Book a flight for a fraction of the cost: January points promotions to save you money

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Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Loyalty programs are a huge moneymaker for airlines and hotel companies because they have many revenue streams. One of these revenue streams is selling airline miles and hotel points directly to travelers.

By selling points and miles, programs can get an immediate cash injection as travelers prepay for future travel. However, it generally only makes sense to purchase points and miles when a discount or bonus offer is available.

This roundup of points and miles sales walks you through some of the best current offers on airline miles and hotel points, including some that may be targeted. But first, let’s discuss when it makes sense to buy points and miles.

Should I buy points and miles?

Buying miles for high-end travel can be a good deal. KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

There are a couple of things to consider before taking advantage of points and miles sales.

First, buying points and miles only makes sense for certain travelers and at certain times. It’s generally a much better deal to earn points and miles for “free” through welcome bonuses tied to travel rewards credit cards. However, buying points and miles during good promotions can make sense for those who have tapped out their credit card options and can get high value from their rewards. It can also make sense when you need more points to lock in a specific award now.

We generally only recommend buying points or miles if you have an immediate use in mind. Otherwise, you’re left open to unexpected devaluations. However, if you have a specific hotel or destination in mind, buying points and miles can save you thousands of dollars.

With that, here are the current promotions for buying points and miles.

Related: What are points and miles worth? TPG’s current monthly valuations

Promotions for buying airline miles

American Airlines AAdvantage is offering up to a 35% discount on miles. You’ll get the highest discount when you buy 150,000 miles, dropping the price to 2.45 cents per mile. This is significantly higher than TPG’s valuation of American miles, but buying American miles for specific high-end awards could still make sense.

United Airlines MileagePlus

United is selling MileagePlus miles with up to a targeted 100% bonus through Jan. 27, which brings the purchase rate to as low as 1.88 cents per mile. That’s still more expensive than our valuation of United miles, so unless you have a specific high-value redemption in mind, we generally wouldn’t recommend this route (especially after the program’s devaluation last year). Just note that this is targeted, so you may not be eligible for the full 100% bonus.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Southwest is currently offering a 45% bonus when you purchase 3,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points or more, dropping the purchase rate to as low as 1.65 cents per point. Though this is still slightly higher than TPG’s valuation of 1.4 cents per point, there may be a flight redemption that makes it worth it to buy points. For example, there is currently availability to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Cancun, Mexico, in February for less than 5,000 points. While you’ll need to pay for taxes and fees, you can still save a few bucks per seat booked with points. But remember, Southwest is devaluing its Rapid Rewards points by about 4% from March 2024 on, meaning your points will be worth 1.3 cents each. So, we’d only recommend purchasing points if you have to top off your account for a specific award redemption.

Promotions for buying hotel points

KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Though hotel brands such as Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Hyatt and Leading Hotels of the World have previously offered buying point promotions, there are no current offers at this time.

Which credit card should you use to buy miles?

Most of these promotions are processed through Points.com rather than directly by the hotel or airline. So, you won’t earn bonus rewards with most travel rewards cards.

As such, you’ll want to use an everyday spending card that offers a solid return on non-bonus spending. Or, if you’re working toward a minimum spending requirement to earn a welcome bonus, using that card may be the way to go.

Remember that you may incur foreign transaction fees on some cards when buying points or miles from a program abroad, so you may want to use one of the following cards:

The main exception to this rule is American Airlines. The airline reportedly codes mileage purchases as airfare, so you may want to use a credit card that earns bonus miles on airfare for the highest return when buying AAdvantage miles.