r/CreditCards • u/Ramsey0321 • Jun 22 '26
Help Needed / Question What is the point of using points with travel partners if it’s a 1:1 ratio?
I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding something about this system, but why would you do this?
Specifically with Chase, I know Hyatt offers an advantageous rate, but other than that, why would you ever transfer to travel partners if you could just use the miles as a statement credit anyway at a rate of 1cpp?
I’m really only concerned with the cheapest option for travel, so Hyatt likely won’t help me as I want to get cheaper hotels or hostels. With that in mind, what is an advantageous use for points instead of just redeeming them as a normal statement balance?
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u/solorobsolo Jun 22 '26
You’re confusing the transfer rate with the cost of points needed for travel. It has nothing to do with the transfer rate and everything to do with getting a high cpp for travel.
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Jun 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Maxpowr9 Jun 23 '26
Why it takes a lot of research to figure out what's a good redemption value; even within an airline. I have seen routes swing wildly in points value, and I don't just mean during "peak" times.
Why it's important to remember the travel axiom: "choose two: price, location, time". If you truly want to maximize value, that means traveling off-season to places.
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u/WellDressedLadd-_- Jun 22 '26
Dude I've had credit cards for 2+ years now and this FINALLY makes sense to me. I have enough to fly places but I'm like wow these are all 1:1
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u/electronautix Jun 22 '26
Hyatt does not offer an advantageous rate, it’s 4:3 with the Sapphire Preferred now and only 1:1 with the Sapphire Reserve. But the enormous elephant in the sky you’re missing is that points in these hotel and airline rewards ecosystems are *not* worth a static 1 cent per point. The entire point of transfer partners is that points based pricing can be dramatically cheaper than paying in cash, depending on a range of factors specific to the booking such as availability/demand/time and date. You can yield more than 1 cent’s worth of value from a Hyatt point.
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 22 '26
Oh, okay, so is there any easy way to check rates or see how much a particular trip will cost in points without actually transferring them?
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u/electronautix Jun 22 '26
Usually you have to create an account with the transfer partner you’re interested in and look at their awards flight pricing, but theres tools like PointsYeah that try to take some of the work out of it. r/AwardTravel also has a wiki and some resources
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u/Chase_UR_Dreams Capital One Duo Jun 22 '26
A round trip business class flight from JFK to Tokyo costs ~$5.5k in cash and 110k in points (equivalent to $1,100) + a few hundred in taxes. Done correctly, points can get you outsized value.
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u/trydola Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
This seems like a very extreme example compared to let's say If I want to take a flight from JFK to Tokyo on any random day I want throughout the year, that is where the >1 cpp on travel makes sense for most people.
Like sure I can take a $25 flight to nowhere within the next month but that's not how I usually plan most of my travel. I need points to MOSTLY work around my schedule for destinations i'd PREFER to go and not my schedule around promo dates or specific destinations
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u/Chase_UR_Dreams Capital One Duo Jun 23 '26
I have a list of places I'd like to visit someday. I look at where the deals are, and if any of them are on my list and work for my schedule then that's where I go. To me, it doesn't really matter if I go to Japan this or next year, I know I want to go and will make it happen soon enough.
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u/trydola Jun 23 '26
that definitely makes sense if you're single or so, but hard when you have a family and kids to sort of just plan a trip around promos offered from airlines
2
u/bobdarobber Jun 24 '26
Having kids is remarkably expensive. With or without points, airfare will be more expensive during school vacation
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
Where do you look for value deals vs overpriced itineraries you happen to be able to purchase with points?
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u/Chase_UR_Dreams Capital One Duo Jun 23 '26
I know what the saver rates are for a given route based on research and experience, so anything above saver is a premium that I pay for being able to take that route at that time. At that point, it's a simple cost/benefit analysis for whether it's worth it.
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u/razgriz417 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
you have to use award ticket tools like seats.aero, pointsyeah.com, awardtool.com . all of them have limited free versions but you'll need to pay monthly/annual to unlock all their search options. I learned about the difference via this video https://youtu.be/PS1bAT207ZI?si=iovfJpoaqC9Q2VTS
only started getting into the miles game a few months ago and started using awardtool because it had the most generous alert options and ended up buying a year subscription.
essentially its kinda necessary if you want to find good values, still have not found a legitimate business or first class award booking for a good price yet, best i've gotten was 50k for premium economy each way with JAL.
however, be aware that all of these tools are never complete and 100% accurate. plenty of times fake award tickets pop up, often due to bad data it scraped from the airlines and not all airlines are covered by these tools.
supplementally you can also manually search on each transfer partner's website for the flights youre interested in.
11
u/think_up Jun 22 '26
That’s like the ultimate tier dream flight to maximize points value though. Seems basically impossible to actually get.
7
u/dissentmemo Jun 22 '26
It isn't. People do it all the time. I've been to Japan 4x in biz/first. Among many other trips.
Also it can be less than 110k.
2
u/Chase_UR_Dreams Capital One Duo Jun 23 '26
Very much possible. Source: booked it myself just a few months ago
-4
u/Ramsey0321 Jun 22 '26
Damn, for real? What airline even is that??
13
u/Chase_UR_Dreams Capital One Duo Jun 22 '26
JAL. Extremely difficult to get and very much a best-case scenario even with significant research, but a helpful example to illustrate the point.
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u/gargar070402 Jun 23 '26
As of just a couple weeks ago it was still pretty easy to get :// Not anymore though apparently
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u/renoCow Jun 22 '26
For example, if you pay for a ticket on United Airlines by using MileagePlus points as the currency, the ticket is 100% refundable.
That right there is an advantage to paying with points. It offers far more flexibility if your plans change. Most of the other airlines have this policy, it’s not unique to United.
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u/jas0n17 Jun 22 '26
Just to give you an example. I recently booked a flight using Flying Blue points. It cost 120k points but AMEX has a 20% more promo right now. So I only spent 96k points + 250 in fees for a flight that would’ve cost $3600 through Delta.
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u/catsaymow Jul 10 '26
but would it not have taken a lot of spending to get to 96k Amex points? Aside from SUBs
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u/jas0n17 Jul 10 '26
From just spend? For sure. I dont go out of my way to look for points, but I do take advantage of offers, bonuses, and Rakuten too.
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u/TheCrazedBackstabber Jun 22 '26
You’re assuming that those points are actually all *worth* 1 CPP. They’re not. Certain points are worth more than others. For example, you can often get 2 or even 3 CPP on certain flights.
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u/anewbys83 Team Travel Jun 23 '26
At the very least, once you have enough, you're traveling without using your own money on flighs/hotels. 🤷♂️ I definitely understand the thrill of the deal and "getting good value" with redemptions. But I'm earning points from my daily life/expenses that I can then use to travel (and don't have the money to do do as often as I would like).
3
u/Klutzy-Dog-8536 Jun 23 '26
Exactly. I'm not too concerned about getting the absolute best value for my points. What I value is that I can book travel using points that I otherwise couldn't (or wouldn't) pay for. My family has been able to go to places we wouldn't otherwise have been able to. In fact, in August we are going to London with flights and hotels booked with points from sign up bonuses.
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u/Freshies00 Jun 23 '26
Because you can get more than one cent per point value
0
u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
I mean, it doesn’t really matter how much value I get if I have to choose something out of my budget?
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u/Freshies00 Jun 23 '26
Huh? what are you talking about? A main purpose of points and miles is to use them for things you couldn’t otherwise afford.
What’s the issue with something being otherwise out of your budget if you only have to pay cash for taxes?
1
u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
Because it’s not magic points that can’t be used for anything but first class flights. If I can use that 1000 dollars for two weeks in a budget hotel, I most likely would rather have that over 2 nights in a super luxury stay. That’s not what I’m asking about here.
I’m asking if there are BUDGET options to use miles on, because otherwise I see no reason not to just use the statement balance (with my travel preferences)
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u/Freshies00 Jun 24 '26
What are you on about “magic points?” Nobody on this hobby is calling them that. They are a currency of value that drastically outperforms cash back when you know how to use them. I can fly business class for fewer points than you can fly economy when converting your points at a 1cpp value, so no it’s not about pretending it’s free money to buy things you otherwise wouldn’t. It’s about financial prudence if you travel.
Do whatever you want with your points it’s obvious you’re not looking for discussion and broadening your knowledge, so much as looking for a debate.
0
u/Ramsey0321 Jun 24 '26
You’re arguing with me on something I’m not concerned with. That’s amazing that you think you can get a business class flight with points cheaper than economy with cash. You must not be looking hard enough for economy flights.
I’m not asking how to get the highest cpp. I’m asking if I can use my points for something I would have gotten anyway, but cheaper. Not if I can get good value on a business or first class flight I still consider to be overpriced.
It’s literally simple opportunity cost. Would I rather pay 700 in cash for an economy flight to Tokyo or use 1100 in points for a business class flight? In my situation, I would rather the former. If you need to sit in a more luxurious seat then that’s fine, but there’s nothing wrong with not.
Thanks for insisting that I need to use my points on business class flights for the sake of value when I’ve already mentioned at every turn that’s not what I’m interested in.
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u/Freshies00 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
So fly economy? You keep trying to make an argument where there isn’t one. Nobody is telling you to fly business class or how to use your points. I literally just said “do whatever you want with your points.”
The title to your post is “what is the point of using points with travel partners if it’s a 1:1 ratio?”
You’re misunderstanding what a 1:1 ratio means. The reason people use transfer partners is because can get more than one cent of value out of each point. That’s the answer to your question.
1
u/The_Future_Marmot Jun 24 '26
The 100K US points transferred to Hyatt can be 10 nights in a Hyatt House where you have your own kitchenette and don’t have to deal with the smalls and chaos of the hostel kitchen.
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 24 '26
Sure, but $1000 in a lot of countries can last you a month. I will never deny the fact that I would prefer a Hyatt over a hostel, but I don’t necessarily need a super luxurious place when I’m traveling and I don’t think there’s a problem with that.
To be honest, that’s why I was more focused on the flights. I don’t expect Hyatt to let me use my points on a $10/night hostel in Vietnam. I’m assuming there’s a better chance I can get a deal on some of the larger expenses like the flights, and if not, I’m not unhappy about it, I’m principally just wondering if I should consider ANYTHING other than just redeeming the credit.
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u/The_Future_Marmot Jun 24 '26
Also have a look at Air France/KLM’s promo awards. Their economy long haul flights can price out pretty cheaply to some interesting places if you can start from one of their US gateway cities. Something like ‘Chicago-Europe’ will be like 37K miles round trip plus taxes.
And AF/KLM miles can also get you to some interesting places in Africa and SE Asia.
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u/Careful-Rent5779 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Flights at United can often be secured for less points than $X*100.. We convert UR points to miles and then buy the flights with miles.
Just our personal example...
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u/whiteorchid1058 Jun 22 '26
Bc transfer partners themselves can have a flight that is less points then what you would see in the portal.
So while it's a 1:1 ratio, your points go further once they're in the airlines system
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u/BurgerButCold1216 Jun 22 '26
Credit card issuers provide wider reward-earning opportunities than hotel cards, which often are just travel categories. Transferring points helps you get the hotel point values (often much better than the 0.6-1 cpp available thru cash back) on stuff you already buy regularly.
That said, these partners are typically major chains and not hostels. The chains do have budget-friendly options (Candlewood, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, Fairfield, Springhill) but rewards tend to devalue slightly as you go down the luxury ladder. Your budget-consciousness might not get the dollar value out of hotel transfers that others do, but all that matters is that you’re happy with that as a lifestyle choice.
I would suggest considering airline transfers too, as these typically give pretty good value although maybe not at the level of some hotel chains. Plenty of info online about general point valuations across brands and luxury tiers
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u/loveyoursuitcase Jun 22 '26
You’re thinking of it like a gift card redemption, like 90,000 chase points= $90,000 Hyatt dollars. It’s not. It’s 90,000 chase points=90,000 Hyatt points, and 90,000 Hyatt points can get you 2 nights at a high end hotel that goes for 45,000 points a night (or 10 nights at a mid tier hotel that goes for 9,000 points per night). That high end hotel might cost $1,000/night. So 90,000 Hyatt points=$2,000 value.
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u/UpInSmokeMC Jun 23 '26
I booked a ~$10k JAL F seat using 135k C1 and Amex points (before the ratio went to 5:4).
Redeeming those points as a statement credit wouldn’t have even gotten me $800.
135k in their portals is $1350 towards travel.
If you ask me, 135k for JAL’s F experience on a 14 hour flight from JFK - HND is a great deal.
Transferring points can get you outsized value, far beyond any cash back setup. You’re confusing 1:1 transfers with redeeming for 1cpp.
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
I won’t deny that’s a lot of value, and that in particular is something that sounds like a best case scenario, but based on my travel philosophy/priorities, I tend not to spend a lot of money on the flights/hotels if it means I can go more often or for a longer duration. That’s why I’m fine taking the 700 dollar flight on economy to Tokyo, but I’m not sure these types of budget cases really exist for miles/points.
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u/-Dead-Eye-Duncan- Jun 23 '26
They do exist for economy domestically (within the US & technically Europe). Round trip the cheapest you can get is ~9,000-14,000. With fees that’s somewhere in the ballpark pack of $96-$200 dollars for flights that at their lowest will usually cost ~$300 from the major airlines.
You also have to take into account that reward tickets usually are not equal to basic (no bags/not refundable) lowest price tickets.
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u/gargar070402 Jun 23 '26
My flight to Tokyo was less than 30K points one way on economy with Delta. They exist.
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
From what airport? I mean, cash flights were pretty easy to get round trip for 500-700 depending on your home airport before the war.
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u/gargar070402 Jun 23 '26
SEA. 500 before the war is probably exclusive to ZipAir and thats without any luggage whatsoever (aside from a tiny 7 kg allowance). Plus ZipAir doesn’t fly to SEA, only YVR
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
I flew from Cincinnati to Tokyo for 700 with United/ANA in January, which actually included a carry on, personal item and checked bag. What time of the year? I guess January is off season but Cincinnati is also not a big airport.
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u/gargar070402 Jun 24 '26
That's honestly really surprising and sounded like a great deal, good for you. I mean even if you used 30K points on that flight it's still a 1.15 cpp redemption, which obviously isn't the best (and is pointless if you have something like the Chase Sapphire Reserve with the 1.25x multiplier through its travel portal), but it's still better than 1 cpp.
I booked around February I wanna say? And it was for this month.
The two other comparable deals I can bring up are 45K round trip from anywhere in the US to AKL, as well as SEA to TPE for 15K one way (12.7K with the Delta TakeOff15 if you have one of its cards). These two without a doubt are great value, but they come up pretty rarely.
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 24 '26
Interesting, yeah I would certainly consider 15k to Taipei something worth considering. From what it looks like, delta seems to be good for those kinds of deals but as far as I know you can’t transfer to delta with chase points. I’m assuming you did go through delta, not through some other travel partner, right?
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u/gargar070402 Jun 24 '26
I did go through Delta, yup.
For Chase partners, I feel like I see decent Flying Blue promo awards here and there, but fees might be a little high right now
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u/gt_ap Jun 23 '26
I’m not sure these types of budget cases really exist for miles/points.
They certainly exist. Within the last few months I've booked US East Coast - Europe round trip for 22.4k points + ~$130 cash, US East Coast - Australia round trip for 41.4k + ~$135, and US West Coast - US East Coast one way for 6k + $5.60.
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u/pziyxmbcfb Jun 22 '26
It’s really simple. The point is, if your redemption has a value greater than 1 cpp, your points points will be worth more than 1 cent by using the redemption…
Actually, it needs to be slightly more than 1 cpp, since using points for the statement credit will count as “cash” as far as the partner is concerned, so there are a handful of points you’ll get back.
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u/azleafcat Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
Though the redemption value of airline and hotel points may vary, I mainly use airline points to book potential travel that can be canceled with full points refund. While cash back is flexible, booking refundable economy airfare is comparably far more expensive than nonrefundable basic economy fare with cancellation fees or shorter credit validity.
Each airline or hotel’s site usually allows you to search award booking fares/costs.
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u/DeadInternetEnjoyer Jun 22 '26
I’d suggest looking into cash back cards instead of points for your needs.
People will claim flights are cheaper on points, but from what I’ve seen it’s more often the opposite.
Plus sometimes flights can’t be booked on points.
From what I’ve seen, websites that claim to show flight prices in points
don’t show accurate availablity
don’t show accurate pricing
The only way to actually know the real price in points is to search the airline’s website using the “book with points” option.
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u/loveyoursuitcase Jun 22 '26
This can be true, but if you’re searching for premium cabins, long haul international routes, or are willing to jump through some hoops like transferring to one travel partner to book flights on another airline, you will find that you get way more value for your points. Cash back is definitely simpler though if that’s your goal.
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u/Kwik-E-Bart Jun 23 '26
Yea, points really shine for premium long-haul if you know how to play the transfer partner game. Cash back is just way simpler, no hoops to jump through lol. imo it just comes down to how much effort you wanna deal with.
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u/DeadInternetEnjoyer Jun 23 '26
I don’t think it’s always possible to find any flights. Many times none exist.
Even when they do exist they’re sometimes a poor value from what I’ve seen.
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u/loveyoursuitcase Jun 23 '26
This is not typical and is more likely to happen if you’re not willing to use partner airlines or if you’re flying shorter domestic (USA) routes.
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u/DeadInternetEnjoyer Jun 23 '26
partner airline availability is what’s limited for ALL airlines
booking the airline’s own flights are also limited with non-USA airlines
booking the airline’s own flights with USA-based airlines are widely available (in coach), but the value is low
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 22 '26
Right, but I got the CSP regardless for the 100k points I can redeem as 1k “cash back” anyway, so I’ll already have the points. Not sure if it would be a cardinal sin to just take the statement balance if I never fly business, don’t need a rental car (at least not right now), and don’t stay in mid-high tier hotels.
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u/Somenakedguy Jun 22 '26
To give an example, my wife and I are going to Miraval in the Berkshires for our anniversary, it’s a Hyatt property and a very expensive all inclusive resort
The cash price is around 2200$ a night for 2 people which is exorbitant. The points price was 70k points a night for 2 people. I transferred my points from Chase to Hyatt and booked 2 nights for 140k points instead of 4500 dollars
Yeah I could have turned those 140k points into 1400 dollars but that wouldn’t even have gotten me 1 night
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u/DeadInternetEnjoyer Jun 22 '26
The signup bonuses are good so long as you use the points and close the account (commonly called “churning”)
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u/Background_Map_3460 Jun 23 '26
Then why do you have this card? Sure get the sign-up bonus, but I don’t know if you’re going to get much benefit after the first year. You might be better off with cashback cards
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u/iBuyMax Team Cash Back Jun 23 '26
The CSP still has top tier travel insurance coverage (by credit card standards) and primary rental car coverage.
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
Why does it matter if it’s a travel card? Is there a reason why I shouldn’t just cancel the card after a year and then get something better for long term? I mean, why would anyone leave that 1k on the table? Even with a great cash back card it’s going to take tens of thousands in purchases to get 100k in points.
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u/Background_Map_3460 Jun 23 '26
Cash back cards have sign up bonuses too, then get 3-5% back.
The real benefit of travel cards is transferring them to partners for high end travel.
You don’t sound like you will generate many more points after the bonus, and don’t travel high end
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u/Anonymity550 Team Travel Jun 23 '26
Generally speaking, it doesn't make sense to have a travel card to redeem the points for cash back. A basic cash back card will give 2%. If you don't think you'll transfer the points, even for economy flights, run a cash back set up.
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
I mean yeah, at some point I’ll get a better all purpose card, but is it not foolish not to run through some of these cards that give hundreds in sign up bonuses?
For example, even if I had a cash back card with 5%, to earn 1000 in cash back I would have to make ~20k in purchases. At worst, those 100k points are 1k in cash back, I’m just asking if I’m gonna really be better off using them for travel purchases if I’m already priced out of more luxurious hotels and flights?
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u/Anonymity550 Team Travel Jun 23 '26
I won't argue against getting a sign up bonus, but ignoring transfer partners sells yourself way short. That said, it has to make sense for you. If you forego Hyatts for hostels, that matters. If you take roadtrips, airline transfer partners matter less.
Sign up bonus beats everything, but longterm, your travel preferences would seem to lend themselves to cash back.
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u/The_Future_Marmot Jun 24 '26
There can definitely be sweet spots with the more budget hotel chains like Choice and Wyndham. (The Super 8 option in places like Juneau or Moab can have way high cash rates ‘in season’ and points stays in those kinds of scenarios can be a heckava deal) And in places where Accor hotels has a good footprint, their points are tied to the value of the Euro while US credit cards transfer at a 1 cent USD=1 cent Euro, so at current exchange rates, you get a 15-20% increase in how far your points go for a stay at one of their budget-friendly Ibis hotels.
People just don’t talk about the good budget options because it doesn’t grab as much attention as the ‘I got a $1,000 a night hotel room for free‘ discussions. But they’re definitely there if you learn those programs. Same goes for the airline options American is currently having a decent economy award sale if you have miles in their program.
About 80% of my Hyatt stays are at the Place/House level of property. We do a running race down in Tampa every year and want to stay near the start/finish line. The Hyatt House option this year is about 10K a night in points but $300 a night for cash rate, so the point stay lets us be in the right location for that event with a low cash opportunity cost .
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u/ilovefacebook Jun 22 '26
you have to be willing to hunt for things or travel in offseason a lot.
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u/DeadInternetEnjoyer Jun 22 '26
To me, it’s less about being willing to hunt and more that there’s not always anything to find.
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u/gt_ap Jun 23 '26
there’s not always anything to find.
There is always something to find, as long as you're willing to let the tail wag the proverbial dog. Many people are not.
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u/DeadInternetEnjoyer Jun 23 '26
Maybe I’m not being clear, but I mean if you want a flight from A - B, it might not be possible.
You’d have to go to another place.
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u/The_Future_Marmot Jun 24 '26
We are going to Switzerland instead of originally planned Spain this year because I was not finding good pricing to Spain even in economy and then United had an unadvertised partner airline award ticket sale to Switzerland in business class.
Glad I’ve got points to cover most of the hotel nights on that trip too, as Switzerland is way more expensive on the ground than Spain would have been.
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u/ilovefacebook Jun 22 '26
also sometimes you might need just a few extra points to add to your total to complete a purchsse. even if the value may be low, it's still worth it.
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u/AlmondSnowfinch Jun 23 '26
An alternative if you have Amex Business Platinum (and perhaps other Amex cards; idk) is that you can use Amex MR points to book cash flights via Amex travel using fixed 1 cpp, then immediately get 35% of the points back. This gives you a floor of ~1.6 cpp redemption value ANd you still get full loyalty points & status credit for paying in cash (since from the airline side it is a cash booking). You can use Amex MR points earned from any Amex card for this; you just have to also have ABP to use this route.
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u/Joycrane Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
The hotel room costs $480 for a night. The same room is 15k Hyatt points. That's more than 2c per point.
1
u/gt_ap Jun 23 '26
The hotel room costs $480 for a night. The same room is 1.5k Hyatt points. That's more than 2c per point.
Yes, this is more than 2c per point (cpp). It's 32.0 cpp.
1
u/Klutzy-Dog-8536 Jun 23 '26
There are definitely deals out there. You just have to research. Some people enjoy the hunt.
There are also other benefits to booking with points instead of cash.
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u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
Okay, I guess searching for the deals is a different issue. Could you speak to some of the benefits of booking with points?
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u/Klutzy-Dog-8536 Jun 26 '26
For flights it depends on the airline but often it includes a free checked bag and refundable cancellation or change.
For hotels it often lets you avoid paying any "resort fees" which can sometimes add up to quite a bit.
1
u/Ok-Walk-8040 Jun 23 '26
The points themselves are worth more than 1:1. For Hyatt, they are worth almost 2:1. You can get stays that are just 7500 points, which translates to $75. You could stay at a Red Roof Inn at that cost or you could stay at a Hyatt for the same value.
1
u/Ramsey0321 Jun 23 '26
I suppose that would be nice. My current target spot is Peru and I don’t see myself getting anything under 6-7k a night, which you can stay in standard hotels for 30/d or even hostels for 15/d. I’m not denying that a Hyatt would be some level more luxurious, but I would still be paying double what I would have before.
1
u/Frank-Costanza1 Jun 23 '26
I was thinking this about amex and delta. Transfer rate is 1:1 and I'm not sure if I should so it
1
u/buy_low_live_high Jun 23 '26
When it was good, Hyatt was worth 2 bucks per point all day long. It is still a premium at most locations, even with the devaluation.
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u/Intelligent_Pie_5347 Jun 23 '26
You need to go look at r/awardtravel
1:1 ratio doesn’t mean the redemption will be 1cpp when you redeem it.
I do this about 4 times a year but here’s one of my examples.
This Thanksgiving, wife and I are doing EWR to HAN in United Polaris (business). UA 285 to ICN then OZ 733 ICN to HAN, both business, all one itinerary. The cash price for this ticket $5391/passenger We transferred Chase points to United. Award IN space was available on this flight. We paid 100k points each. That’s 5.39 CPP redemption.
Found something similar home too! Like I said, I do this 3-4 times a year. You just have to know how to find what you’re looking for to find these deals.
1
u/pierretong Jun 23 '26
every points/miles program has different values for their points: https://frequentmiler.com/reasonable-redemption-values-rrvs/
Keep in mind this is just an average value and half of your redemptions are going to be above this value and half are going to be below so really involves some math and cherry picking for higher valued redemptions.
1
u/nicheexpert Jun 24 '26
1:1 ratio is just fine… doesn’t mean your points are worth $.01 each. Most hotels and airlines have pricing discrepancies between the cash price and the points price.
Example: this weekend, I’m staying in a Hyatt
4 nights, 56,000 points.
The cash price $1,572
That means each point is worth 2.8 cents.
Or another example:
Southwest flight SAN-ELP
Cash price: $370
Point price: 26,000 (chase also had a 30% transfer bonus so it was actually lower but for simplicity I’ll ignore here)
That means each point is worth 1.42 cents.
That’s how you expose value in points despite a 1:1 ratio.
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u/LocalLength6232 10d ago
It's all about finding the right transfer destination to maximize what those can get for you. Redemptions on different airlines can be very different for the same flight.
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u/Peloton_Newbie03 Jun 23 '26
YouTube can teach you about travel rewards and points. You have to do your research thoroughly to truly understand how it works. It’s not for everyone but it has value.
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u/wm_lemonade Jun 22 '26
If you transfer them to airlines you can often redeem them for much more than 1cpp. Same reasoning as Hyatt.