Buying points and miles saved me over $1,000 on flights and a hotel stay
It may sound bonkers to buy airline miles and hotel points to fund your adventures. After all, the reason many of us got into this hobby in the first place was to travel for (nearly) free simply by swiping rewards credit cards. So, isn’t paying for travel rewards to book award redemptions irrational?
Actually, with some strategy, it can save you a ton of money.
I recently purchased hotel points and airline miles, which helped me save more than $1,000. Here’s how.
Purchase 1: Buying World of Hyatt points
A luxury hotel that appears on the bucket list of many points collectors (including me) is the Park Hyatt Milan. I zeroed out my Hyatt account for one night in a Park Queen Room (the base option), paying 40,000 Hyatt points — a good deal for a room that costs about $1,100 per night.
But there was a major problem: This room couldn’t accommodate me, my husband and my tiny daughter.
After messaging the hotel, I was given the option to pay $255 for an incremental upgrade to a “Premium King” category. Virtually the same room, but slightly bigger to allow for a crib. My free stay at a fancy five-star hotel suddenly became, for my budget, pricey.
Instead of “wasting” money on a small room upgrade, I decided to spend a bit more to enhance our overall experience. By adding 19,000 Hyatt points to my current Hyatt balance, I could book us in a Park Junior Suite — a huge upgrade from a Premium King room with well over 25% more real estate. This room typically sells for a whopping $1,900 per night.
I purchased the 19,000 points I needed during a 20% Hyatt sale and spent $395. That’s a value of 2.07 cents per point — exorbitant, I know (significantly more than TPG’s January 2026 valuation of 1.7 cents per Hyatt point), but in this scenario, it made sense.
In short, I spent $140 more than the upgrade fee to secure a room that was worth over $600 more per night.
Related: Best Park Hyatt hotels, according to Globalists
Purchase 2: Buying Qantas Frequent Flyer points to book American Airlines flights
I tend not to finalize my travel plans until the very last minute (my proposed itineraries basically change daily). Because of this, I found myself staring at a massive bill for a quick hop between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH). One-way flights that often cost less than $160 were now an eye-watering $350 per person. And my family of three wasn’t about to pay over $1,000 for a two-hour flight.
After looking for reasonable award prices with American Airlines, United, Delta, Virgin Atlantic and the other usual suspects, I remembered that I had some orphaned Qantas Frequent Flyer points from a previous redemption — just around 7,000 points, so not enough to do much with. However, miraculously, Qantas awards on partner American Airlines were comparatively cheap at 9,200 points each.
By purchasing 21,000 Qantas points, I could effectively pay a total of just $439 for my family of three to fly from JFK to CMH. That’s less than $150 per seat, saving me over $600.
Related: When does it make sense to buy points and miles?
Buying points should still be a last resort
While buying points can save you serious money for paid travel, it shouldn’t be your first instinct. Ideally, you’ll earn the rewards you need through generous limited-time card offers, credit card spending and converting transferable points into the airline miles and hotel points you need.
I only resorted to buying points because I had emptied my points reserves on other flights and hotel stays during my trip. Normally, I would have transferred:
- Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Bilt Rewards Points to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio
- American Express Membership Rewards points, Citi ThankYou Rewards points or Capital One miles to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio.
Racking up rewards is relatively easy with the right credit card strategy. Read our guide to maximizing credit cards to earn points without high spending. And to make sure you don’t miss a great offer: Bookmark our post on credit cards with 100,000-point bonuses or higher.
Related: 10 easiest credit card welcome bonuses to earn
Bottom line
Buying travel rewards may seem counterintuitive, but it’s a great way to potentially lower the cost of paid travel. Just ask yourself if you can get more value from the points or miles than you pay for them. If the answer is yes, buying rewards is a no-brainer. I was able to save more than $1,000 by purchasing airline miles and hotel points.
Just remember that earning points is typically not difficult with the right credit card pairings that benefit your lifestyle, as well as numerous valuable welcome bonuses that are regularly offered.