MyPoints best value?
Mar 27, 2003 | 10:21 am
#17
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: PDX
Programs: HHonors Gold since '02, Hertz President's Circle since '07
Posts: 3,228
TheWaitress, you da bomb. Now that's what I call adding value to the discussion.
Would it be possible to post a list sorted by cents/pt?
I agree there are strictly better values than HHonors, but there are few redemption options reported to work so quickly. People have posted recently waiting months for gift certificates.
The reason I transferred to HHonors is because I know they will post on Thursday night and because I know the HHonors program intimately, so I am confident I can maximize the value per point.
I had been hoping to redeem a UA certificate, perhaps in conjunction with a UA HHonors companion certificate, but I'm not betting on UA at the moment.
[This message has been edited by Rut Dog (edited 03-27-2003).]
Would it be possible to post a list sorted by cents/pt?
I agree there are strictly better values than HHonors, but there are few redemption options reported to work so quickly. People have posted recently waiting months for gift certificates.
The reason I transferred to HHonors is because I know they will post on Thursday night and because I know the HHonors program intimately, so I am confident I can maximize the value per point.
I had been hoping to redeem a UA certificate, perhaps in conjunction with a UA HHonors companion certificate, but I'm not betting on UA at the moment.
[This message has been edited by Rut Dog (edited 03-27-2003).]
Mar 27, 2003 | 10:33 am
#18
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: PDX
Programs: HHonors Gold since '02, Hertz President's Circle since '07
Posts: 3,228
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Rut Dog:
Would it be possible to post a list sorted by cents/pt?</font>
Would it be possible to post a list sorted by cents/pt?</font>
I'd like to hear people's redemption experience with the high value awards, specifically how long does it take for them to arrive?
Also, isn't it odd that the higher net value UA awards have a lower per point value?
Code:
Company Points $ value cents/pt United Airlines 1250 25 2.00 Omaha Steaks 2250 30 1.33 United Airlines 3750 50 1.33 United Airlines 5750 75 1.30 macy's 5250 50 0.95 Giftcertificates.ca 2675 25 0.93 B Dalton 2750 25 0.91 Barnes & Noble 2750 25 0.91 macy's 2750 25 0.91 Marriott 11250 100 0.89 Service Master 11250 100 0.89 Sharper Image 11250 100 0.89 Marriott 8500 75 0.88 Uni. Snowboard 8000 70 0.88 Bass Pro shops 5750 50 0.87 Bloomingdales 5750 50 0.87 Marriott 5750 50 0.87 Service Master 5750 50 0.87 Sharper Image 5750 50 0.87 Spiegal 5750 50 0.87 Stuart Andersons 5750 50 0.87 AMC 3000 25 0.83 Applebees 3000 25 0.83 Bass Pro shops 3000 25 0.83 Bath/Body Works 3000 25 0.83 Bloomingdales 3000 25 0.83 Eddie Bauer 12000 100 0.83 Macaroni Grill 3000 25 0.83 Marriott 3000 25 0.83 Media Play 3000 25 0.83 Service Master 3000 25 0.83 SpaWish 12000 100 0.83 Spiegal 3000 25 0.83 Stuart Andersons 3000 25 0.83 Uni. Amusement 6000 50 0.83 Applebees 2500 20 0.80 B Dalton 1250 10 0.80 Barnes & Noble 1250 10 0.80 Hyatt 9500 75 0.79 Circuit City 6500 50 0.77 Dick's Sports 6500 50 0.77 Eddie Bauer 6500 50 0.77 FogDog 6500 50 0.77 Home Depot 6500 50 0.77 Hyatt 6500 50 0.77 JC Penney 6500 50 0.77 Kmart 6500 50 0.77 Orvis 6500 50 0.77 Rainforest Caf 3250 25 0.77 REI 3250 25 0.77 SpaWish 6500 50 0.77 Blockbuster 2000 15 0.75 R' Us 2650 20 0.75 Starbucks 1350 10 0.74 Tower Records 1350 10 0.74 Applebees 1400 10 0.71 Bass Pro shops 1400 10 0.71 Bath/Body Works 1400 10 0.71 Blockbuster 1400 10 0.71 Chili's 1400 10 0.71 Circuit City 3500 25 0.71 Dave & Busters 3500 25 0.71 Dick's Sports 1400 10 0.71 Eddie Bauer 3500 25 0.71 FogDog 3500 25 0.71 FogDog 1400 10 0.71 Foot Locker 3500 25 0.71 Gas card 1400 10 0.71 Home Depot 3500 25 0.71 Hyatt 3500 25 0.71 JC Penney 3500 25 0.71 Kmart 3500 25 0.71 Macaroni Grill 1400 10 0.71 Media Play 1400 10 0.71 Olive Garden 1400 10 0.71 On the Border 1400 10 0.71 Orvis 3500 25 0.71 Oshmans 3500 25 0.71 REI 1400 10 0.71 Sharper Image 3500 25 0.71 Sharper Image 1400 10 0.71 SpaWish 3500 25 0.71 Spiegal 1400 10 0.71 Sprotmart 3500 25 0.71 Stu. Andersons 1400 10 0.71 Walmart 1400 10 0.71 WebCert 3500 25 0.71 Applebees 750 5 0.67 B Dalton 750 5 0.67 Barnes & Noble 750 5 0.67 Blockbuster 750 5 0.67 Boston Market 1500 10 0.67 Foot Locker 1500 10 0.67 Hollywood Video 750 5 0.67 Home Depot 1500 10 0.67 JC Penney 1500 10 0.67 Kmart 1500 10 0.67 Media Play 750 5 0.67 Mrs Fields 750 5 0.67 R' Us 1500 10 0.67 SpaWish 1500 10 0.67 Sprots Authority 1500 10 0.67 Target 1500 10 0.67 WebCert 1500 10 0.67 Burger King 800 5 0.63 Kmart 800 5 0.63 Olive Garden 800 5 0.63 R' Us 800 5 0.63 Starbucks 800 5 0.63 Universal Ski 8000 35 0.44
[This message has been edited by Rut Dog (edited 03-27-2003).]
Mar 27, 2003 | 11:14 am
#19
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: ABQ
Programs: AA EXP, HH Dia
Posts: 274
Hilton isn't retail but if you like HHonors points, they come out pretty well using this formula (at least, if you would otherwise be buying points). Using their $12.50/1000 purchase points offer, it works out to 1.25 cents/point.
Mar 27, 2003 | 11:45 am
#20
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Hilton Diamond - USAir Gold
Posts: 8
I agree with ABQJon. I did an evaluation long ago as to the best location to apply MyPoints points. Since I value my HHonors points at a minimum 1 cent/pt, the only awards that fall above this line is Omaha Steaks and United. However, for United, you can only apply one certificate per ticket and it doesn't make much of a dent in the price. For Omaha Steaks, the voucher is not good on sales items. Since non-sale items are grossly overpriced, I don't feel this isn't a good use.
Since I frequently acquire HHonors points from other sources and redeem frequently (usually at least 2 weeks of vacations per year), I get value from them. For those who don't accumulate HHonors points quickly, I would suggest staying with Macy's/B-Dalton or one of the restaurant redemptions
Since I frequently acquire HHonors points from other sources and redeem frequently (usually at least 2 weeks of vacations per year), I get value from them. For those who don't accumulate HHonors points quickly, I would suggest staying with Macy's/B-Dalton or one of the restaurant redemptions
Mar 27, 2003 | 1:03 pm
#21
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Madison, WI, USA; NW Platinum, Marriott Silver, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 938
Rut Dog -
Your chart is very interesting. It might be interesting to add some of the VacationMiles awards to the mix. They aren't nearly as good as they used to be (several times I cashed in 20k points for ten $50 discounts at Marriott/Hyatt). Also isn't the giftcertifcates.ca award in Canadian dollars?
ABQ Jon -
I used to value Hilton points at .67 per point but that was before this year's devaluation, especially of the elite awards. I think the "use value" of the points (rather than the purchase price) is now between .50 and .60 per point.
Also, I sometimes cash in points for Marriott Rewards points. Even though the trade value is lousy (1750 MyPoints for 1000 Marriott Rewards points), MR points are generally hard to get and the upper-level rewards are pretty good.
Your chart is very interesting. It might be interesting to add some of the VacationMiles awards to the mix. They aren't nearly as good as they used to be (several times I cashed in 20k points for ten $50 discounts at Marriott/Hyatt). Also isn't the giftcertifcates.ca award in Canadian dollars?
ABQ Jon -
I used to value Hilton points at .67 per point but that was before this year's devaluation, especially of the elite awards. I think the "use value" of the points (rather than the purchase price) is now between .50 and .60 per point.
Also, I sometimes cash in points for Marriott Rewards points. Even though the trade value is lousy (1750 MyPoints for 1000 Marriott Rewards points), MR points are generally hard to get and the upper-level rewards are pretty good.
Mar 27, 2003 | 1:31 pm
#22
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Andover, MA, 01810
Posts: 1,988
What Hilton awards do you redeem for that would give you a value of 1c/point? I have redeemend 85k points for an AA domestic ticket and 20k points for a room that would cost $100, but neither of these comes close to 1c/point.
Mar 27, 2003 | 1:45 pm
#23
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 540
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by UserMark:
What Hilton awards do you redeem for that would give you a value of 1c/point? I have redeemend 85k points for an AA domestic ticket and 20k points for a room that would cost $100, but neither of these comes close to 1c/point.</font>
What Hilton awards do you redeem for that would give you a value of 1c/point? I have redeemend 85k points for an AA domestic ticket and 20k points for a room that would cost $100, but neither of these comes close to 1c/point.</font>
If you check biddingfortravel.com, the lowest HWV can be had is around $130 / night. ALON @ 6 nights would equate a value of about $780 (Before taxes and Priceline fees), this would value the 100K HH points it takes to redeem at 0.78c / point.
Mar 27, 2003 | 2:09 pm
#24
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Between AUS, EWR, and YTO In a little twisty maze of airline seats, all alike.. but I wanna go home with the armadillo
Programs: CO, NW, & UA forum moderator emeritus. Eurobonus Millionaire
Posts: 38,673
...But that same ALON can also be used at fancier hotels that charge more. The answer to value is highly dependent on exactly what kind of award you redeem points for and at what hotel. We recently used 21000 points for 4 days at a Scandic hotel. They wanted the US equivalent of about $150 for the room. Perhaps I could have gotten it for less via some kind of deal, but how much less, I don't know. Even at $75/night my value for 21000 points is still 1.42c/point.
On our trip we used 87000 points for 13 room nights (the above rate was so good we took two rooms for four nights!). That's a lot less than our initial thought of 100000 using GLON awards for 6 of the 9 nights plus additional awards for the additional three nights.
On our trip we used 87000 points for 13 room nights (the above rate was so good we took two rooms for four nights!). That's a lot less than our initial thought of 100000 using GLON awards for 6 of the 9 nights plus additional awards for the additional three nights.
Mar 27, 2003 | 3:18 pm
#26
Join Date: Feb 2001
Programs: IHG Diamond, HH Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 4,345
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ChaseTheMiles:
DO any of these merchants give you money back when you don't spend up to the GC amount?</font>
DO any of these merchants give you money back when you don't spend up to the GC amount?</font>
Unfortunately, most of the "high" value items aren't, to me. Yes, I could go for Marriott. ... And use them to pay for, say, a meal that costs $50 but is only worth $30 at an equivalent restaurant. Similar with Macy's, etc, where it's not good value to get a $50 voucher than will only buy $40 worth of merchandise somewhere else.
Mar 27, 2003 | 3:22 pm
#27
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ChaseTheMiles:
Is there any limitation to the Macy's gift certificate, such as having to use it on regularly-price merchandise?</font>
Is there any limitation to the Macy's gift certificate, such as having to use it on regularly-price merchandise?</font>
The card also says it can be used online at macys.com
[This message has been edited by TheWaitress (edited 03-27-2003).]