At Frequent Miler, we keep a database of point valuations called “Reasonable Redemption Values.” These are estimates of the “worth” of airline miles, hotel points, transferable points, and more. The idea is that we try to identify the point at which it is “reasonable” to get that much value or more from your points.
This information is critical for making informed decisions. In fact, it’s a key component of the First Year Value information shown on our Best Credit Card Offers page, and it’s similarly used to show which cards offer the best value for everyday spend and which offer the best category bonuses.
When we first started looking at the value of airline miles, we used a laborious manual process to create estimates, but we now have a much better way of pinning down their value.
Points Path, which is a Google Flights extension, keeps records of both the point prices and cash prices of all searches done via its platform. Points Path founder and former Frequent Miler writer, Julian Kheel, has made this data available to us for the purpose of identifying rewards program point values.
Thanks to Julian and Points Path, we now have access to the results of over 20,000 domestic US and international Virgin Atlantic search results that show both the cash and award prices for the same flight (including partner flights). Using this data, we can provide a far better estimate of the “Reasonable Redemption Values” than we were ever able to obtain by using manual calculations.
Based on an analysis of Points Path’s data, we’ve concluded that the new Reasonable Redemption Value (RRV) for Virgin points = 1.4 Cents Per Point.
Virgin Atlantic Points Path Data
Listed below is a summary of the raw data from Points Path. There are two values that are important to us. The median is the point that half of the observed results offered better point value and half offered worse value. We also have the average value of all the searches, in total and by booking class.
Domestic (US)
| Cabin | Median Value (cpp) | Average Value (cpp) | Number of data points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 0.93* | 1.23* | 9,686 |
| Business | 0.85 | 0.90 | 794 |
| First | 0.84 | 0.92 | 407 |
| Combined | 0.93 | 1.20 | 10,887 |
International
| Cabin | Median Value (cpp) | Average Value (cpp) | Number of data points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 1.19* | 1.57* | 6,724 |
| Premium | 2.05 | 4.61 | 806 |
| Business | 1.81 | 3.84 | 2,789 |
| Combined | 1.38 | 2.42 | 10,319 |
Combined
| Cabin | Median Value (cpp) | Average Value (cpp) | Number of data points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 1.03* | 1.37* | 16,410 |
| Premium | 2.05 | 4.61 | 806 |
| Business | 1.48 | 3.20 | 3,583 |
| First | 0.84 | 0.92 | 407 |
| Combined | 1.08 | 1.79 | 21,206 |
Calculations
For our airline RRV values, we’re going to use the midpoints between the average value and the median. The reason is that the difference between the two is an indicator of how often more valuable sweet spots can be found in a given category.
If the median is 1 cent per point, that means that half of all searches produced a value of less than 1 cent per point, and the other half above 1 cent per point. However, if the same data showed an average of 2 cents per point it would mean that some of the 50% of searches that were above 1 cent per point were so far above that they doubled the result to 2 cents per point. Likely, that would indicate a higher prevalence of available sweet spot awards with outsized redemption value…something we like to see.
Here’s what we found with Virgin Atlantic:
- Points Path Median Observed Value for Virgin Atlantic redemptions: 1.08 cents per point based on the past 365 days of data as of February 27, 2025)
- Points Path Mean Observed Value for Virgin Atlantic redemptions: 1.79 Cents Per point (based on the past 365 days of data as of February 27, 2025)
- Range: 1.08 to 1.79.
- For our RRV, we’ll pick the middle point between 1.08 and 1.79 and then round it to one decimal, or 1.4 Cents Per Point.
Note that, for Virgin, the average value is ~66% higher than the median. That indicates that, even though only half of the searches Points Path tracked showed redemptions above 1.08 cents per point, enough of those searches produced such outsized value that it raised the average redemption number significantly, all the way to 1.79 cents per point.
Additionally, there is a huge discrepancy between using Virgin points for domestic US redemptions (on Delta) versus international flights. Using the same methodology described above, Virgin’s “domestic RRV” would be 1.07 cents per point while the “international RRV” would be almost double at 1.9 cents each.
To us, this means that there’s significant opportunity for excellent value to be had when using Virgin points for international travel. Premium and business class offer particularly stellar possibilities. On the flip side, don’t expect much when trying to use Virgin points for domestic US travel.
Conclusion
The exercise described above resulted in a slightly increased Reasonable Redemption Value (RRV) for Virgin points of 1.4 cents each. That’s the point at which most readers are likely to get that much value or more.
Please keep in mind that this does not mean that you will always get 1.4 cents per point value. In practice, you’ll sometimes find better redemptions and sometimes you’ll find worse. However, we believe that 1.4 cents is a “reasonable” expectation for what your Virgin points are “worth” when used towards award flights.
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Does the Points Path data only look at the awards that are searchable/bookable online with VS? Some of the best uses of VS points are for airlines like ANA, Air New Zealand, etc, where you have to search on other systems and call in to book. I have booked 10 ANZ business class tickets in the last couple years, and the cpp on those were crazy high (like 5-10 cpp).
I believe that it only compares to fares that are bookable online, so that is a limitation. That said, my guess is that those redemptions are fairly rare (given the necessity to find space independently and call), so even adding them in wouldn’t change the overall number much, since they would be competing with the other ~20,000 dps…the business class averages are already sky high.
However, it’s a great use of points and a good example of why a given currency can be worth more to some than to others.
We are talking about two different things here. You say the ANA and ANZ redemptions are rare. But this data is about searches, not redemptions. We have data of 20k award searches, but most of those did not result in redemptions. I think highlighting the limitations, such as the data not included, would be helpful to readers.
Also, the last 365 days of data for VS is kind of a mess. There was a devaluation of Delta awards last July, Air France was not bookable online for part of the last 365 days, etc.
Yep, good points.