I often discuss the ‘value’ of points, and how the value of your points is variable. That’s what makes points so great: the potential value can be high if you know how to redeem them to maximize their value. A key question, then, is how to calculate points value for a redemption before you redeem your points for it. That’s what I wanted to discuss here.

How much are credit card points worth? Basic concepts

The value of your rewards points is variable. You may be able to redeem them for 2 cents per point, but if you’re not careful, you may also end up redeeming them for less than 1 cent per point.

So there are three things you should keep apart right off the bat:

• Your personal valuation of your points: For me, it is 1 cent per point. That’s what you give up by earning points instead of cash back: a basic cash back card earns 1 cent per dollar, where a points card earns 1 point. On top of that, most bank programs (like Chase, Capital One and Citi) let you cash points out at around 1 cent each. So if you redeem for less than that, you’d have been better off with cash. Be warned: many people have their own valuations.
• Your aspired points redemption value: The fact that your points are worth 1 cent each, doesn’t mean you should redeem them for that value. Instead, keep thresholds: do not redeem for less than 1 cent per point since you’d be losing money (meaning gift cards are off the table), and ideally you redeem them for more than 1 cent per point. I find that a good guide is a redemption value of 2 cents per point.
• Your effective redemption value: the actual value that you redeemed your points for. This you can calculate.

Briefly: What makes a good redemption?

Following the above basic concepts, is the calculated cent-per-point value the be-all-end-all? That is, if you find that you’re getting 5 cents per point, for instance, does that mean you’re definitely getting a good deal?

No, I wouldn’t say so. The truth is that the value you’re calculating will be in reference to the cash fare you’d be paying for the flight, but you have to keep in mind that the cash fare may be bad value in and of itself… This can trick you into thinking your redemption is good value because it may skew the cent-per-point value.

How do you get around this? You will want to look at cash fares on several airlines, as well as on a variety of dates, to see how prices change between different days of the week, and high and low seasons. The example that will follow later in this post illustrates that a business class fare on KLM is half price compared to Swiss, but that doesn’t mean that Swiss is twice as good of a product (see the below images for reference to their respective seats). So, make sure to read reviews, such as on Points to Seats, to understand if the cash fare is reasonable, and thus whether the valuation is actually good, whatever the cent-per-point valuation is.

These are the points ‘prices’ I aim for

Let me be clear about the points prices that I personally think are good value as of October 2026 (prices can change, as devaluations show us). Importantly, this is based on one-way business class itineraries and their ‘redemption market‘ (what’s actually out there in terms of redemptions), cash fares I have been seeing, with a focus on the US as the origin, given that I live in New York.

From the US to…	Ideal redemption	Maximum redemption	Based on program	Flying which airline…
US Domestic	12,500	40,000	American AAdvantage, Alaska Atmos	American, Alaska
Europe	60,000	75,000	Air Canada Aeroplan	Singapore Airlines
Middle East	70,000	80,000	Qatar Privilege Club	Qatar Airways
(South) East Asia	55,000	102,500	JAL Mileage Bank, Air Canada Aeroplan	Japan Airlines, Star Alliance Carriers
Africa	88,000	95,000	United MileagePlus, Qatar Privilege Club	Ethiopian, Qatar Airways
South America	50,000	95,000	Virgin Atlantic	LATAM

These are based on actual redemptions I have made, in the past and present (up until writing this guide). Some of these have large ranges, and that comes down to what’s ideal and how far I’m willing to go. For example, Japan Airlines saver awards are priced at 55,000 Mileage Bank miles, but it’s difficult to get those. I’d be willing to go up to 100,000 to get a seat on the date I want.

To see where these prices actually come from, see my how-tos for booking business class with Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways, but also my redemptions in my Singapore Airlines business class review or in my Air France business class review, as well as redemptions mentioned in my analysis of the Alaska Atmos Rewards Summit credit card and devaluation warnings.

I have barely if ever looked at redemptions to Oceania, so I’m not so sure what is a good value in that realm.

The Formula: how to calculate points value

In order to calculate the redemption value of your points, you need to find the equivalent cash fare of the flight, the total points required for the redemption, and any taxes and fees that must be paid as part of that redemption.

The equivalent cash fare should usually be found by going to the website of the airline that operates the flight. For example, if you’re looking to redeem for a flight with KLM, you should check the equivalent cash fare on the website of KLM. The points required and applicable taxes and fees should be checked with every airline that offers the option of redeeming points for that particular flight – or at least, check with those airlines where you can transfer your points to. Once you have that information, this is the formula to calculate the redemption value, in ‘cents per point’:

cents per point = ((cash fare – redemption taxes and fees) / total points required) x 100

An Example: flying business class from New York to Amsterdam

Let’s put this into practice by looking for redemptions for business class flights from New York to Amsterdam. We will search for some award flights and calculate the redemption value of the points.

To start, I like to search for availabilities in Seats.Aero (visit and sign up with my affiliate link to support Points to Seats!). I’m using the random date March 17th, 2025. (This example is from when I first wrote this post in late 2024, so cash prices and award rates will be different today, but the method is exactly the same). A variety of flights pop up that can be redeemed through Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue, Alaska MileagePlan (now Atmos Rewards), American AAdvantage, Air Canada Aeroplan and others.

The only direct business class flight is through Flying Blue, for 92,500 points (indicated in the red rectangle). But let’s take note of the options through Air Canada and United as well (light blue rectangles). I’m usually not too excited about OneWorld flights to Europe, since they are often operated by British Airways and come with hefty taxes and fees ($1000 and up). Though, you may be able to get those through Japan Airlines Mileage Bank for cheaper. Let’s look at Flying Blue first, since it’s the only direct redemption option.

We can go into KLM’s booking system and find the cash price for this flight. It appears to be $1783, including any taxes and fees.

We can also confirm that the redemption price that we saw before is indeed present, and how much has to be paid in taxes and fees. We indeed find it for 92,500 points, plus $227.50.

Knowing this, we can put the formula into practice:

((1783-227.50)/92,500) x 100 = 1.68 cents per point

In my book, this is not a good redemption, as I always aim for at least 2 cents per point. Besides, it is usually possible, with some searching, to get a one-way business class flight on Air France for 50,000 points, plus taxes and fees, so paying 92,500 points is a bummer. Just as a thought experiment, let’s see what the valuation would be if it were only 50,000 points:

((1783-227.50)/50,000) x 100 = 3.11 cents per point

…which is a much better deal. But, given the reality of the current redemption, let’s have a look at the flights that have 1 stop. In my experience, the OneWorld (Alaska and American) redemptions on routes to Amsterdam are operated by British Airways, which carries hefty taxes and fees (upwards of a $1000), so I won’t look at that right now.

Instead let’s look at the Swiss flights that were listed, which can be redeemed through Air Canada Aeroplan or United MileagePlus, as you can see below. These flights are either 70,000 or 88,000 points, so you’d be spending fewer points overall. Let me be clear, though, that Air Canada can also offer these flights for 60,000 points, so again, the current pricing we see here is not ideal, but not as bad as the KLM flight above.

If we go to the website of Swiss to see what the cash price for this one-way flight is, we see that it is $3615.80! That is a rather crazy price I think, given that KLM was half of that price. Especially taking into account that the product of Swiss is not necessarily twice as good as that of KLM. Be that as it may, let’s do some calculations.

If we go to Air Canada, we find that the flight costs 70,000 points, plus 103 CAD, which is 74.64 USD at the time of writing.

If we then go to the website of United, we see that here the flight costs 88,000 miles, plus $24.10. It’s good to highlight the difference in taxes and fees, because you may find that sometimes this difference in taxes can offset any difference in points value between redemption options.

Let’s do the calculations for Air Canada and United’s redemption opportunities:

Air Canada: ((3615.80-74.64)/70,000) x 100 = 5.06 cents per point
United: ((3615.80-24.10)/88,000) x 100 = 4.08 cents per point

Given these two calculations, Air Canada offers a better deal than United, and also better than KLM. That said, I want to emphasize that this is not the be all end all. For many, the absolute number of points spent is an important metric, as is the value of the product itself. Like I mentioned before, I do find the $3615.80 price that Swiss asks for this flight to be rather outrageous, so it’d be worthwhile to further optimize the dates and routing to get a quote that is more realistic, since I doubt that Swiss business class is actually that much better than KLM…

But, based on these valuations, going for the Swiss flight, redeeming through Air Canada, gives you the best valuation, at over 5 cents/point.

Summary

In this post I’ve presented three things: (1) three basic concepts on points valuation, including your personal valuation, your aspired redemption value, and effective redemption value; (2) a table with my ideal and maximum redemptions on routes from the US to elsewhere; and (3) how to calculate the points value of your redemptions using real-world exmaples.

Still, there are nuances and subtleties to be aware of, so even if you get a valuation that is in excess of 2 cents per point, don’t assume that’s necessarily a great redemption. Take your time to read some reviews to understand if the advertised cash fare that you used for your redemption seems reasonable, and explore other redemption opportunities with different airlines, if available.

Have questions? Need advice on whether your redemption seems reasonable? Contact me for free consultations and advice! Submit the contact form here.