Making the most of travel rewards requires some understanding of how much each reward currency is worth. Earning 100,000 points sounds great, but what does that mean in terms of dollars?
To find out, NerdWallet performed a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of dozens of airline, hotel and general credit card rewards programs. We compared cash and award bookings across many dates and cities to determine how much actual value you can expect to get from any given points or miles.
How points and miles valuations work
Valuations approximate how much your points and miles might be worth in terms of dollars and cents when redeemed for travel.
Unlike many point and mile valuations, ours are drawn from real-world data. They are not hypothetical or maximized values based on idealized conditions, but actual estimates of how many cents per point or mile you can expect to get when making award bookings.
For point valuations, we used the median value from each loyalty program dataset. This assures that the data isn’t skewed by a few number of outliers with really high or low redemption values.
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» Learn more: What are travel points worth and why do they matter?
Airline miles values
How much are airline miles worth? We searched for cash and point prices for round trip, main cabin airfare with each airline, for flights booked 15, 60, 90 and 180 days in advance.
Here's what we found in our analysis conducted in August 2026:
Hotel point values
Hotel pricing data was provided by Gondola, a points-focused third-party hotel booking platform. Data was collected on August 18, 2026. Over 15 million cash and point prices were analyzed across six hotel loyalty programs.
World of Hyatt has the most valuable hotel points at 1.8 cents apiece, more than four times the value of the least valuable hotel reward currency, Hilton Honors.
Credit card point values
Because transferable credit card points offer more complexity and a wider range of value than standard travel rewards from hotels and airlines, we offer two separate values for each program or card:
- Baseline value. This is the promised value from the issuer when using the points to book travel directly with their internal tools, such as using Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to book travel through Chase's travel portal.
- NerdWallet value. This is the value of the points or miles of the highest-value airline or hotel transfer partner (per the table above).
The biggest news of 2026 was Chase devaluing Hyatt transfers unless you hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠. Those cards still allow you to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. However, that ratio is now 4:3 if you hold another card that earns Chase points (effective for existing cardholders on October 1, 2026).
How points valuations have changed over time
Here's how the historical data stacks up.
Airlines
Compared to 2025, the value of domestic airline miles stayed flat or increased. However, the story is a mixed bag for international carriers.
- Overall, the value of domestic airline miles has increased in the past few years. Since 2020, the value of airline miles has increased for every domestic loyalty program aside from Southwest Rapid Rewards.
- Increased airfare costs in 2026 resulted in better value for your miles. When cash fares increase faster than the number of miles you need for the same flight, the value of airline miles rise. Higher cash prices in 2026 resulted in a better value for your miles with Alaska, American and Southwest.
- Cardholder pricing can get you even better value. Not reflected in these numbers are discounts you can get by holding the right airline card. For example, United and Delta offer cardholders at least a 10% discount on the number of miles required for an award flight.
- Carrier-imposed fees also increased. Many international airlines increased fees on award flights in 2026 to account for spikes in fuel and operational costs, leading to less value for your miles. For example, fees for a Virgin Atlantic award ticket went up by an average of 64% compared to 2025, contributing to a decrease in the median Flying Club point value.
Hotels
The biggest changes in 2026 occurred with Hyatt and Marriott.
- World of Hyatt points are still in a league of their own, with a valuation that’s more than double other programs. Although Hyatt revamped its award chart in 2026, we didn't see a change in the median value of Hyatt points. That's because it was primarily a few number of aspirational properties that saw an increase in award prices.
- Marriott points lost value. Award nights at approximately 95% of Marriott properties became more expensive in mid-2026, resulting in a considerable devaluation compared to 2025.
Popular transferrable points cards
Annual fee
$895.
$95.
$95.
$95.
Still not sure?
Research methodology
Airlines
For airline valuations, we collected real-world data on thousands of flights. We compared cash prices to award redemptions for the same flights. For example, we cross-referenced the cost of flying round-trip from New York to Los Angeles using either cash or award miles. Then, we divided the cost of the cash tickets by the cost of the award tickets to determine a “cent per mile” value for each flight.
These searches were made in August 2026.
Fare classes
We compared main cabin fares across all airlines. We did not include basic economy fares.
Domestic airline routes
- 10 domestic routes, including a combination of short (under 650 miles), mid-length (651-1,500 miles), and transcontinental (over 1,500 miles) routes.
- 10 international routes.
International airline routes
- 10 routes between the U.S. and the airline's home country.
- 10 routes between the airline's home country and another international destination.
Dates
For each airline and route combination, we searched for pricing at 15 days, 60 days, 90 days and 180 days until departure.
Hotel valuation methodology
Hotel pricing data was provided by Gondola, a points-focused third-party hotel booking platform, and verified by NerdWallet.
Credit card valuation methodology
Credit card point values were set based on the transfer partner with the highest point value for each program.
Data analysis
The provided valuations represent the median value of each dataset.
To view rates and fees of the American Express Platinum Card®, see this page.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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