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Points or Cash

One seat, two prices. Enter the cash fare, the points the award costs, and what a point is worth to you, and this says which one to hand over.

Common valuations

Enter the two prices

Fill in the cash fare and the points the award costs to see which way this booking falls.

How it works

  1. Price the seat in moneyThe cash fare you would genuinely have booked, on the same day in the same cabin. Not a refundable fare you were never going to buy.
  2. Price the same seat in pointsYour own valuation times the points the award costs. That is what those points are worth if you spend them on something else instead.
  3. Hand over whichever is cheaperIf the seat costs more in money than the points are worth to you, the points win. If it does not, keep them and pay the fare.

This compares two prices and nothing else. It does not subtract the taxes and carrier charges an award still bills you, it assumes the award seat exists on your dates, and it takes your own valuation at face value. Set that figure too high and every booking here will tell you to pay cash.

Start from a scenario

Ordinary bookings at three common point valuations. Click any row to load it into the calculator above.

BookingCash PricePointsPoint ValueCPPVerdict
Long-haul business seat$2,50060,0001.5¢4.17¢Use points
Peak holiday week$78045,0001.5¢1.73¢Use points
Last-minute walk-up fare$1,10040,0002.0¢2.75¢Use points
Domestic round trip$35025,0001.2¢1.40¢Use points
Short hop, one way$15012,5001.0¢1.20¢Use points
Premium cabin, moderate fare$90070,0001.4¢1.29¢Pay cash
Economy sale fare$18020,0001.5¢0.90¢Pay cash
Budget carrier, cheap seat$9015,0001.0¢0.60¢Pay cash
FAQ

Points or cash,
one flight at a time

It prices the seat twice. Once in money, which is the fare you entered, and once in points, which is the award cost times your own valuation. Whichever price is lower is the one to hand over. The cents per point figure is that same comparison expressed as a rate.

Whatever you can reliably get, not the best you have ever got. Most flexible bank currencies sit between 1 and 2 cents in ordinary use, which is why the presets are 1, 1.5 and 2. Airline currencies with a fixed award chart can run higher, and a card that only cashes out at a cent is worth exactly that.

Because it is a straight comparison of two prices, and the cash fare already carries its own taxes inside it. If you want the fee-adjusted return on one specific award, the cents per point calculator takes the surcharges off before it divides.

No. It means these particular points buy more somewhere else. A cheap fare is exactly the booking you should be paying money for, and the balance stays whole for a redemption that beats your own rate.

It tilts a close call toward paying cash. A paid ticket earns miles, status credit and usually card points, none of which an award earns. The calculation ignores all of it, so treat a narrow result as narrower than it looks.

Because the cash fare moves and the award price often does not. A programme with a fixed chart charges the same points on a quiet Tuesday and on a peak holiday, so the expensive dates are where points pull ahead. Sale fares are where they fall behind.