The same points can be worth five times as much.
It depends on how you use them. Enter your balance and see the difference.
See what your points are worth.
Enter roughly how many credit card points you have. The same points are worth a different amount depending on how you use them. Nothing is saved or sent.
The small print
This is for credit card points, such as American Express and Chase. Airline miles and hotel points are worth different amounts, and we value those for you. Taxes and fees on the tickets are extra, and we tell you what they are before you book. These are estimates, not a quote or a promise: what your points return depends on the route, the dates and the program. How we work this out
Business class to Europe for two, two years running. Then four nights at the Park Hyatt Cabo del Sol.
How we work it out.
We take what the airline charges in cash for the ticket, and divide it by the points it took. That is the whole method, and we show it on every itinerary.
Cashed in as a statement credit
Money off your card bill.
Booked through your credit card's travel portal
Flights or hotels booked on the travel site inside your card account.
Turned into business class flights
Points moved to the right airline and booked there.
Turned into first class flights
The longest flights, in the best cabins, return the most.
For each point, measured against what the airline charges in cash for the same seats. The calculator uses 2 cents, a careful figure, not the best case.
The right card for the right purchase.
Most households put everything on one card. The same spending, spread across the right two or three, can earn twice the points, often more. Nothing about how you spend changes. Only which card you hand over.
Points earned in a year. The figures are illustrative, and every household is different.
Which cards to hold.
The ones worth opening, the ones worth keeping, and the ones you are paying for and no longer need.
Where each kind of spending goes.
Travel, dining, the business, the large one-off purchase. One card for each, written on a single page.
The fees and credits.
Every annual fee you pay, and every credit that comes with it that you are not using.
No card issuer pays us. When we tell you to open a card, keep one, or close one, the only reason is your balance. The card plan is part of every Position Review and every membership.
What the calculator leaves out.
Airline miles and hotel points. Each program is worth a different amount, and we value every one you hold.
Taxes and fees. They vary by airline, and we tell you what they are before you book.
What we aim for.
At least double what your credit card's travel portal would give you for the same points. When a trip cannot do that, we tell you to keep the points.
This is our standard, not a guarantee. What your points return depends on the route, the dates, the program, and the taxes and fees on the ticket.
Tell us what you hold.
A short form, or a phone call. No statements and no logins.