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 may otherwise be out of your budget.
The majority 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. However, you can also gain additional points through a co-brand credit card or by transferring points from a bank program such as AMEX Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards. In addition to these methods, there’s another quick way to add more points to your loyalty account, and that’s by purchasing points directly from the program.
This method is particularly useful when you only require a few extra points to reach a specific redemption threshold, or when you need to top off your account for a specific reward and are unable to transfer points from another program. By purchasing points, you can access more travel options and reserve them before availability runs out.
Should you purchase points?
In the example above, you’re purchasing points to add to your current balance in order to make a specific booking. However, it’s also possible to take advantage of discount sales offered by loyalty programs. These programs often run promotional campaigns where they sell points at a lower price than usual. The discount offered may depend on various factors such as the loyalty program, the number of points you wish to purchase, and even your personal membership status.
At the time of writing this article, there are many offers to purchase points:
- Purchase Marriott Bonvoy points with a 40% bonus
- Buy Air Canada Aeroplan points with an 80% bonus
- Buy World of Hyatt points with a 20% discount
In fact, this post lists 18 airline and hotel loyalty programs which 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 purchase points in a program, you need to know what those points are worth to you. This might not be the price that you’ll see online, where values are often inflated. This is the value you’ll get for a point.
For some programs, like those with a fixed value, this is easy to know. If you are going to buy Southwest points for 1.5 cents each with the current sale, be aware that you’ll redeem them for about 1.15 cents. Not a good deal.
However, I like to purchase IHG One Rewards points when they’re on sale for 0.5 cents each. I know that I’ll be able to get at least that much value. Sometimes, I even get a higher value of 0.8 to 1 cent per point. Moreover, I am well aware of my travel patterns and can use the points within a reasonable time frame.
It’s not advisable to transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG because the exchange rate is 1:1, which isn’t a good deal.
Final Thought
I rarely think it’s a good idea to speculatively purchase points, even if it’s a great price. As usual, Your Mileage May Vary. I break that rule for IHG points but that’s based on my own personal experiences. If you know you’ll be able to get a good value for World of Hyatt points or Aeroplan miles, then buying points at a discount might make sense for you.
However, don’t just buy points because they’re on sale without knowing how you’ll use them. I learned that the hard way, and I’m still sitting on a bunch of miles in a program that I never seem to be able to use.
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