Think about you’re planning to get a brand new bank card and also you’re weighing two related choices. Each supply comparable advantages and cost the identical annual payment. However one card affords a welcome bonus of 80,000 factors, whereas the opposite affords a welcome bonus of 100,000 factors. Based mostly on these bonuses, which card would you select?

The cardboard that comes with extra factors could appear to be the plain reply, however the actuality is that you just’re lacking an important piece of data: You may’t inform which bonus is healthier with out figuring out how a lot the respective factors are value. Relying on the worth of the factors every card earns, the smaller welcome bonus may really be value extra.

Understanding the worth of factors and miles is an important step towards utilizing them properly, which is why NerdWallet publishes valuations of in style airline, resort and bank card rewards. Right here’s how you should utilize these valuations to your profit.

Understanding the worth of your foreign money is important in any transaction. Right here’s how factors and miles valuations can help you in reserving journey.

Award journey creates alternatives to save cash, however simply because you may e book a visit with factors or miles doesn’t imply you need to. Some award redemptions are phenomenal and a few are dismal, with numerous territory in between. Valuations are the important thing to determining the place a given award lies on that spectrum.

You need to use our flight calculator to determine whether or not to e book flights in factors or money. Or you are able to do the calculation your self: (Money worth – charges when reserving with factors)/variety of factors.

Suppose you’re reserving a protracted weekend go to to the College of Arizona in March of 2026. You need to be near campus, so that you resolve on the Graduate by Hilton Tucson resort. After taxes, the whole value for 3 nights in a 1 King Mattress room is $1,319.27.

Nevertheless, you may have a stash of Hilton Honors factors, so that you examine the award fee and see that you may as an alternative e book the identical keep (with a comparable cancellation coverage) for 165,000 factors.

Dividing the money worth by the award worth yields a redemption worth of just below 0.8 cents per level. NerdWallet’s valuation for Hilton Honors is 0.6 cent per level; by that metric, reserving an award supplies higher than anticipated worth on this case.

For one more instance, contemplate an American Airways financial system flight from Chicago to New York LaGuardia in October 2025. This nonstop itinerary is offered for $229.97 round-trip.

Alternatively, you may e book the identical flights for 17,000 AAdvantage miles plus $11.20 in charges.

This award affords a return of roughly 1.3 cents per mile, whereas NerdWallet’s valuation for AAdvantage miles is 1.6 cents apiece. Meaning the award supplies decrease than anticipated worth, so in case your determination rests solely on that valuation, then paying money is the higher choice.

However valuations don’t exist in a vacuum, and there are different components to think about when assessing the worth of an award. Within the case of reserving the American flight, redeeming miles supplies a extra versatile cancellation coverage. You may cancel and get a full refund as long as you achieve this earlier than the primary flight departs. It’s also possible to cancel the money fare, however you’ll be refunded in American Airways credit score that expires after a 12 months. That distinction makes the award flight extra engaging, particularly in case your plans are tentative.

Other than a extra favorable cancellation coverage, you may also favor to e book an award if you happen to’re apprehensive about factors expiring otherwise you’re seeking to preserve money prices down.

Then again, you would possibly lean towards paying money if:

• You’re conserving factors for a extra invaluable future award.

• You gained’t get a superb return as a result of the factors worth comes with paying hefty award surcharges.

Valuations can assist you establish not solely whether or not to e book an award, but additionally which kind of award to e book and which loyalty program you need to use to e book it.

For instance, think about you’re reserving a one-way flight from Los Angeles to New York in late September, and you’ve got reserves of each American Airways AAdvantage miles and Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles. You don’t thoughts paying money, however you’re joyful to make use of miles if you happen to’re getting a superb deal.

Checking award charges, you see the identical flight out there for 20,000 AAdvantage miles plus $5.60 in charges. That yields a redemption worth of 1.2 cents per mile, which is properly below NerdWallet’s valuation of 1.6 cents per mile, indicating a subpar return in your miles.

Nevertheless, since American Airways and Alaska Airways are each Oneworld alliance members, you may redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles to e book American Airways flights. On this case, you may e book the very same flight by means of Alaska Airways for 17,500 Mileage Plan miles plus $19 in charges, yielding a redemption worth of 1.4 cents per mile. NerdWallet’s valuation for Mileage Plan miles is 1.3 cents per mile, making this award a good return of worth.

This instance illustrates how redeeming factors shouldn’t be solely in regards to the variety of factors or miles you utilize, but additionally what you assume these factors or miles are value.

Reserving this flight with AAdvantage miles isn’t a superb deal. However assuming you agree with NerdWallet’s valuation, reserving the very same flight by means of Mileage Plan is an efficient deal as a result of these miles aren’t value as a lot.

There’s often multiple solution to e book award journey. Understanding your choices and their relative values will aid you establish good redemption alternatives and reject unhealthy ones.

Along with serving to you redeem rewards, factors and miles valuations can assist you establish your greatest choices for incomes them.

The Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card earns 3 Chase Final Rewards® factors per greenback on eating worldwide. You might switch these factors at a 1:1 ratio to World of Hyatt factors, which NerdWallet values at 2.2 cents every. Multiplying these two numbers yields a return of 6.6 cents per greenback spent on eating, so utilizing your Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card may earn you $6.60 value of rewards on your $100 eating buy.

In distinction, the Hilton Honors American Specific Surpass® Card earns 6 factors per greenback on eligible U.S. eating places (see charges and costs). Nevertheless, NerdWallet’s valuations listing Hilton Honors factors at simply 0.6 cent apiece, yielding a return of three.6 cents per greenback on eating or $3.60 on a $100 buy. Regardless that the cardboard earns twice as many factors, the return on spending at eating places is decrease as a result of Hilton factors are much less invaluable than Chase Final Rewards® factors.

You need to use valuations to evaluate the return you’ll get from different incomes alternatives, resembling bank card welcome bonuses and spending bonuses, retention affords, loyalty program promotions, compensation for overbooked flights and extra.

For instance, think about a resort loyalty program is operating a promotion providing 2,000 bonus factors per evening (on high of what you’d already earn). If this system in query is IHG Rewards, then the promotion would earn you an additional $10 of worth per evening, since NerdWallet values these factors at 0.5 cent apiece.

That’s much less prone to transfer the needle than if the identical promotion got here from World of Hyatt; NerdWallet values Hyatt factors at 2.2 cents apiece, so in that case you’d be getting $44 of additional worth every evening.

Listed below are a couple of pitfalls to keep away from when making use of valuations to your individual award redemptions.

NerdWallet’s valuations are the product of real-world knowledge, however they’re not common. Regardless that NerdWallet could put Hyatt factors at the next worth, it’s attainable that you may discover an award stick with one other resort model at a good increased valuation. With most packages utilizing dynamic pricing, there are often loads of award redemptions that fall above or under NerdWallet’s numbers.

It doesn’t matter what the valuation of a journey rewards foreign money is, rewards are solely invaluable if you happen to really use them. If you’re deciding which kind of factors or miles to gather, contemplate your private preferences. Does a sure airline supply extra flights from your house airport? Do you like to redeem factors for a sure kind of award journey, resembling enterprise class flights or all-inclusive resorts?

For instance, you’re extra prone to discover makes use of for Alaska Mileage Plan miles in Seattle than in Miami. You may not need to accumulate Hyatt factors if there aren’t any Hyatt properties at your regular trip locations.

To maximise your return on spending, it’s a must to contemplate each the worth of the factors you’re incomes and the speed at which you’re incomes them.

For instance, NerdWallet values Marriott Bonvoy factors at 0.9 cent every and JetBlue TrueBlue factors at 1.5 cents every. When you face a alternative between incomes 2 Marriott factors per greenback or 1 JetBlue level per greenback, the upper incomes fee means your complete return from the Marriott factors will probably be increased regardless that these factors have a decrease valuation individually.

Valuations can assist you resolve whether or not reserving an award is sensible, however you shouldn’t let valuations do the deciding for you. The most effective awards are those that take you the place you need to go at a worth you may afford; if meaning redeeming factors for lower than the valuations say they’re value, that’s okay!

Equally, there’s no advantage in getting a excessive redemption worth purely for its personal sake. You would possibly get an excellent return from utilizing factors to e book firstclass flights or stays in overwater bungalows, however the redemption worth is simply significant if you happen to really need to e book these awards. In brief, don’t let metrics dictate the way you journey.