What’s the best use of my points?
38% Points Miles and Bling
25% View from the Wing
37% Other
The highest‑value way to use your points usually comes from redeeming them for travel‑related purchases or high‑value hotel stays, but the exact best option depends on the specific points program you have.
BMO Rewards
- Redeeming directly for travel gives the top value at 150 points = $1, which works out to about 0.67 cents per point (CPP) Points Miles and Bling .
- Gift cards, merchandise, and statement credits are lower‑value options, typically below 0.5 CPP, so they should be used only after travel redemptions are exhausted Points Miles and Bling .
Aeroplan
- Hotel redemptions that combine a points‑back promo (e.g., 10 000 points back on a 50 000‑point stay) can achieve roughly 2.3 CPP, which is well above the usual Aeroplan valuation and makes the redemption “worth it” Points Miles and Bling .
- Past promotions have offered up to 25 % back, further boosting the value of hotel stays Points Miles and Bling .
Wells Fargo Rewards
- Transferring points to Choice Hotels at a 1:2 ratio is especially attractive because it outperforms the typical 1:1 transfers offered by other programs Travel with Grant .
Wyndham Rewards
- The most valuable redemptions are for stays at Club Wyndham properties; this is the preferred use for the bulk of the points Miles to Memories .
Air Miles / Blue Rewards
- Gift‑card redemptions (e.g., Lululemon, Cineplex) provide about 10.5 ¢ per point, which generally exceeds the travel redemption value of roughly 10 ¢ per point Points Miles and Bling .
- Travel redemptions tend to be less valuable, so gift cards are the recommended choice.
Rove Miles
- Booking eligible hotel stays directly with Rove Miles yields about 1.3 – 1.5 ¢ per point, a decent but not top‑tier value View from the Wing .
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- A 30 % transfer bonus can create strong deals, but the program’s history of sudden devaluations means you should only use it when you have a specific, high‑value redemption in mind FrequentMiler .
American Express Membership Rewards
- Using “Pay with Points” for flights booked through Amex Travel can deliver better than 1.5 ¢ per point, making it one of the better travel redemption options View from the Wing .
- The points can also be transferred to a wide range of airline and hotel partners for additional flexibility.
How to Redeem BMO Rewards for Max Value
BMO has an entire ecosystem of credit cards dedicated to earning BMO Rewards, its in-house points currency. The earn rates across BMO’s credit cards are strong, so let’s take a look at how to redeem BMO Rewards for maximum value. Lucky for those of us who earn points to travel, the best use case for BMO Rewards is redeeming directly for travel. The redemption rate is 150 points = $1 or 0.67 cents per point (CPP). BMO retired its in-house travel portal back in August 2022, which was great news. The redemption rate for travel stayed the same
Should You Use Aeroplan Points for Hotels Instead of Flights?
While we talk extensively about how to use Aeroplan to book premium cabin flights, we have yet to discuss an alternative redemption: redeem Aeroplan for hotel stays. It doesn’t immediately come to mind when redeeming points, but it is a growing redemption category for Aeroplan. Let’s look at how much value you can extract and whether it’s actually worth redeeming Aeroplan points for accommodation. Put simply, it’s redeeming your Aeroplan points for a hotel stay through the Aeroplan portal. Aeroplan makes it pretty simple: you can pay entirely with points, entirely with cash, or split the cost 50/50.
Redeeming Wells Fargo Rewards Points: My Plan of Attack
Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday! This morning, I was looking at my Wells Fargo account and trying to decide what my long-term strategy (aka my plan of attack) should be for my stash of 62,320 Wells Fargo Rewards Points. If you were a former Bilt Card 1.0 member, then there is a good chance your card was converted to the no annual fee Wells Fargo Autograph Credit Card. I also currently have the $95 annual fee Here are the bonus categories for the Wells Fargo Autograph: Here are the bonus categories for the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey:
The Killer Wyndham Rewards Redemption Right in Front of You
Wyndham’s loyalty program annoys me more than any other. But it does just enough to keep the wife and me hanging around. The program ranked #6 out of 8 in my Noncents Hotel Loyalty Program Rankings, and it would probably go down a slot if I could just get approved for a Best Western credit card. (Who saw that proclamation coming?) My wife and I definitely won’t be earning any more Wyndham points (more on that in a future article), but we still have a considerable amount rattling around in our accounts. We’ll continue redeeming them for what we consider
Air Miles Moves to Expedia for Travel, But Redemptions Still Disappoint
Air Miles is transitioning to Blue Rewards this summer, and the biggest question revolves around redemptions. We know 95 Air Miles is worth $10, equivalent to 10.5¢ per mile, when redeeming in-store or for gift cards. However, what will redemption rates be like when redeeming for travel? The new Air Miles travel portal powered by Expedia is live, so let’s take a look for some clues. In this article, we’ll continue using Air Miles, since that’s the currency name today. However, the transition to Blue Rewards is simple: 95 Air Miles = 1,500 Blue Points, with the $10 value
Rove Miles May Have The Best Hotel Trick In Points — Burn Miles, Earn Hotel Points And Elite Credit
Rove Miles is worth paying attention to. The program lets you earn points for booking travel and for online shopping. Their earn rates are often at top of market. They’ll even award points for prepaid hotel bookings right away (rather than waiting until you stay), so you can use the points for airfare on the same trip. And they offer rewards on direct book hotels as well, where you earn hotel loyalty credit in addition to Rove Miles. Rove has a 50% transfer bonus to their new partner Japan Airlines through March 31. And I set myself a calendar
30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club from Citi ThankYou Rewards
Over the weekend, a Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer bonus launched for cardmembers transferring points from the Citi Strata Elite, Strata Premier, Prestige, or AT&T Access moe card to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Through April 18, 2026, Citi is offering a 30% transfer bonus when transferring points to Virgin. While that’s not quite as generous as the last couple of 40% transfer bonuses that we’ve seen from other transferable points systems, this bonus nonetheless means that economy class award tickets to London start at just 4,700 Citi points (which is more than enough for a 6,000-mile Virgin award ticket from the
200,000 Point Business Platinum Bonus — American Express Is Making A Huge Push For Premium Cardholders
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is really aggressive right now with an elevated offer to earn 200,000 points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the card within the first 3 months. They’ve refreshed the product and they’re definitely creating buzz with it. This is an $895 annual fee card (see rates and fees). I thought I’d gotten a great offer for the card when it was 150,000 about 20 months ago. I’m a bit jealous of the bigger offers available now. Here’s what the card delivers. American Express touts to over 1,550 lounges.