Cash or points for the whole trip?

List each part of the trip with its cash price and, where you could use points, the points and any cash you'd still pay. The planner adds up both ways of paying and shows what your points would be worth on this trip.

The figures below are a fictional example, not current prices or any program's rates. Replace them with real quotes for the trip you'd actually take. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is sent or saved. See our privacy notice for site analytics.

The trip, part by part

Use the cash price you would genuinely pay for a comparable booking: same cabin, bags and dates you'd accept. Leave points blank for anything you'd pay in cash either way.

What paying with points gives up

Miles or credits the cash bookings would earn ($, conservative)Paid tickets and stays often earn rewards and status credit; points bookings often don't. Leave 0 if you don't count them.

Value you put on flexibility ($)What it's worth to you to be able to change or cancel. It's added to the less flexible option.

Which option is more flexible? About the same The points bookings The cash bookings

What a point is worth to you (cents per point)

Your own estimate of what you could otherwise get for a point, such as its cash-back value. Three values show whether the answer changes.

Conservative

Expected

Optimistic

Use dollar amounts with a decimal point and whole numbers for points. US thousands separators such as 1,000.50 are accepted.

How this works

For each part paid with points, cash avoided is the cash price minus the cash you'd still pay. Cents per point is cash avoided divided by the points, times 100.
For the whole trip, the value of miles or credits you'd give up is subtracted from the cash avoided.
Each scenario prices your points at your own value and compares the total cost of the points plan (cash still paid, points at that value, rewards given up) with paying cash. Your flexibility value is added to the less flexible option.

What it doesn't cover

Whether award seats or rooms are actually available. Search before you transfer; transfers usually can't be undone.
Transfer ratios and bonuses: enter points in the currency you'd actually spend. Points Professor explains how transfers work.
Advanced comparisons between programs, routings and group bookings. MileMaximizer covers the same flight priced in different miles.

The method comes from our guides Cash or Points? Compare the Cost of an Award Trip and Hotel Points or Cash? Compare the Entire Stay.

Spotted a problem with this planner? Email hello [at] accel-media [dot] com (replace [at] with @ and [dot] with a period) with “Calculator” in the subject line. Please use invented numbers in any example.