When Does a Mile Not Equal a Mile?

The biggest misnomer we'd like to clear up is the term "mile" or "point". It's forgivable if you believe that when you earn a 50,000 mile bonus, you're able to fly that many miles. Unfortunately this is not the case. (If that was true, you could fly around the world twice with that single sign-up bonus.)

The terms "mile" and "point" are interchangeable and it just depends on which reward program you're talking about. The key to understanding the term is to think of miles/points as a currency, and not distance. If miles/points are a currency, how much are they worth?


The easiest answer for that question is... it depends.

For example:

Southwest's award system, Rapid Rewards, is a fixed direct conversion to dollars. Their most lucrative credit card bonus was 50,000 points, which they claim is about $800 in travel. That mean you are getting roughly $0.016 per mile ($800/50,000) at the "wanna get away" price. David's part one to Redeeming Points post shows you how booking with Southwest works.

On American Airlines (AA) off-peak season award chart, their cheapest domestic round trip fare costs 25,000 miles to travel anywhere in the US. That could be from Portland to Los Angeles or Portland to Miami. Which is the better deal?

Let's say Portland to LA costs $250: $250/25,000 points = $0.01 per point
And let's say Portland to Miami costs $400. $400/25,000 points = $0.016 per point

In the above example, you would be getting a greater value if you were to redeem those 25,000 points for a trip from Portland to Miami. Now you can see one of the mini games in miles collecting: getting the best value out of your mile. But don't forget, there's off-peak travel and peak travel times. During peak travel times, AA bumps their reward fare up to 35,000 miles for domestic US travel.

As shown above, Southwest is a great value for domestic fliers. It is easy to book and seats are readily available. AA miles change in value, but that can be used as an advantage with a little research and planning, especially for farther destinations. Depending on a multitude of factors such as specific award program, time of year and even routes, the value of your point can change.

Disclaimer: This is a VERY general summary of miles/points, and using the most simple redemption fares. Each program has unique rules for fares and it is advised to read up on them or ask!