The point value for each was gathered in purchasing categories, including
value on airfare, hotels, restaurants, gas, groceries and general spending.
Get 25 % more
value on airfare, hotels, car rentals and more when you redeem your points through Chase's online Ultimate Rewards portal
Redeem your points for a wide range of reward options including gift cards, experiences and double
value on airfare, which means it takes fewer points to go further.
Get 25 % more
value on airfare, hotels, car rentals and more when you redeem your points through Chase's online Ultimate Rewards portal
Not exact matches
The PenFed Premium Travel Rewards American Express card has additional
value for travelers, giving 5 rewards points
on every $ 1 spent
on airfare purchases.
Citi Thank You Premier cardmembers get 25 % more
value when redeeming points
on airfare, for a total
value of 1.25 cents a point.
We
value SkyMiles at 1.35 cents per miles
on average, so 70,000 miles can get you around $ 945 worth of
airfare on Delta.
You can get the best
value out of this card, if you don't mind redeeming your rewards
on airfare - we explore this in greater detail below.
Not only do you get 2X points
on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent
on all other purchases worldwide with this card, but simply being a cardholder is enough to earn 25 % more
value when you redeem for
airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards website.
We've compiled a list of miles credit cards that offer the best
value when used
on airfare and created a tool to help you compare cards.
This premier card helps take the sting out of its $ 195 annual fee by offering up to $ 175 worth of travel credits and a generous point bonus
on airfare and spending at U.S. gas stations, restaurants and supermarkets; but its restrictive rules
on how you can redeem your rewards points and travel credits drag down its overall
value.
For the same
value, you get 3x
on airfare purchased directly from the airline, 2x at U.S. gas stations, supermarkets, and restaurants, and 1x everywhere else.
A
value of 1.4 cents per point or mile is a conservative estimate, based
on the methodology explained below, for the
value a typical consumer can get from
airfare redemptions.
For instance, we
value Southwest Airlines points at 1.57 cents
on average (though, the
value can vary widely depending
on the ticket that you purchase), which means a 50,000 - point bonus can net you $ 785 of
value on average when used for Southwest
airfare:
Virgin Atlantic offers a route - based chart for Virgin America redemptions which, depending
on airfare prices at any given time, can make for better redemptions than using Virgin America's fixed - point
value system.
That's the effective guaranteed
value of the signup bonus
on the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you only used its 40,000 bonus points at 1.25 cents per point to redeem directly for
airfare.
The Wells Fargo Visa Signature card offers more
value than meets the eye thanks to its 50 percent bonus
on airfare redemptions.
With its 50 percent bonus
on airfare redemptions, the Wells Fargo Visa Signature card is a great
value for travel hackers seeking a large influx of rewards points.
The Wells Fargo Visa Signature card's 50 percent bonus
on airfare redemptions boosts its earning rate to 1.5 percent — a great
value for a no - annual - fee card.
For just $ 75 a year, the Hyatt Credit Card from Chase offers an outstanding amount of
value for frequent travelers: New cardholders are awarded ample points
on a variety of travel purchases, including
airfare, car rentals and restaurant purchases.
That means if you spend $ 5,000 for the year at Marriott properties, your cash
value comes to $ 225, while by spending $ 5,000
on airfare, rental cars and restaurants, your cash
value is $ 90, bring the total to $ 315.
For the same
value, you get 3x
on airfare purchased directly from the airline, 2x at U.S. gas stations, supermarkets, and restaurants, and 1x everywhere else.
Due to the high
value of points
on partners such as British Airways, United and Southwest, those same Ultimate Rewards points can get you from $ 300 to $ 500 worth of
airfare, or even more if you know the ins and outs of airline loyalty programs.
3 % back
on hotels and
airfare is a
value that can be beaten by a few other cards, but they all have significant annual fees.
This means that if you wipe out the
value from all other Platinum Card benefits, the Platinum Card will bring you more
value than the Premier Rewards Gold Card if you are spending $ 6,945 or more
on airfare.
Considering it's often remarkably easy to get over 1.0 cent / mile in
value out of MileagePlus miles when they're spent
on airfare, 0.83 cents / mile in
value is a poor redemption.
Redeeming the points for gift cards and
airfare on the Amex Travel website have a rate of 40,000 points for $ 400 in
value.
• 3X points
on dining out and entertainment • 2X points
on airfare, hotels and travel agencies • 1X points
on other purchases • 25 % more
value when you redeem your points for flights through the ThankYou Travel Center as compared to gift cards
With international Business class fares regularly coming below the $ 2,000 level (just check the
Airfare Deals page) I'm not convinced that AAdvantage Miles can get me as much
value as I can extract from Avios
on the expensive short - haul routes.
You'll get good
value for your points by spending them
on airfares that come in around the $ 400 price point.
You will only receive 25 % greater
value versus gift cards
on all
airfare redemptions with your ThankYou ® points.
So if you are someone who spends a good share of their revenue
on airfare, and are OK booking prepaid hotels through AmexTravel, then 5x points can provide a lot of
value and it will be a no brainer.
Of course, there are co-branded airline and hotel cards that you might want to devote your
airfare spend to depending
on how you
value the miles / points in those programs.
In order to get maximum
value for your points (2 cents per point), you need to spend exactly $ 500
on your
airfare.
However, if you
value no foreign transaction fees, and plan
on spending a lot
on airfare, supermarkets, gas stations, and
on dining, then the PRG may be your best bet.
An outstanding
value for domestic travelers, the Virgin America Visa Signature card offers a generous spending bonus
on airfare, a solid sign - up bonus, premium perks such as a $ 150 companion ticket every year and points that are worth significantly more than the average card rewards point.
The triple point - back earnings
on airfare, hotels and dining give it a distinct miles and points
value advantage over the Platinum and Prestige cards and puts it
on the same level as the Altitude Reserve.
But, using the above scenario again, you'll see that the same amount of spending generated $ 526 of
airfare value with the EveryDay Preferred card as opposed to the $ 299 of
airfare value on the EveryDay card.
Once you factor in the annual fee ($ 250), that Platinum Card helped you earn $ 5 more in
value after spending $ 8,500
on airfare.
And for many others, cards like the Amex EveryDay and Chase Freedom cards (when paired with the Sapphire Preferred or the Ink Plus) will provide superior
value in travel redemptions with so much spend put
on them, especially if you're interested in redeeming for premium
airfare.
Rewards Rate 1 point per dollar
on every purchase (1 %
value for cash back redemptions, 2 %
value for
airfare redemptions)
Most
airfare redemptions
on the American Express redemption travel portal will only net you 1 cent of
value (and points are worth even less if you try to redeem points for other travel options).
Why
on earth would you use your points for an iPod Touch
valued at $ 359 when you could use the same points for
airfare totaling $ 1,500?
While these fixed -
value currencies are great for using
on cheap tickets, small expenditures, or miscellaneous fees, it's not good for using
on luxury hotels, premium class
airfares, and other luxury travel benefits.
Get the American Express Platinum Card if you frequently travel alone and
value the card just for its travel perks, or spend a lot
on airfare.
Many annual - fee cards offer fewer opportunities for acquiring points, but the
value of their rewards points is often more generous — particularly
on travel purchases, such as
airfare.
We'll summarize for you: With a few exceptions,
airfare redemptions give you by far the best
value on your Membership Rewards points.
Business Platinum cardholders get a 35 percent bonus
on their points if they book a flight
on an airline that they designate at the beginning of each year — raising their potential point
value to 1.35 cents for
airfare.
The 5,000 - point transfer bonus boosts that
value to 2.5 cents per point, which means you could get $ 625 or more worth of
airfare with American Airlines depending
on how many points you transfer and how you redeem them.
Redeeming ThankYou ® Points for Flights You will only receive 25 % greater
value versus gift cards
on all
airfare redemptions with your ThankYou ® points.