How to Redeem Credit Card Points
Key takeaways
- Credit card points can be redeemed for travel, cash back, statement credits, gift cards, and more, but the value varies a lot by method.
- Transferring points to airline and hotel partners almost always gives the most value, often 2 to 5 cents per point or more.
- Cash back, statement credits, and gift cards are simple but usually cap out near 1 cent per point.
- Find award space and confirm it before you transfer, because point transfers are one way.
- Use Roame to search award space across programs before you move any points.
Knowing how to redeem credit card points well is the difference between getting 1 cent of value and getting 5. If you have been earning points but are not sure what to actually do with them, this guide covers every redemption option, how to redeem step by step, what your points are worth, and the high-value moves that stretch them the furthest.
There is real beauty in simplicity, so we start with the easy, dependable options and then build up to the redemptions that get you the most value. You can stop wherever feels right for you.
What can you redeem credit card points for?
You can redeem credit card points for travel, statement credits, cash back, gift cards, merchandise, and online checkout at stores like Amazon, and the value swings widely by method. Transfers to airline and hotel partners give the most value, travel portals are a strong middle ground, and cash back, gift cards, and merchandise sit at the bottom. Here is how the main options compare:
Redemption method | Typical value | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
Transfer to airline and hotel partners | 1.5 to 5+ cents/pt | Best value and flexibility |
Travel via issuer portal | 1 to 1.5 cents/pt | Easy, good with the right card |
Statement credit or cash back | about 1 cent/pt | Simple, lowest value |
Gift cards | 0.8 to 1 cent/pt | Convenient, below par |
Merchandise and shopping portals | 0.5 to 1 cent/pt | Usually avoid |
Pay with points at checkout | about 0.8 cent/pt | Convenient, poor value |
How to redeem your credit card points, step by step
To redeem credit card points, log in to your card issuer, choose how you want to use them, and confirm the value before you commit. For the most value, find award space first and transfer your points to a partner only once you have a booking in mind. Here is the process step by step:
- Check your points balance and which program they live in, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, or Bilt.
- Decide your goal: maximum value through travel transfers, or maximum simplicity through cash back or the travel portal.
- Find award space first. Search your flight or hotel on Roame across partner programs before you move any points.
- Match the award to a transfer partner your card supports.
- Transfer your points to that partner. Transfers are usually one way and can take anywhere from minutes to a few days.
- Book the award directly with the airline or hotel using your transferred points.
Transfer to airline and hotel partners (the highest-value method)
As a baseline, a credit card point is worth about 1 cent when you cash it out, so any redemption above that is a win. Transferring points to airline and hotel partners is how you beat that baseline, often by 2 to 5 times. Each issuer has its own partners, so check which programs your card can transfer to before you earn or move points.
Always confirm award availability with the airline or hotel before you transfer, because transfers cannot be reversed. Learn more in our guides on how to transfer your credit card points and what transferable point cards are.
How much are credit card points worth?
Most credit card points are worth about 1 cent each as a baseline, but transferable points are typically worth 1.5 to 2.2 cents when you redeem them for travel. The exact value depends on how you redeem, so it helps to calculate the cents per point for any redemption you are considering.
To find your cents per point, divide the cash price of what you are booking by the number of points it costs, then read the result in cents. For example, a $215 flight that costs 9,300 points works out to 21,500 divided by 9,300, or about 2.31 cents per point.
Points type | Typical value |
|---|---|
Transferable card points (Chase, Amex, Capital One, Bilt, Citi) | 1.5 to 2.2 cents/pt |
Airline miles | 1.1 to 1.6 cents/pt |
Hotel points | 0.5 to 1.0 cent/pt (Hyatt higher) |
Cash back | 1.0 cent/pt |
Get more than 1 cent per point: high-value redemptions
Once you are comfortable with the basics, these are some of our favorite high-value ways to redeem points. Each one reliably beats the 1 cent baseline, and several of them are easy to find.
Redeeming Points Via Travel Portal
With the right credit cards, booking through portals can be some of the easiest ways to immediately get 25-50% more value out of your points. Additionally, since booking through travel portals and paying with points is equivalent to a "cash" fare, you're eligible to earn miles on it as usual.
Chase Travel Portal (Sapphire Preferred / Sapphire Reserve / Ink Preferred)
If you have an active Chase Sapphire or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can book flights for 1.25-1.5 cents per point in the Chase Travel Portal.
Booking through the portal is simple: all you have to do is navigate to the Chase Travel Portal site, search for your flights, and elect to pay with your points. The value of your points should reflect the card you have (Chase Sapphire Preferred nets 1.25 cents per point; Chase Sapphire Reserve nets 1.5 cents per point).
AMEX Travel Portal (Business Platinum)
If you have an active Business Platinum Card® from American Express, then you can redeem your Membership Reward points in the travel portal for a 35% rebate.
When booking flights with this option, you'll need to make sure to select the "Pay With Points" at checkout. Since this is a rebate, you need to have enough points on hand to redeem at a 1 cents per point rate initially. For example, if the flight you're looking at is $1,000 USD, you'll need to first pay for the booking with 100,000 AMEX points. In a few weeks, you'll receive a refund of 35,000 AMEX points that you can continue to use for future purposes.
With this rebate, you can get up to 1.53 cents per point.
Last Minute Award Availability
Got a last minute flight?
Airlines tend to release lots of last minute award availability at saver rates (the lowest award rates allowed by a program) starting 14 days out from your date of departure. This can be a great way to redeem your points at decent value, as cash rates for flights then are typically extremely high.
Virgin Atlantic Flights To/From United Kingdom
Virgin Atlantic typically has significant award availability to/from the United Kingdom across all cabin classes: economy, premium economy, and business class. They also have a neat tool to check for award availability.
The main catch is that Virgin Atlantic award fees/taxes are typically very high. While this makes redemptions less valuable, you can still net a healthy CPP relative to flying roundtrip to London.
While taxes/fees on Virgin Atlantic tickets are about $200 each way, when comparing against other reasonable flights, you're still beating 1.5 CPP when redeeming directly within the travel portals with the right cards.
US To Europe Via Air France Promo Awards
Air France runs a monthly promotional award discounting its economy and business class anywhere between 25-50% one way. This can be an extremely high value, yet easy way to get to Europe on a budget. For example, with one of Air France's most recent promotions, I was able to score 15k one way from San Francisco to Paris (and I was able to add a stopover going to Zurich for just $20 USD more!).
Here are some of our favorite Air France promo awards that we've seen in the past:
Route | Fare Class | Old Promo Cost (Starting) |
SF/LAX <> Paris | Economy | 15,000 |
Houston <> Paris | Economy | 15,000 |
Boston <> Paris | Economy | 12,750 |
Raleigh <> Paris | Business | 37,500 |
New York <> Paris | Economy | 11,250 |
United Airlines Standard Availability Business Class
United Airlines dynamically prices its award flights, and while saver fares (think 80-110k one ways to Europe/Asia from the United States) are harder to find, their more expensive "standard rate" flights are extremely populous.
Despite the hit to your points wallet, you can still easily net over 1.5 cents per point with these redemptions, as comparable business class flights will likely run you anywhere starting at $4,000 roundtrip.
While United standard availability business class seats are pricey, they are plentiful, even during expensive travel times.
Hyatt Hotels
Those with Chase cards are likely familiar with Hyatt, as its probably one of the best ways to easily redeem your points for more than 1.5 CPP. Hyatt awards are extremely high value, with the ability to book the cheapest rooms at just 5k points per night, which is ridiculous when comparing against IHG, Hilton, or Marriott.
Hyatt's award chart, as seen below, is very favorable. You can score some excellent midrange properties for just 12k pts a night, netting you well above 2 CPP on average!
Category | Off-Peak | Standard | Peak |
Cat 1 | 3,500 | 5,000 | 6,500 |
Cat 2 | 6,500 | 8,000 | 9,500 |
Cat 3 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 |
Cat 4 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 |
Cat 5 | 17,000 | 20,000 | 23,000 |
Cat 6 | 21,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 |
Cat 7 | 25,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 |
Cat 8 | 35,000 | 40,000 | 45,000 |
Although the world of points and miles can seem intimidating at first, there are several easy ways to redeem your points at greater than our baseline of 1 cent per point. Just by choosing a slightly different, no frills strategy, you can increase the value of your points anywhere from 25-100% on average.
Best cards for earning transferable points
The redemptions above all start with earning the right points. Transferable currencies from Chase, American Express, Capital One, Bilt, and Citi give you the most options, since you can move them to many airline and hotel partners. A strong transferable-points card is the foundation for everything in this guide.
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
Limited Time Offer: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 5 months from account opening.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
Frequently asked questions
