It’s a great feeling when you can use loyalty points to pay for your travels. It’s an even better feeling when you can use those points to travel in a luxurious style that might otherwise be out of your budget.
Most of the time, the points you’ll use will be earned directly through the loyalty program from your travels or by earning with one of their partners. You can also add to your balance with a co-brand credit card or by transferring points from a bank program such as AMEX Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou.
But there’s another quick way to boost your balance — you can buy points directly from the program.
Should you purchase points?
Buying points can be useful when you only need a few extra to top off your account for a specific redemption. Sometimes, it also makes sense during promotions when programs sell points at a discount or offer bonuses.
At the time of writing this article, there are many offers to purchase points:
- Purchase IHG points with a 100% bonus
- Buy Air Canada Aeroplan points with an 30% discount
- Buy World of Hyatt points with a 20% discount
In fact, this post lists airline and hotel loyalty programs that are currently selling points below the regular price.
If loyalty programs sell points, it must mean that it’s a money-maker. However, this also means that it might not be a good deal for customers, even if the points are on sale at a discount.
Know what points are worth
Before you buy, make sure you know what those points are worth to you. Published “value charts” often inflate what you’ll really get.
- For programs with fixed-value redemptions (like Southwest or JetBlue), buying points almost never makes sense — you’ll redeem them for about 1.2¢ each, so paying more would be a loss.
- For other programs, discounts can occasionally make sense. For example, I’ve bought IHG One Rewards points when they’re on sale at 0.5¢ per point. I know I can use them for at least that value, and sometimes closer to 0.8–1¢.
The key is to be realistic about how and when you’ll redeem.
Final Thought
Speculative purchases — buying points “just because they’re on sale” — usually don’t end well. I still have miles in one program I rarely use, and they just sit there.
But if you have a redemption in mind, or you regularly get great value from a specific program, buying points on sale can be a smart move. As always, Your Mileage May Vary.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
Another reason to buy points/miles – to prevent expiration. This doesn’t apply to all programs, but buying points/miles can reset the expiration date. Obviously, it doesn’t help if the program has a hard expiration (JL, NH, SQ, etc.) or if buying points doesn’t count, but for most US programs, it can be useful, especially if you have a decent balance.
I realize this is niche opportunity but my daughter was going to a multi day music concert. As a typical 22 year old (sorry to generalize) she bought the concert ticket but had no real plans on where she would stay. As her dad I wasn’t about to let her try and figure that out at midnight after an all day concert. Therefore, I looked at the Embassy Suites less than a mile away from the concert grounds (closest hotel). Given the concert it was $662 for 2 nights including taxes. I remembered Hilton was selling points for .5 cent (about what I value them) and it was 60,000 points a night for the hotel. Therefore, I spent $600 to buy 120,000 points, booked the room w points and saved $62. Yes I know when you figure in the points I would have earned on the stay and my Hilton credit card it was probably a wash but I’m fine saving a little cash near term as I still have a pretty healthy Hilton stash of points (although preferred not to drain most of my account for this stay hence the purchase).