Is this points redemption a good deal?
Pick whose points they are, then put in the cash price, what you'd still pay, and the points it costs. You'll see what each point is worth on this redemption and whether it's a good deal for that program.
1.5¢
a point on this redemption
Your 30,000 points cover $450 of the price, 1.5¢ each. That beats the 1¢ floor, where the same points get $300 as cash back.
Show the math
Value per point = (cash price − cash you still pay) ÷ points used
($455.60 − $5.60) ÷ 30,000 = 1.5¢
1.5¢ > 1¢ floor → good deal
A point is only worth the cash it saves you. Banks value a point at about a penny on their own books, and some programs pay cash back at exactly that, $1 per 100 points, so a penny is the floor. Run the check with the price you'd really have paid, not the sticker price: a fancy fare you'd never buy makes the points look better than they are.
An estimate for education, not advice.
How this works
Value per point = (cash price − cash you still pay) ÷ points used.
For bank points (Chase, Amex, Capital One, Citi and the rest), a penny is the floor: banks value a point at about 1¢ on their own books, and some pay cash back at exactly that. The program still matters, because what it pays in cash differs. Chase pays a penny; covering a charge with Amex points pays 0.6¢.
Airline and hotel points can't be cashed out, so a penny isn't their bar. They're judged against what they're usually worth in published valuations, which runs from under half a cent for Hilton to well over a cent for most airlines. The values come from our points cheat sheet.
One catch: the cash price only counts if you'd really have paid it. A $455 flight you'd never have bought at $455 isn't worth $455 to you. Answer "No" above and put in what you'd really pay.
Get the points value cheat sheet
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