How we value points
Point valuations decide rankings, so they deserve receipts. Ours come from a fixed, published basket of real redemptions — not vibes, not marketing, and never what a card issuer wishes points were worth.
Methodology v1 — seed values
The numbers below are conservative seed values. Our first full evidence run (every sampled redemption published, row by row) is in progress; values change only after that evidence is reviewed and signed off, and every change lands in the changelog below.
The formula
- Cash valueis the issuer's actual cash/statement redemption rate — a fact, not an estimate.
- Portal valueis the issuer's stated travel-portal rate (premium cards sometimes boost it).
- Transfer value comes from a basket of ten fixed itineraries (below), each sampled three times per review cycle. Within each segment we take the median cents-per-point; across segments we apply fixed, published weights; then we multiply by a 0.85 friction discount (award seats take effort to find) and clamp the result between the cash floor and a hard 2¢ ceiling — our standing promise that we will never claim a point is worth more than 2 cents.
The basket
Ten fixed templates, weighted the way mainstream travelers actually redeem — economy-heavy, with business class capped so trophy redemptions can't inflate the blend.
| Template | Segment (weight) | Itinerary |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | Domestic economy (40%) | New York (JFK) ↔ Los Angeles, round-trip |
| D2 | Domestic economy | Atlanta ↔ Chicago, round-trip |
| D3 | Domestic economy | Dallas ↔ Denver, round-trip |
| D4 | Domestic economy | Seattle ↔ San Francisco, round-trip |
| I1 | International economy (15%) | New York ↔ London, round-trip |
| I2 | International economy | Los Angeles ↔ Tokyo, round-trip |
| B1 | International business (25%) | New York ↔ London, round-trip |
| B2 | International business | San Francisco ↔ Tokyo, round-trip |
| H1 | Hotels (20%) | 2 nights, city-center mid-tier, Chicago |
| H2 | Hotels | 2 nights, beach resort, Maui/Cancún class |
Current values
Cents per point, by how you redeem. Rankings default to the transfer value only when your cards actually unlock transfers — otherwise we automatically fall back to portal or cash.
| Currency | Cash | Portal | Transfer / in-program | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amex Membership Rewards | 0.60¢ | 1.00¢ | 1.70¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | 1.00¢ | 1.00¢ | 1.70¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Capital One miles | 0.50¢ | 1.00¢ | 1.50¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Citi ThankYou points | 1.00¢ | 1.00¢ | 1.50¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Bilt points | 0.55¢ | — | 1.80¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Delta SkyMiles | — | 1.10¢ | 1.10¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| United MileagePlus miles | — | 1.20¢ | 1.20¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| American AAdvantage miles | — | 1.40¢ | 1.40¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards points | — | 1.30¢ | 1.30¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Alaska Mileage Plan miles | — | 1.40¢ | 1.40¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| World of Hyatt points | — | 1.60¢ | 1.60¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Hilton Honors points | — | 0.50¢ | 0.50¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| Marriott Bonvoy points | — | 0.70¢ | 0.70¢ | 2026-07-04 |
| IHG One Rewards points | — | 0.50¢ | 0.50¢ | 2026-07-04 |
Airline and hotel currencies can't be cashed out, so their cash value is honestly zero: if you only ever want cash back, an airline card is usually the wrong card — and our cash-back view will tell you so.
Changelog
- v1 · 2026-07-04 — Conservative seed values published while the first full evidence run is executed and reviewed.
Questions about any number here? Use the feedback box on your results — “the math looks wrong” reports go to the top of our queue.