What Are The Best Kinds of Points?

By Tim, founder of Travel Multiplier.

Travel rewards include transferable points, hotel points, and airline miles. Some rewards can also be used to book through a card’s travel portal. The key is understanding which rewards you have and how you can use them. Here’s how I explain those options.

Not all points work the same way, and there is no fixed value that applies to every booking. Start with the trip you actually want to take, then compare your options.

Transferable Points

Transferable points can give you options across participating airline and hotel partners. The partners and transfer terms depend on your card and rewards program. Chase’s redemption overview shows the difference between transferring points and booking through its travel portal.

Here’s a simple example: if you earn 3 points per dollar and redeem them at 2.05 cents each, that’s 6.15 cents in travel value per dollar spent, before fees or other costs. The 2.05-cent value is an assumption for this example, not a guaranteed or current value for Chase points.

Hotel Points

Hotel points belong to a particular loyalty program, such as World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, or Hilton Honors. Compare the cash price and points price for the same hotel, room, dates, and occupancy. A smaller points price does not automatically mean a better deal when you are comparing different programs.

Use the program’s own booking information to check your options: World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hilton Honors.

Airline Points and Miles

Airline rewards are another way to pay for travel. For a useful comparison, look at the route, cabin, dates, points required, taxes and fees, and the cash ticket you would otherwise buy. Compare the full itinerary instead of assuming one airline’s points are always best.

Booking Through a Travel Portal

A travel portal is a way to redeem rewards, rather than a separate kind of points in every program. For example, eligible Chase cardholders can use Ultimate Rewards points in Chase Travel or transfer them to participating partners. The available options depend on the card. See Chase’s explanation of redemption options.

Compare the portal price with booking directly and with any available partner award. Check the terms and the value shown before redeeming. Gift-card and cash-back rates vary by program and option, so there is no universal 0.75-cent gift-card value.

The Hierarchy of Points

For me, transferable points sit at the top of the list because they give me more options. I generally prefer to preserve that flexibility until I know how I want to use the points. That is a strategy preference, not a guarantee that every transfer will beat every cash or portal option.

For a specific award, subtract the cash charges you must still pay from the cash price of the comparable booking, then divide by the points required. Multiply by 100 to express the result in cents per point. Use a cash price you would realistically consider paying.

For example, a $300 stay available for 20,000 points plus $20 would give ($300 − $20) ÷ 20,000 × 100 = 1.4 cents per point. That is a booking comparison before card fees, interest, or other costs, not guaranteed savings.

Keep the earning rate separate from redemption value. Flexibility is useful, but the best option is the one that fits your actual trip and costs. Start with my explanation of Travel Hacking if you want the broader picture.