These are my personal valuations for every points currency I use — the number I plug into every “should I transfer, buy, or redeem?” decision.
How to read this: a valuation of 2.0¢ means I treat 10,000 of those points as worth about $200. If a redemption beats the valuation, I book it. If a card earns 3x on a 2.0¢ currency, that’s effectively a 6% return on that spend.
The one-question test: would I buy this point for cash at this price? If yes, the valuation holds. If I’d hesitate, the real value is lower — for me, at least.
| Currency | My valuation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | 2.0¢ | Transfers 1:1 to Hyatt, United, and others. The most flexible bank currency. |
| Amex Membership Rewards | 2.0¢ | 17 airline + 3 hotel partners. Flexibility is the value. |
| World of Hyatt | 1.7¢ | Best hotel currency going. Low award chart, no blackout dates, points go far. |
| Alaska Airlines miles | 1.5¢ | Excellent partner awards — including Qatar Qsuites to India. |
| Qatar Airways Avios | 1.4¢ | Qsuites sweet spots, but availability is the constant battle. |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | 1.4¢ | Solid for oneworld awards from DFW, American’s biggest hub. |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1.2¢ | The most devalued major currency. Earn and burn — don’t hoard these. |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.8¢ | Enormous footprint, but points don’t stretch far. |
| Hilton Honors | 0.5¢ | Points are plentiful and cheap; fifth-night-free on awards helps. |
How I actually use this table: before every transfer, I multiply. Moving 100,000 Amex points to a program means moving ~$2,000 of value. That framing kills most speculative transfers on its own.
A note on these numbers: they’re mine, based on redemptions I can actually book for a family of four or more — not aspirational first-class seats for one. Your numbers may differ, and that’s fine. Anyone presenting valuations as gospel is selling something.
Last updated: October 2026. I revisit these quarterly or when a program devalues.