Airline points and miles: are they worth it
· Vol Spot
Loyalty programmes promise free flights. In practice a flight paid in points is rarely free, and the real value of a point varies threefold depending on how you use it.
Here is how to evaluate a programme with numbers rather than with the feeling of accumulating something.
Working out what a point is worth
The calculation is one line: take the cash price of the ticket, subtract the fees and taxes you pay anyway on the points booking, then divide by the number of points required.
An example: a $600 ticket, a redemption at 35,000 points plus $90 in fees. You save $510 for 35,000 points, roughly 1.5 cents per point. That is a good redemption in most Canadian programmes.
Redo that calculation every time. The same number of points can be worth 0.7 cents on one flight and 2.5 cents on another, in the same programme, on the same day. That is where most of the value is won or lost.
The fees that remain
A points ticket does not cancel taxes, airport fees or carrier surcharges. On a transatlantic flight that remainder can reach several hundred dollars, which changes the meaning of the word free entirely.
Check the programme fees too: some charge for the redemption, for a date change, or to cancel an award ticket.
And look at the cancellation policy. An award ticket refunded in points sometimes carries a penalty, where a paid ticket would have given a full credit.
Where points are worth most
Value per point is not evenly spread, and knowing the favourable cases is worth more than accumulating more.
- Flights that are expensive in cash : A long-haul in high season costs a lot of dollars and often not many more points than in low season. That is the best possible use.
- Routes with no competition : A route where one carrier flies stays expensive all year. Paying that one in points captures a gap you will not find elsewhere.
- Upgrades to a forward cabin : This is where the return per point is highest, even though a lie-flat long-haul costs a lot of points.
- What to avoid : Redeeming points for merchandise, gift cards or a flight that was already cheap. The rate there is almost always poor.
The loyalty trap
The real cost of a programme is invisible: it is the premium you pay to stay loyal. If you systematically pick a carrier $80 more expensive to earn points worth $40, you lose money on every flight.
From Quebec City in particular, the choice is limited. Restricting yourself to one alliance narrows your options exactly where they are already scarce, and the best deal of the month is often on the carrier where you have nothing.
The approach that works: book the best fare, earn what comes without effort, and spend points when the arithmetic is clearly good. A programme is a tool, not a reason to pay more.