The tool

Is this points booking actually worth it?

Every points booking comes down to one number. But the number that matters is not one cent, it is whatever your own card already gives you for nothing. Pick your points and the bar moves.

1.0¢ the usual floor2.5¢ a genuinely good booking5¢+ book it before it changes

SGN→NRT 30,000 JAL Business MAD→DFW 57,000 Iberia Business LHR→SIN 75,000 Etihad First JFK→FRA 60,000 Singapore Business NRT→SFO 60,000 JAL Business BOS→DUB 50,000 Aer Lingus Business JFK→DOH 70,000 Qatar Qsuite EWR→LIS 34,000 TAP Business ORD→IST 45,000 Turkish Business SGN→NRT 30,000 JAL Business MAD→DFW 57,000 Iberia Business LHR→SIN 75,000 Etihad First JFK→FRA 60,000 Singapore Business NRT→SFO 60,000 JAL Business BOS→DUB 50,000 Aer Lingus Business JFK→DOH 70,000 Qatar Qsuite EWR→LIS 34,000 TAP Business ORD→IST 45,000 Turkish Business

Which points are you spending?

Whichever bank or card your points sit with.

Cash price of the ticket $

$50$500$2k$30k

Points or miles required pts

1k25k100k500k

Taxes & airline fees $

$0$500$1,000$1,500

Value per point 8.60¢

Route, for the shareable card (optional)

How to read it

One number decides everything.

This tells you what each point is buying. Take the cash price of the ticket, divide by the points it costs, and you get the value of a single point. The trap is assuming any points booking is a good deal. Your card already gives you a guaranteed rate for doing nothing, and a points booking has to beat that. If your points are worth 1.25¢ booking through your card's own travel site, then a 1.2¢ points booking is not fine. It is worse than doing nothing.

Which airline to book through, and the fees nobody mentions

The math tells you whether a booking is worth making. It does not tell you why the same seat costs three times more in one airline's points than another's, which rules will quietly block your trip, or how to actually get it booked once you have found it. That is the part I do on a call.

Book a 45-minute call