Did I waste my Chase Ultimate Rewards on a recent airline redemption? On paper, it sure looked that way. I booked a short intra-Europe flight using 24,000 United miles for four people — miles I’d transferred over from Chase Ultimate Rewards. And if you do a quick, lazy cents-per-point calculation against the cheapest cash fare you can find, it’s easy to conclude: “Oof. That’s not great.”
But I’ve written before about why cents-per-point (CPP) can be a misleading way to value points — especially when you’re not comparing the same product. And flights are a perfect example. If you’re going to judge whether an award was “worth it,” you have to compare apples to apples, not “bare-bones cash fare” vs. “award ticket with different inclusions.”
In our case, the cash fares ranged from a lower “light” option (no checked bag) up to economy classic, which included a checked bag (and other fare perks). The award ticket we booked through United effectively matched the version we would have paid for in cash because it included a checked bag, but it did not include assigned seats, which we paid for separately. So the real comparison wasn’t “award vs. cheapest cash fare.” It was:
- Award ticket: 6,000 United miles + taxes/fees (about $74) + seat selection (about $23.60)
- Comparable cash ticket: Economy Classic (about $188)
When you compare it that way, the redemption comes to roughly 1.5 cents per mile, which is actually a bit better than the 1.31 CPP “short-haul economy” benchmark that AwardWallet reports for United miles. I’ve also written about the bigger picture of point valuations — who can you trust to determine what points are worth, and does it even matter? — because the “average value” charts don’t know your trip, your budget, or what you’re trying to optimize.
So… Did I Waste Valuable Miles on a Cheap Flight?
At this point, the numbers are on the table. The redemption was roughly 1.5 cents per mile. That’s slightly above the reported short-haul average. It preserved about $360 in cash for the trip. And it matched the cash fare we actually would have purchased.
But that still doesn’t answer the real question.
Because whenever you use Chase Ultimate Rewards for an airline transfer instead of Hyatt, someone will inevitably ask: “Was that really the best use of those points?”
And that’s where this stops being a cents-per-point discussion and starts becoming a strategy discussion.
Points Health: The Question I Actually Asked
Instead of getting stuck in a debate over whether 1.5 cents per point is “good,” I stepped back and asked a different question: What’s the health of my points portfolio?
Because not all points are equal. Some balances are fragile. Some are growing. Some are earmarked for a specific future trip. Others are replenishable. And when you’re planning a big trip, the “best” redemption isn’t always the one with the highest theoretical CPP — it’s the one that fits your overall points situation.
So this wasn’t just a question of value. It was a question of:
- Do I need to protect these points for another big redemption soon?
- How quickly do I earn them back?
- Am I point-rich and cash-poor for this trip… or the other way around?
Once I looked at it that way, the decision got a lot clearer.
1. Opportunity Cost: What Else Could These Points Have Done?
The biggest argument against this redemption isn’t the math. It’s the opportunity cost. Chase points can transfer to Hyatt — and Hyatt redemptions can often exceed 2 cents per point, sometimes significantly more.
So the real question isn’t “Was 1.5 cents good?” It’s “What did I give up by not using these points elsewhere?”
In our case, this was the final reservation for a large trip. The long-haul flights were already secured. The hotel strategy was already in place. There wasn’t a pending Hyatt redemption waiting for these exact 24,000 points.
This wasn’t a choice between a Park Hyatt and a flight. It was a choice between spending an additional $360 in cash or using points I already had in my account.
2. Liquidity: Cash vs. Points
CPP calculations treat dollars and points as interchangeable. Real life doesn’t.
Using 24,000 miles allowed us to conserve cash. On a multi-stop European trip, that cash flexibility has value. It covers trains, meals, museum tickets, or simply reduces overall out-of-pocket expenses.
Points aren’t just a value metric. They’re a liquidity tool.
3. Flexibility Has Value, Too
The United award can be cancelled up until departure, and the miles redeposited. The comparable cash fare isn’t nearly as forgiving.
CPP math doesn’t account for cancellation flexibility. But flexibility reduces risk — and reduced risk has value, even if it’s not reflected in a spreadsheet.
Final Thoughts
Could this have been a waste of valuable points? For some people, absolutely.
If you’re constantly draining a transferable currency that has a higher-value use (like Hyatt), or if you’re saving your United miles specifically for higher-value long-haul international awards, then burning 24,000 points on a short economy flight could feel like the wrong move.
On the other hand, if your normal redemption path is using Chase points through the travel portal at around 1 cent each, then this was a great deal. In that context, getting roughly 1.5 cents per point plus the flexibility to cancel and redeposit miles up until departure is a meaningful upgrade.
For me, it landed somewhere in the middle.
Sure — if I held these points forever, odds are I’d eventually find a “better” redemption. That’s always true. But points don’t do you any good sitting in an account waiting for the perfect moment. In this case, the apples-to-apples CPP was solid, the cash savings were real, and the flexibility made the booking feel low-risk.
So no, this wasn’t the most extraordinary use of Chase points I’ll ever make. But it also wasn’t a “waste.” It was a practical redemption that fit the trip, fit our budget, and fit the health of our points portfolio.
And as is often the case with points and miles… Your Mileage May Vary.
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