Quick facts
Valuations as of
October 2026 (prices sampled October 23, 2026)
Programs valued
5 bank currencies, 4 airlines, 2 hotel chains
Built from
228 real cash vs award price pairs on official sites
Reviewed
Monthly, with the same routes and rules
How much are points worth? It depends on how you use them, so this page gives two numbers for each currency. The floor value is the fixed rate the issuer itself publishes for cash back, statement credits, or fixed-value travel. The Points Quest value is our estimate of what a typical redemption gets you, built from cash and award prices we looked up ourselves on each program’s own site. Both are in cents per point.
We do not copy anyone else’s valuation table, and we left programs off when we could not back a number up. Treat these as estimates, not guarantees. Award prices move every day.
Two tools that go with this page
Have a real trip in mind? Run it through the points value calculator (each “Test a deal” link in the table opens it with that value prefilled as your target). Holding bank points? The credit card transfer partners chart shows every ratio we used here.
Points and miles valuations table (October 2026)
Tap a column heading to sort. On a phone, swipe the table sideways.
| Currency | The Points Quest value (cents) | Floor value (cents) | Type | How we got it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | 1.5 Test a deal | 1.0 (cash back) | Bank | Median of our Southwest (1.58) and JetBlue (1.49) values, both 1:1 |
| Amex Membership Rewards | 1.2 Test a deal | 0.6 (statement credit); 1.0 on flights booked through Amex Travel | Bank | Median of our Delta value at 1:1 (1.21) and JetBlue at 5:4 (1.19) |
| Capital One miles | 1.0 Test a deal | 1.0 (toward travel) | Bank | Floor. Our only sampled partner, JetBlue at 5:3, works out to 0.89 |
| Citi ThankYou Points | 1.4 Test a deal | Not published by Citi | Bank | Our JetBlue value at 1:1 (1.49), the Strata Premier ratio |
| Bilt Points | 1.5 Test a deal | Not published by Bilt | Bank | Median of our Atmos (1.67), Southwest (1.58) and JetBlue (1.49) values, all 1:1 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 1.5 Test a deal | No fixed cash-out value | Airline | 70 Basic fares vs points on 3 routes |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1.4 Test a deal | No fixed cash-out value | Airline | 23 Main fares vs points on 3 routes |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1.2 Test a deal | No fixed cash-out value | Airline | 43 Delta Main fares vs miles on 4 routes |
| Atmos Rewards (Alaska and Hawaiian) | 1.6 Test a deal | No fixed cash-out value | Airline | 27 flights on 4 routes, cheapest cash fare vs Main award |
| IHG One Rewards | 0.5 Test a deal | No fixed cash-out value | Hotel | 29 hotels in 2 cities, pre-tax room rate vs Reward Night |
| Wyndham Rewards | 0.4 Test a deal | No fixed cash-out value | Hotel | 36 hotels in 4 cities, pre-tax rate vs free night |
How to use these valuations
- Start with the floor. If a redemption gets you less than the floor value, you are usually better off cashing out or using the fixed-value option.
- Use our value as a yardstick, not a price tag. Put it in the target field of the calculator. A redemption at or above it is a solid, ordinary use of points.
- Aim higher when you can. Our samples are plain midweek economy flights and standard hotel rooms. Premium cabins and international partner awards often beat these numbers by a wide margin.
- Check the transfer ratio before you move bank points. A 5:3 ratio means 1,000 bank points become 600 partner points. Our transfer partners chart lists them all.
- Do not hoard. Points earn no interest and programs change award prices. A good redemption on a trip you want usually beats waiting for a perfect one.
How we calculated these numbers
We wanted numbers you could check, so every Points Quest value comes from prices anyone can see on the program’s own booking site. On October 23, 2026, we searched each program for ordinary trips and recorded the cash price and the award price for the same flight or the same hotel night.
- Trips: one-way economy flights on common US routes, and one-night stays in standard rooms, on Wednesday, December 9, 2026 and Wednesday, January 13, 2027.
- Formula: (cash price minus award taxes and fees) divided by points, times 100. Flights use the same fare type on both sides; for Atmos we compared against the cheapest cash fare shown, since that is what most people would buy.
- Hotels: we used the room rate before taxes and fees. Award nights usually skip room tax, so our hotel values lean low on purpose.
- Rolling up: we take the median for each route or city, then the median across routes, and round down to the nearest 0.1 cent.
- Bank points: we multiply our airline values by each bank’s transfer ratio, take the median across the partners we sampled, and never show less than the bank’s own floor. We did not count hotel partners, since moving bank points to a hotel at about half a cent is rarely the best choice.
- Floor values: taken only from the issuer’s own pages on October 23, 2026. Citi and Bilt do not publish a single fixed rate, so we left those cells blank rather than guess.
Because we only sampled economy flights and two hotel chains, our bank values are conservative. Capital One sits at its 1.0 cent floor mostly because its strongest airline partners need a member login to search, so they are not in this month’s sample. We will rerun the same searches every month so the numbers move only when the programs do.
Programs not in the table yet
These are popular, and we would like to include them. During our October check we could not see cash and award prices side by side on their own sites, so we are not publishing a number for them yet.
- World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Choice Privileges: their booking sites did not load search results for our check.
- United MileagePlus and Air Canada Aeroplan: award prices required a member sign-in.
- American AAdvantage: the site stopped our search with a verification page.
- British Airways Avios and Air France-KLM Flying Blue: not sampled this month.
- Until we add them, you can value any of these yourself in under a minute with the points value calculator.
FAQ
How much are credit card points worth?
In our October 2026 sample, Chase Ultimate Rewards came out at 1.5 cents, Bilt at 1.5, Citi ThankYou at 1.4, Amex Membership Rewards at 1.2, and Capital One at its 1.0 cent travel floor. The guaranteed floor is lower: 1.0 cent for Chase cash back, 0.6 cent for Amex statement credits, and 1.0 cent for Capital One travel.
What is the difference between the floor value and The Points Quest value?
The floor value is the fixed rate the issuer publishes, such as cash back or a statement credit, so you can always get at least that. The Points Quest value is our estimate of a typical good redemption, based on real cash and award prices we sampled. It is not guaranteed.
Why are some programs missing?
We only publish a value we can support with prices we checked ourselves. In October 2026 we could not compare cash and award prices on the Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Choice, United, American, Aeroplan, Avios, and Flying Blue sites, so they are left off for now.
How often are these valuations updated?
Monthly. We rerun the same routes, hotel cities, and rules, and update the date at the top of the table.
Can I get more than these values?
Often, yes. Our samples are ordinary economy flights and standard hotel rooms. Business class awards, international partner bookings, and pricier hotel nights can be worth far more per point. Use the calculator to check a specific trip.
Keep going
Related: Hotel Transfer Partners
Related: Best Airline Miles for Beginners
The Points Quest
Points Quest is educational content only, not personalized financial advice. Valuations are our estimates from prices sampled on October 23, 2026, not issuer figures or guarantees. Award prices, transfer ratios, and redemption rates change; check the program before you book or transfer. Advertiser Disclosure