The NerdWallet Points and Miles to Dollars Calculator

Let’s say you’re booking a last-minute flight on Delta and you have the option of either:

• Paying $450 cash.

• Paying 30,000 Delta miles + $40 in fees.

Which is the better deal? Should you book that flight with cash or miles?

To help answer this common conundrum, we created a point value calculator that pairs our airline mile valuations with your own booking options.

Enter the airline award program, cash fare, equivalent award fare and any fees associated with your award fare, and our points and miles to dollars calculator will explain the rest.

Keep in mind that our valuations, while based on real-world data, are only estimates for how much award miles are worth. If the cash and award values are similar, use your best judgment for which option is better for you.

Mile-redeeming whizzes might opt to save miles for better redemptions, but in general we encourage spending miles rather than saving them.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2022, including those best for:

• Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

• Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card 

• Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card