SPN Lifer

Yes, points are often a good value for last-minute travel arrangements.

That flexibility can come in handy for job interviews.

zack14

1 cent per point

Jon Maiman

This is a very important consideration. If you earn a lot of points from OPM (Other People's Money [e.g. business trips]) and tend to accumulate them at a rate that you're never running short of points for leisure stays, the floor for cents per point value should be very low. I used to try to get 1 cent per point or higher when the rate of devaluation by Marriott was slower. Now that devaluation is happening more rapidly, I tend to have a minimum of around 0.6 cents per point. Even though due to significantly reduced business travel I earn far less points per year, I still tend to do almost all of my leisure stays on points currently. I will probably continue to do so until I am down to approx. 300K points and then will probably set a higher bar for cents per point value.

Bottom line MR points are a constantly devaluing currency. So just holding them causes them to lose a significant percentage of the original value relatively quickly. Earn'em and Burn'em to truly maximize value over time.

--Jon

JBord

I don't base my decision "purely" on absolute cost, but agree with you that it should always be a factor. There's always an economic tradeoff, opportunity cost. I find that most of my redemptions are around $0.01, but that's not a big consideration for me. It's about what I can do with the money I didn't spend -- in the simplest example, that money might pay for the rest of the vacation.

There are certain prices that I would just never feel comfortable spending on a hotel room. Those are the properties where I'll always consider using points, even below $0.01, because otherwise I wouldn't stay there.

aCavalierInCoach

Love this point and feel the same way about FF miles. Mathematically am I getting 3cpp redeeming 250k points for a $7500 ticket? Sure, but I never would have paid $7,500 in the first place. The rapid and unpredictable dimunition of points value and ability to use is also impacting my threshold.

Kacee

I wouldn't drop below .7 or .8 cents each for hotel redemption because you can convert to airline miles at 60k Marriott = 25k miles,

Collierkr

Wouldn't you want to figure in the valuation after the conversion to air miles? I mean if there is a compelling and immediate need then ok. Ultimately for me it comes down to perceived value... is the rate using using points allowing me to NOT spend some cash that I can use elsewhere for a better ROI?

Intl359Widget

So I'm curious if y'all factor in Resort Fees, Service Charges, & Taxes as part of the total cost?

For Example: Westin Grand Cayman is 240,000 Points for 5 Nights but the Cash Rate is $3,267.30 ($325 in Resort Fees) so the effective offset is $2942.30 which is 1.2 cpm per BonVoy point.

That's not too bad but not too aspirational according to some here.

Antarius

I factor in total cost.

That said, absolute dollars is also a valid use. I have 2 million odd points despite using 15 or so nights of redemptions a year. So waiting for the ideal redemption is a fool's errand, IMO.

Intl359Widget

At any rate it's nice to spoil my family to a vacation in Grand Cayman and offset the cash spend for other expenditures such as excursions and food since y'all know how expensive it is in the Caribbean.

Kacee

Yes, calculate cpp based on total net cost.

That properties are allowed to charge resort fees on award stays is to me one of the two or three top negatives of the Marriott program and a primary reason I am focusing on Hyatt this year.

BrightlyBob

I never redeem below 1c per point. 5 years ago Moscow was ruinously pricey yet points were very reasonable and I was over 2c per point for a week there at the Aurora. For the same reasons the Riviera is usually a bargain. China does well due to high-ish prices and low categories. Generally speaking any Cat 1 or 2 property provides good value. To be honest with very odd peak and off peak pricing there seems to be a greater availability of 1c per point opportunities

Antarius

Agree completely. Also, hoarding miles/points for the ideal redemption is unwise given the nature of its periodic devaluation. 200 dollars is worth more to me in 2 years than 25000 points will.

MrM2016

Usually 1c per point minimum as others have said. This remains easily achievable at the top end aspirational properties, but it is getting harder at the mid tier properties with the relentless category inflation. For my credit card 35k point certs I am increasingly resigned to getting <1c per point from them, and may close at least one card.

Hilton followed the same pattern by squeezing the middle, albeit to more of an extreme. Any blog article on getting value from Hilton points seems to trot out around 4 properties, 2 of which are in the Maldives.

Of course the new redemption in the Seychelles is more than 1c per point value, if you have the hundreds of thousands of points available.

It seems to me that the hotel chains have a deliberate strategy of pricing aggressively the very highest end properties on points, to try and encourage aspirational points earning at cheaper properties that will take months or even years. Many will never achieve the points needed but while they try the chain pockets the revenue - relentlessly supported by the bloggers.

rtpflyer

In addition to ongoing devaluation, reaching age 70 soon is my reason for burning points rather than dollars even at less optimal redemption rates. The dollars are more useful as an inheritance.