started with points and miles. Any major travel rewards card can get you started toward more award travel at a solid 1¢ per point valuation. Bilt stands out for offering a higher 1.25¢ portal value and having both the best starter partners and the best advanced options. Citi’s AA and Choice partnerships make it a can’t-miss option as well. Amex’s relationship with Delta, meanwhile, offers great opportunities, especially if you’re willing to wait for SkyMiles sales. But most issuers have one or two solid partners, along with opportunities for value with the rest if you’re willing to work for it.
If you’re worried about where to start, don’t stress—there’s always a lazy option.
✈️ Want to maximize your points stash? Check out our series on timing your card sign-ups for maximum rewards.