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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amex Membership Rewards | 1.55 | 20% over standard airline mile value (based on the idea that you can transfer points to any of a number of programs in order to find the best award deals) and round to the nearest .05 |
| Bilt | 1.55 | 20% over standard airline mile value (based on the idea that you can transfer points to any of a number of programs in order to find the best award deals) and round to the nearest .05 |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | 1.5 | 15% over standard airline mile value (based on the idea that you can transfer points to any of a number of programs in order to find the best award deals) and round to the nearest .05 |
| Citi ThankYou Rewards | 1.45 | 10% over standard airline mile value (based on the idea that you can transfer points to any of a number of programs in order to find the best award deals) and round to the nearest .05 |
| Capital One “Miles” | 1.45 | 10% over standard airline mile value (based on the idea that you can transfer points to any of a number of programs in order to find the best award deals) and round to the nearest .05 |
| Brex | 1.4 | 8% over standard airline mile value (based on the idea that you can transfer points to any of a number of programs in order to find the best award deals) and round to the nearest .05 |
The above RRVs assume that points are transferred to airline miles 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 | 1.3 | Original calculation details here: What are airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1.3 | |
| Alaska MileagePlan | 1.3 | Original calculation details here: What are airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| American AAdvantage | 1.3 | Original calculation details here: What are airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1.3 | Original calculation details here: What are airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| British Airways Avios | 1.09 | Original calculation details here: What are oddball airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Mies | 1.09 | Original calculation details here: What are oddball airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1.3 (or 1.5 for cardholders) |
See: What are Delta miles worth? |
| Frontier Bonus Miles | 0.95 | Original calculation details here: What are oddball airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Hawaiian Miles | 0.75 | Original calculation details here: What are oddball airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1.33 | Original: What are JetBlue TrueBlue points worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Korean SkyPass | 1.3 | Original calculation details here: What are airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| LATAM Pass | 0.62 | Original calculation details here: What are oddball airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Miles & More (Lufthansa) | 1.3 | Original calculation details here: What are oddball airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 1.4 | The new true value of Southwest points, 2018 edition. New: reduced by 7% to account for not earning miles on award flights. |
| United MileagePlus | 1.3 | Original calculation details here: What are oddball airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1.3 | Original calculation details here: What are oddball airline miles worth? Update here: A big change to Frequent Miler’s point values. |
Hotel Points
| Program | Reasonable Redemption Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Best Western Rewards | 0.54 | See: What are Best Western points worth? (5/17/21) |
| Choice Privileges | 0.68 | See: What are Choice points worth? (5/10/21) |
| Hilton Honors | 0.48 | See: What are Hilton points worth? (12/8/22) |
| IHG One Rewards | 0.63 | See: What are IHG points worth? (12/24/22) |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.80 | See: What are Marriott Bonvoy points worth? (4/7/23) |
| One Key (Expedia, Hotels.com, VRBO) | 0.71 | 3500 points = $25 hotel coupon = .71 cents per point |
| World of Hyatt | 2.10 | See: What are Hyatt points worth? (12/7/22) |
| Wyndham Rewards | 0.88 | See: What are Wyndham points worth? (3/7/23) |
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 an 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 severe 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).
| Certificate | Reasonable Redemption Value | Calculations |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton | $490 | 120K points (even though some Hilton hotels charge more) multiplied by Hilton RRV ($0.0048) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.85). |
| Hyatt Cat 1-4 | $252 | 15K points (based on standard pricing rather than peak) multiplied by Hyatt RRV ($0.021) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8). |
| Hyatt Cat 1-7 | $504 | 30K points (based on standard pricing rather than peak) multiplied by Hyatt RRV ($0.021) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8). |
| IHG 40K | $214 | 40K points multiplied by IHG RRV ($0.0063) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.85) |
| Marriott 35K | $224 | 35K points multiplied by Marriott RRV ($0.008) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8) |
| Marriott 50K | $320 | 50K points multiplied by Marriott RRV ($0.008) multiplied by a fudge factor (0.8) |
| Marriott 85K | $544 | 85K points multiplied by Marriott RRV ($0.008) 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 fixed 1.5 cents per point value as of 1/1/2018 |
| Merrill+ Points | 1.44 | Assumes using 25,000 points for $360 flight |
| PenFed Premium Travel Reward | 0.85 | How much are PenFed points worth? |
| Uber Cash | 0.9 | Valuing 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. |
