Originally Posted by
rmontelbon
With points costing $5 per 1000, just do some "test bookings" and compare via the cash rate. Remember, go all the way through to the checkout page in the cash bookings, because with points you avoid all taxes and fees so you must include those, not just the "room rate".
There's no need to go all the way to the checkout page: You can choose to display rates which
include taxes.
Also, note that some jurisdictions impose a fixed-amount room-night tax, from which point redemptions might not be exempt. I think that this is more common outside of the U.S., though.