✈ How (and Why) We Determine the Value of Points, 10 Commandments of Credit Card Rewards & More From TPG ✈

August 26, 2026

We love the data so you don't have to

by Katie Genter, Lead Writer

Are you getting good value for your points and miles? It’s an important question to think through when redeeming your rewards.

You may have specific redemption rates you aim for based on your experience with a program and the ease with which you can earn its rewards. For example, I only redeem World of Hyatt points when I can get more than 2 cents per point in value.

But if you are newer to points and miles, or simply don’t geek out on the math like we do, you might not know what value you’re getting (or should expect) from your rewards.

That’s why TPG crunches the numbers to determine valuations for major hotel, airline and transferable rewards currencies each month. To do this, we analyze millions and millions of data points across the hotel, aviation and credit cards industries.

The result? Our monthly valuations give you an idea of the value you can get from a program’s currency if you don’t strive to maximize your redemption rate, but avoid low-value redemption options. Typically, you’ll want the value of your redemption to be on par with (or better than) our valuation for that currency.

That means that if you redeem Marriott Bonvoy points, for example, you should strive to get at least 0.75 cents per point in value based on our August 2026 valuations. So if a Marriott property costs $250 per night or 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, that’s only about 0.56 cents per point, and therefore not a very good use of them.

That’s the nutshell version, anyway. But if you really want to go deep and geek out, too, here’s the full scoop on our methodologies.

To learn more, check out the following stories:

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Today’s top stories

TPG’s 10 commandments of credit card rewards

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See if you’re eligible for a welcome offer as high as 100,000 points on the Amex Gold

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The Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business offers a substantial welcome bonus, plus valuable business-related benefits and statement credits.

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The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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