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February 24, 2025

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It can be tough to part with those hard-earned points

by Augusta Stone, Credit cards writer

Sometimes, at least for me, it can feel like points are easy to earn but tougher to burn. Or at least tougher to feel like you are burning them in the right way.

It’s like there’s a sense of scarcity at play and I wonder: Am I getting a valuable enough redemption? Is this one trip worth draining my points? Should I just pay with cash instead?

While it certainly isn’t wise to hoard your points and miles just for the sake of it (spoiler: they will be worth less over time), you still want to make sure you’re getting the best value you can from your hard-earned rewards.

For instance, I’m currently planning a trip to London in May and looking at flying on Virgin Atlantic, since I can transfer points from several different credit cards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

To fly in economy from nearby Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) would cost me 34,000 Virgin points plus $353 in taxes and fees round trip. If I were to pay cash for that same flight, it would cost $938.

To help make this points-versus-cash decision, I did some quick math. It’s easy, I promise.

Let’s start with the cash cost of $938. Subtract the $353 in taxes and fees you’d have to pay anyway with the points redemption and you’re left with $585 — this is the amount of cash you’d save by paying with points.

Now we divide that $585 by 34,000, which shows us we’d be getting a value of about 1.7 cents per point on this redemption. TPG values Virgin points at 1.4 cents apiece, according to our February 2025 valuations. So that means we’re getting a better-than-average redemption using these points in this way.

But while that seems like a no-brainer, there are still some other factors to consider.

I might prefer to sit on those points for an even better redemption in the future (think: swanky lie-flat Upper Class seats). Or maybe there’s a promotion available, like the ability to earn bonus points or another incentive for using cash.

Ultimately the best option will depend on your personal strategy, budget and individual situation. Keep in mind there’s no bad redemption as long as you know your options and want to take the trip.

Personally, I liked the award rate for this trip and will likely pay with points and save the cash for some fun activities while we’re in London.

If you want to run some numbers yourself, here are some articles to help you out:

Happy calculating,

Augusta

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Photo Credit: ATLANTIDE PHOTOTRAVEL/GETTY IMAGES.

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