Overview
Reasonable Redemption Values (RRVs) are estimates of how much value you can reasonably expect to get from your points. With almost all points programs, it’s possible to get very little value or, sometimes, huge value from your points. RRVs are intended to be mid-point values that are reasonably easy to achieve with just a bit of work in finding good rather than poor value awards.
With hotel points, we took an easy approach: the RRVs are the median observed values found when users search for hotel awards. Half of the available awards offered better value and half worse. You can read more about hotel RRVs and how they were originally determined here. Airline miles are more complicated since award values vary tremendously based on a huge number of factors. So, we developed a methodology to simplify things. You can learn about that here: Airline Miles are worth 1.4 cents each. A simplified approach to Reasonable Redemption Values.
Please also see: Are points worth what they buy or what they save?
Transferable Points
| Program | Reasonable Redemption Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | 1.5 | With Chase’s Sapphire Reserve card, it used to be possible to redeem points for travel through Chase Travel℠ for 1.5 cents per point value. We always thought that was a reasonable use of points, even if you can often do better by transferring to airline miles or hotel points. Even though Chase no longer offers that fixed 1.5 cents per point value, we continue to use this as the standard by which we value other transferable points programs. |
| Amex Membership Rewards | 1.5 | Amex is now effectively in a 3-way toss-up with Chase and Citi. It has more transfer partners and bonuses, but with worse lodging options. |
| Bilt | 1.55 | Bilt offers most of the same valuable transfer partners that Chase offers, plus some great additions like Alaska Airlines and Avianca LifeMiles. For this reason, we set the Bilt RRV slightly higher than Chase’s. |
| Citi ThankYou Rewards | 1.5 | Citi has better transfer partners than Capital One (EVA 1-1, LHW, Choice 1 to 2, I Prefer 1 to 4), so we set its RRV slightly higher. |
| Capital One “Miles” | 1.45 | In our opinion, Capital One’s transfer partners offer slightly less chance of outsized value than Chase’s, and so we set Capital One’s RRV slightly lower. |
| Mesa | 1.3 | Mesa airline partners are competitive with Wells Fargo, but the cash-out and lodging options are a step below. Because of that, we’ve set the RRV slightly lower. |
| Wells Fargo | 1.4 | Wells Fargo only has a small handful of transfer partners at this time, so we set the RRV lower than the other programs. |
The above RRVs assume that points are transferred to airline miles or hotel points and used for medium to high value awards. If, instead, you pay with points for travel, the redemption value will be lower.
Airline Miles
| Program | Reasonable Redemption Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1.4 | See: What are Air Canada Aeroplan points worth? |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1.3 | See: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Alaska MileagePlan | 1.5 | See: What are Alaska Mileage Plan miles worth? |
| American AAdvantage | 1.4 | See: What are AAdvantage Miles worth? |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1.3 | See: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| British Airways Avios | 1.1 | See: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1.1 | See: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1.1 | See: What are Delta SkyMiles worth? |
| Frontier Bonus Miles | 1 | See: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Hawaiian Miles | 1.5 | Now that Hawaiian Miles transfers 1 to 1 to Alaska Mileage Plan miles, we’ve set the RRV to equal Alaska’s. |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1.3 | See: What are JetBlue TrueBlue points worth? |
| Korean SkyPass | 1.3 | See: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Miles & More (Lufthansa) | 1.3 | See: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1.3 | See: What are Qantas Frequent Flyer points worth? |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 1.3 | See: How much are Southwest Rapid Rewards points worth? |
| United MileagePlus | 1.3 | See: What are United Mileage Plus miles worth? |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1.4 | See: What are Virgin Atlantic points worth? |
Hotel Points
| Program | Reasonable Redemption Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Best Western Rewards | 0.61 | See: What are Best Western points worth? (7/25/24) |
| Choice Privileges | 0.67 | See: What are Choice points worth? (7/18/24) |
| Hilton Honors | 0.41 | See: What are Hilton points worth? (8/8/25) |
| IHG One Rewards | 0.61 | See: What are IHG points worth? (6/4/25) |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.76 | See: What are Marriott Bonvoy points worth? (6/5/25) |
| One Key (Expedia, Hotels.com, VRBO) | 0.9 | Estimating value at 90% of face value. |
| Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer | 0.5 | See: What are Preferred Hotels (I Prefer) Points Worth? (12/16/24) |
| Sonesta Travel Pass | 1.06 | See: What are Sonesta points worth? (6/27/24) |
| World of Hyatt | 1.8 | See: What are Hyatt points worth? (6/9/25) |
| Wyndham Rewards | 0.70 | See: What are Wyndham points worth? (8/8/25) |
Hotel Free Night Certificates
We estimate hotel free night certificates by taking the maximum point value of the certificate and multiplying by a fudge factor to account for the fact that free night certificates are less valuable than points (certificates expire in a year or sooner, certificates are less flexible in how they can be used, etc.). For Hilton and IHG certs, we use a 0.85 fudge factor. For Hyatt and Marriott, we use a slightly worse fudge factor of 0.8 in order to account for the fact that each has limits on how they can be used (i.e. Hyatt certs can't be used for higher category hotels and Marriott certs cannot be used at hotels that cost more than 15,000 points above the cert's top amount). 60K IHG certificates have the worst fudge factor of 0.7, owing to the fact that they can't be topped off with extra points for more expensive properties, so it's very difficult to actually get the maximum value.
| Certificate | Reasonable Redemption Value | Calculations |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton | $488 | 140K points (even though some Hilton hotels charge more) multiplied by Hilton RRV ($0.0041) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.85). |
| Hyatt Cat 1-4 | $216 | 15K points (based on standard pricing rather than peak) multiplied by Hyatt RRV ($0.018) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8). |
| Hyatt Cat 1-7 | $432 | 30K points (based on standard pricing rather than peak) multiplied by Hyatt RRV ($0.018) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8). |
| IHG 40K | $207 | 40K points multiplied by IHG RRV ($0.0061) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.85) |
| IHG 60K | $256 | 60K points multiplied by IHG RRV ($0.0061) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.70) |
| Marriott 35K | $213 | 35K points multiplied by Marriott RRV ($0.0076) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8) |
| Marriott 50K | $304 | 50K points multiplied by Marriott RRV ($0.0076) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8) |
| Marriott 85K | $517 | 85K points multiplied by Marriott RRV ($0.0076) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8) |
Other
| Program | Reasonable Redemption Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Amtrak Guest Rewards | 2.56 | Points are worth up to 2.56 cents each on Acela trains and up to 2.9 cents each on other routes. |
| Arrival+ Points | 1 | Even though there is a 5% rebate when points are redeemed for travel, this estimate is based on the amount of travel that can be bought with existing points, regardless of rebates. |
| CNB Rewards | 1.11 | When points are used for airfare, the points are more valuable for more expensive flights. Point values range from 0.9 to 1.16 cents per point. Flights costing $300 offer about 1.11 cents per point value. See: The Exact Value of CNB Crystal Visa Infinite Points. |
| FlexPerks | 1.5 | FlexPerks moved to a fixed 1.5 cents per point value as of 1/1/2018 |
| Merrill+ Points | 1.44 | Assumes using 25,000 points for a $360 flight |
| PenFed Premium Travel Reward | 0.85 | How much are PenFed points worth? |
| Uber Cash | 0.9 | Valued at 90% of face value since Uber gift cards are often available at a discount. |
| Most other bank points | 1 | Most bank point programs have points redeemable for 1 cent each for gift cards or travel. |
Since Chase can be transferred to Hyatt, shouldn’t the RRV of Chase points be at least 1.8?
No. There are not Hyatt properties everywhere and not everybody wants to stay at a Hyatt. There are plenty of uses of Chase points where you can do better than 1.8cpp (premium cabin flights with most airline transfer partners for instance), but our reasonable redemption values are meant to represent a reasonable floor value.
Obviously, if you only travel to places with Hyatt properties and you always stay at Hyatt, then you might reasonably aim for a minimum value of 1.8 cents per point. Truth be told, all of my Chase points go to Hyatt, but I’ve traveled to plenty of places where there aren’t any Hyatt options at all. It depends on your use case.
Avios: 1.2
Aeromexico: 0.8
Air Canada: 1.3
Alaskan: 1.4
American: 1.5
Avianca: 1.5
ANA: 1.4
Cathay: 1.2
Delta: 1.1
Emirates: 1.1
Etihad:1.1
Air France-Klm: 1.2
Frontier: 1.2
JAL: 1.9
Jet Blue: 1.4
Korean: 1.6
Miles and More: 1.3
Qantas: 1.2
Singapore: 1.2
Southwest: 1.3
Sprit :1.0
Turkish :1.1
United :1.2
Virgin Atlantic :1.2
from a data source
Hotels I agree with rrv but I prefer 0.55 and Marriot 0.8.
Wow I prefer update but kal looks a bit high but thanks for the effort
Jal
Guys – Chase is continuing to offer th 1.5x value bump on travel redemptions through Oct 25th this year. In your very first table/ item on CUR, you are making it sound like we’ve already lost that – no true…yet!
Can you guys update I prefer? I want to see if it changed as people are easily get 0.75 cpp
Was looking at the Reasonable Redemption Values for the Hyatt certificates, is the fudge factor supposed to be 0.85 instead of the 0.8 that is listed, that is what would yield the 230 & 460 listed?
Nope, good eyes, that’s a typo on our part. It’s corrected now.
FM Team – does the Citi ThankYou RRV reflect the new ability to transfer to AAdvantage? Thanks.
Yes
[…] Reasonable Redemption Value Blog Post […]
Time for citi rrv to 1.55 and also no fee transfers become 10 to 7 x raito
Why is mesa less than wells fargo it should be same or more than cp1 because of Vietnam airlines, please make rrv for it to prove the value of mesa
@Nick Reyes @Greg @Tim please reply quickly
The rationale in the table explains why:
But mesa partners has avios and then Air Canada Vietnam and sas so I think maybe 1.425 or 1.45
How can you place 1.8 value on Hyatt, but only 1.5 on UR? Since you can transfer all of your UR to Hyatt, then the MR are worth a minimum of 1.8. The additional flexibility of transferring to other programs should make UR worth MORE than Hyatt.
It is reasonable to redeem points for 1.5 cents per point yes you can get hyatt 1.8 but you likely won’t use all ur for hyatt
Additional flexibility always increases value/cost. This is an economic fact.
We have explained this many times on the podcast: Reasonable Redemption Values are meant to represent a reasonable value you can expect to get without outsized effort to maximize. You can certainly do better than RRV on any of the transferable currencies by strategically transferring to partners for better value, picking and choosing the redemptions that fit your needs.
If you transfer to Hyatt, you can expect to get 1.8c per point or better — so if Hyatt fits your redemption needs, then you probably wouldn’t redeem points at less than 1.8cpp. By all means, transfer to Hyatt when it fits your needs. However, Hyatt isn’t everywhere that everyone wants to be, nor does everyone want a Hyatt even when a Hyatt is available (some folks prefer other chains, some prefer luxury boutique hotels over Hyatt Places, etc). There are many countries with no Hyatt properties at all. If your travels take you to places where there are zero Hyatts, then Hyatt points won’t help you get 1.8c per point — they won’t be worth anything at all to you in those situations. Valuing Ultimate Rewards points as though everybody will stay at Hyatt properties would be an unreasonably narrow expectation that doesn’t take into account the broad variety of customers who collect points. It would be akin to saying that since you can get 10cpp (making this number up) by transferring to Emirates and booking Emirates first class, the RRV should be 10cpp since you can transfer all of your points to Emirates. Not everybody wants to fly First Class and even if they did Emirates doesn’t necessarily fit the route needs of every customer. It isn’t reasonable to assume that everybody will have the same use case for transferable points. Thus we say it is reasonable to expect 1.5c *or better* with Ultimate Rewards points. You can certainly do better with Hyatt or with a complex premium cabin redemption via Aeroplan or with an expensive but short-distance oneworld flight via Avios or with a Flying Blue Promo Reward, etc.
Personally, I highly value Hyatt points and Hyatt is the only partner to which I transfer my Ultimate Rewards points (and I wouldn’t redeem my points at 1.5cpp because I know I will find plenty of better uses for Hyatt points in any given year). However, I know plenty of people who never stay at Hyatt properties and as such transfer to other partners or use points to book travel. We create the RRV with a broader use case in mind. You can certainly do better than the RRV and if Hyatt fits your needs then you often will do better than RRV by transferring to Hyatt.
Maybe it’s obvious, but RRVs should be labeled as cents. May be obvious to us, but not to new users.
Dear FM team,
A YouTube creator keeps awarding me “Durgoz Points” and when I asked him what the RRV of his points where he referred me here. Can you humor me and tell me they are worthless?
This information is extremely useful! Nice to have a valid standard of comparison across Airlines and Hotel chains. Thanks Greg!
Would you place any value on Marriott’s NUAs?
Yes, but it’s really hard to come up with a specific number. At some hotels they can really increase your chances of getting a great room or suite and in those cases they can be worth a lot. Unfortunately, many hotels don’t accept them at all, and sometimes the upgrades never come through.
[…] that travel purchase at a rate of 1 cent each. That will cost me 25,400 miles. If we reference the Frequent Miler Reasonable Redemption Value Chart we see those miles should be worth 1.45 […]