Points or cash?
Divide the cash price by the points required — that is the whole trick. If 10,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points cover less than $125 of travel, pay cash and keep the points; for Hilton Honors the bar is only $35. Every program's flip price is below, computed from verified floors — and the widget grades your exact redemption the way the engine does.
Grade your redemption
Pick the program, enter what the booking costs in points and what the same booking costs in cash. The verdict comes from the same gate the engine applies to its own recommendations: below the program's reasonable-redemption floor it says pay cash, between the floor and the optimized benchmark it says fine-but-not-peak. Nobody pays for placement; how we verify facts.
The flip price, per program
What 10,000 points must buy for the redemption to clear the floor — the cash price where the decision flips. Floors are conservative, routinely-achievable values (why floors); the benchmark column is what optimized redemptions reach. Valuations verified 2026-10-05, computed 2026-10-12 from catalog v3.16 (73 cards).
| Program | 10,000 points buy at least | Optimized benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Amex Membership Rewards | $125.00 1.25¢/pt | $200.00 2.00¢/pt |
| Bilt Rewards | $125.00 1.25¢/pt | $220.00 2.20¢/pt |
| Capital One Miles | $125.00 1.25¢/pt | $185.00 1.85¢/pt |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | $125.00 1.25¢/pt | $205.00 2.05¢/pt |
| Citi ThankYou Points | $125.00 1.25¢/pt | $190.00 1.90¢/pt |
| Wells Fargo Rewards | $125.00 1.25¢/pt | $175.00 1.75¢/pt |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | $140.00 1.40¢/pt | $150.00 1.50¢/pt |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | $130.00 1.30¢/pt | $140.00 1.40¢/pt |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | $140.00 1.40¢/pt | $145.00 1.45¢/pt |
| Atmos Rewards (Alaska/Hawaiian) | $150.00 1.50¢/pt | $155.00 1.55¢/pt |
| Avianca LifeMiles | $130.00 1.30¢/pt | $160.00 1.60¢/pt |
| British Airways Club | $110.00 1.10¢/pt | $140.00 1.40¢/pt |
| Cathay Asia Miles | $110.00 1.10¢/pt | $130.00 1.30¢/pt |
| Delta SkyMiles | $110.00 1.10¢/pt | $120.00 1.20¢/pt |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | $130.00 1.30¢/pt | $135.00 1.35¢/pt |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | $130.00 1.30¢/pt | at or below the floor* |
| United MileagePlus | $130.00 1.30¢/pt | at or below the floor* |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | $150.00 1.50¢/pt | at or below the floor* |
| Choice Privileges | $75.00 0.75¢/pt | $85.00 0.85¢/pt |
| Hilton Honors | $35.00 0.35¢/pt | $40.00 0.40¢/pt |
| IHG One Rewards | $59.00 0.59¢/pt | $60.00 0.60¢/pt |
| Marriott Bonvoy | $73.00 0.73¢/pt | $75.00 0.75¢/pt |
| World of Hyatt | $150.00 1.50¢/pt | $165.00 1.65¢/pt |
| Wyndham Rewards | $67.00 0.67¢/pt | at or below the floor* |
- *Where the published optimized-redemption benchmark sits at or below the floor (inverted programs), clearing the floor is already genuinely good value — there is no "fine but not peak" band.
- Bank-point floors (Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt, Wells Fargo) assume the points can reach transfer partners; their benchmark reflects strong transfer redemptions. Cash-style redemptions of bank points usually land near the floor.
- These are value thresholds, not booking advice: award availability, change fees, and elite perks on cash bookings can all move a specific decision. Not financial advice.