How Much Are Your Airline Miles Really Worth?

Every points blog publishes mile valuations, and they all disagree with each other. Some say United miles are worth 1.8 cents. Others say 1.2. Who's right?

Honestly, both — it depends on methodology. Higher estimates factor in optimized redemptions and premium cabin sweet spots. Lower ones reflect what an average person actually gets. For making everyday booking decisions, I'd use the conservative numbers. You can always do better, but you want a realistic baseline.

Here's where I'd peg the major US programs for a typical domestic economy redemption: Delta SkyMiles around 1.1–1.3 cents. United MileagePlus about 1.2–1.4. American AAdvantage around 1.3–1.5. Alaska Atmos Rewards 1.3–1.5, though partner awards can push way higher. Southwest Rapid Rewards roughly 1.3–1.4. JetBlue TrueBlue about 1.2–1.4.

Transferable credit card points generally land higher — 1.5 to 2.0+ cents — because you can shop across multiple programs for the best rate.

The real outliers are premium cabin international awards. A business class seat to Asia might cost $6,000 cash or 80,000 miles. That's 7.5 cents per point. These are the redemptions that make the hobby worth it. You don't need to fly business every time, but knowing the option exists changes how you think about accumulating points.

The trend you need to know about: dynamic pricing is taking over. Delta went fully dynamic years ago. United is mostly there. This means award prices float with demand instead of following a fixed chart. The upside is occasional deals. The downside is unpredictability — the same route can cost 15,000 miles one day and 45,000 the next.

This is exactly why checking the math on every booking matters more than memorizing valuations. A "1.4 cent" program can deliver 3 cents on a good redemption and 0.8 cents on a bad one. The average doesn't help you on any specific flight.

That's why I built the calculator. Plug in the cash price and the miles price, and it tells you whether that specific redemption clears the bar. Check it out at /calculator, or see all the program benchmarks at /miles-value-guide.