Points or cash —
which option wins?
When an airline or hotel offers the same booking for different mixes of points and cash, enter the cash fare, what a point is worth to you and each option. See the true cost of every one, whether any beats paying cash, and what each extra step of points saves.
Should I pay with points or cash?
Count the points as money. At 1¢ a point, option F — 38,300 points plus $609.20 — costs $992.20 in all, $107.80 less than the $1,100.00 cash fare. The first 38,300 points save 1.28¢ each; every further step saves 0.91¢ a point or less, below what they're worth to you, so spending more points only raises the true cost.
Count the points as money.
The true cost of each option
Cash paid plus the points valued at your rate. Ranking by that total, not by points or cash alone, is what makes a mix comparable with paying the fare.
Against paying cash
The cash fare for the same seat is the benchmark. If no option comes in under it, the answer is to pay cash and keep your points for a better redemption.
What each extra step is worth
Every move to more points and less cash, priced per point. Steps worth more than your rate pay their way; steps worth less cost you, which is usually where the ladder turns.
Not sure what a point is worth? Start from a typical figure for Marriott, Hilton, AAdvantage or Avios.
Points or cash — common questions
Give each point a cash value, add it to the cash part of every option, and pick the lowest total. If paying the fare outright is lower still, pay cash and keep the points. At 1¢ a point, 38,300 points plus $609.20 is a $992.20 trip, which is how the calculator ranks it.
What a point is worth to you: roughly the value you usually get when you redeem that program, or what it would cost you to replace the points. The lower you value them, the more often cash wins. Our value calculators for Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, AAdvantage and Avios give a typical starting figure.
Among others: United's Money + Miles on most domestic United flights, British Airways' part pay with Avios on most BA fares, and Marriott Bonvoy's Cash + Points rates at participating hotels on some dates. Each works differently and the terms change, so check the program's own site for the options on your booking, then enter them here.
No. It compares what each option costs you, not what it earns back. United Money + Miles earns miles on the cash part of the fare, and BA part pay still earns Avios and tier points, so an option heavier on cash is slightly better than its total suggests.
Each step up the points ladder, from paying cash to the option with the most points: how many extra points it takes, how much cash it saves, and what that works out to per point. A step worth less than your point value is one where choosing points over cash costs you.
No. The calculator runs in your browser and nothing is sent or stored. In Nanvero, the same calculator sits on Redemptions, where the winning option goes straight into your log and is scored against your own rate for that program.
How many Avios for a flight?
It depends on distance and cabin, not a fixed price. British Airways Club prices rewards in distance bands, so since the December 2025 repricing a short-haul economy reward starts at 10,000 Avios one-way, and business on the same routes runs roughly 16,500 to 26,750. Cash taxes and carrier charges are always extra.
What are Avios worth?
One Avios is typically worth about 1p, the working figure both the UK and US reference valuations settle near, so 10,000 Avios come to roughly £100. Weak via-hub economy redemptions land nearer 0.9p, while long-haul business can reach about 1.7p. The calculator converts any balance into dollars, pounds and euros.
What can my points do?
Add your Amex Membership Rewards to your Avios, since they transfer to British Airways at 1:1, and compare the total with off-peak reward prices. A New York–London economy return is 55,000 Avios and business 176,000. The tool sorts trips into within reach now, one transfer away and not yet in reach.
Log the winner,
see the verdict.
In Nanvero, the option you pick goes straight into your Redemptions log and is scored against what that program's points are worth to you. Part of Nanvero Pro.
See how Redemptions scores a booking →
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