Book a pricey suite or flight for a fraction of the cost: December points promotions to save you money
Editor's Note
Loyalty programs are a huge moneymaker for airlines and hotel companies because they have many revenue streams. One of these revenue streams is selling airline miles and hotel points directly to travelers.
By selling points and miles, programs can get an immediate cash injection as travelers prepay for future travel. However, it generally only makes sense to purchase points and miles when a discount or bonus offer is available.
This roundup of points and miles sales walks you through some of the best current offers on airline miles and hotel points, including some that may be targeted. But first, let's discuss when it makes sense to buy points and miles.
Should I buy points and miles?
There are a couple of things to consider before taking advantage of points and miles sales.
First, buying points and miles only makes sense for certain travelers and at certain times. It's generally a much better deal to earn points and miles for "free" through welcome bonuses tied to travel rewards credit cards. However, buying points and miles during good promotions can make sense for those who have tapped out their credit card options and can get high value from their rewards. It can also make sense when you need more points to lock in a specific award now.
We generally only recommend buying points or miles if you have an immediate use in mind. Otherwise, you're left open to unexpected devaluations. However, if you have a specific hotel or destination in mind, buying points and miles can save you thousands of dollars.
With that, here are the current promotions for buying points and miles.
Related: What are points and miles worth? TPG's current monthly valuations
Promotions for buying airline miles
American Airlines AAdvantage
- Current promotion: Up to a 35% discount
- Purchase rate: As low as 2.45 cents per mile
- TPG valuation: 1.5 cents per mile
- End date: Unknown
- Link to buy miles
American Airlines AAdvantage is offering up to a 35% discount on miles. You'll get the highest discount when you buy 150,000 miles, dropping the price to 2.45 cents per mile. This is significantly higher than TPG's valuation of American miles, but buying American miles for specific high-end awards could still make sense.
United Airlines MileagePlus
- Current promotion: Up to a 100% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 1.88 cents per mile
- TPG valuation: 1.45 cents per mile
- End date: Dec. 22
- Link to buy miles
United is selling MileagePlus miles with up to a targeted 100% bonus through Dec. 22, which brings the purchase rate to as low as 1.88 cents per mile. That's still more expensive than our valuation of United miles, so unless you have a specific high-value redemption in mind, we generally wouldn't recommend this route (especially after the program's devaluation earlier this year). You can buy up to 175,000 miles in a calendar year, and bonus miles count toward the 175,000-mile cap. Just note that this is targeted, so you may not be eligible for the full 100% bonus.
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- Current promotion: Up to a 50% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 1.5 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 1.4 cents per point
- End date: Dec. 24
- Link to buy points
Southwest is currently offering a 50% bonus when you purchase 3,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points or more, dropping the purchase rate to as low as 1.5 cents per point. Though this is still slightly higher than TPG's valuation of 1.4 cents per point, there may be a flight redemption that makes it worth it to buy points. For example, there is currently availability to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Cancun in February for less than 3,000 points. While you'll need to pay for taxes and fees, you can still save a few bucks per seat booked with points. But remember, Southwest is devaluing its Rapid Rewards points by about 4% from March 2024 on, meaning your points will be worth 1.3 cents each. So, we'd only recommend purchasing points if you have to top off your account for a specific award redemption.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Current promotion: Up to a 100% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 1.5 cents per mile
- TPG valuation: 1.2 cents per mile
- End date: Dec. 21
- Link to buy points
Flying Blue is currently offering up to a 100% bonus when you purchase at least 40,000 miles, which brings the purchase rate to 1.52 cents per mile. This redemption rate is still higher than TPG's valuation of 1.2 cents per mile, so we wouldn't recommend purchasing points unless you have a specific flight redemption in mind. Instead, we suggest transferring from one of the following redemption partners: Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Bilt Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy or Brex Rewards.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Current promotion: Up to a 50% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 1.97 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 1.4 cents per point
- End date: Dec. 23
- Link to buy points
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is offering targeted 30%, 40% and 50% bonuses on purchased miles. You may be able to receive a 50% bonus after purchasing a minimum of 15,000 miles, netting you a total of 22,500 miles for $443.44 (including Alaska Airlines' Tax Recovery fee). So, is it worth it? Since the purchase rate is greater than TPG's valuation, even with a 50% bonus, we'd only recommend buying miles if you need to top off your account for a specific redemption.
Promotions for buying hotel points
Hilton Honors
- Current promotion: Up to a 100% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 0.5 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 0.6 cents per point
- End date: Dec. 31
- Link to buy points
The current Hilton Honors promotion allows you to earn a 100% bonus when purchasing at least 5,000 points, effectively buying Hilton points for just 0.5 cents each. You can buy up to 240,000 points (or 480,000 points after the 100% bonus). Hilton's points can be especially valuable for high-cost hotels like the Conrad Bora Bora Nui, where a night can exceed $1,000 when paying cash or be booked for 120,000 Hilton Honors points. Additionally, promotions for buying points can make for more affordable stays at less expensive Hilton hotels. With Hilton Honors elite status, you can enjoy a fifth night free on award stays.
Marriott Bonvoy
- Current promotion: 30% bonus
- Purchase rate: 0.96 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 0.84 cents per point
- End date: Dec. 20
- Link to buy points
Marriott Bonvoy is offering a 30% bonus when you purchase at least 2,000 points and up to 150,000 points (before bonuses are applied). While the purchase price is very close to our valuation of Bonvoy points, in November, Marriott offered a 40% bonus on points. So, unless you have to top off your account for a hotel redemption that you need to book ASAP, we recommend waiting until a better bonus deal rolls around.
World of Hyatt
- Current promotion: 20% discount
- Purchase rate: 2 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 1.7 cents per point
- End date: Dec. 4
- Link to buy points
World of Hyatt is offering a 20% bonus when you purchase 3,000 or more points in a single transaction. Points can be purchased in increments of 1,000, up to 55,000 points per calendar year (before any bonuses are applied). In the past, we have seen bonuses of 30%, so this is not the best offer you will likely see for Hyatt points.
Leading Hotels of the World
- Current promotion: Up to 100% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 6 cents per point
- End date: Dec. 26
- Link to buy points
Leading Hotels of the World typically charges 12 cents per Leaders Club point. Though we don't usually recommend buying points, if there is a specific hotel within its portfolio, you can take advantage of this promotion and top off your account. However, to get the best redemption rates for this luxury hotel brand, we'd recommend transferring Citi ThankYou Rewards points to LHW. Those who have the Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees) and the Citi Prestige® Card can transfer their reward points at a 5:1 ratio.
IHG One Rewards
- Current promotion: 100% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 0.5 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 0.5 cents per point
- End date: Dec. 30
- Link to buy points
For the holiday season, IHG One Rewards is offering a 100% bonus when you purchase at least 5,000 points in a single transaction. If you purchase the minimum number of points to receive the bonus, your purchase rate is 0.67 cents apiece, which is greater than TPG's valuation. However, if you purchase the maximum number of points (250,000), which will net you a grand total of 500,000 points, your purchase rate is as low as 0.5 cents per point. This could be a really great deal if you want to stockpile points or have a specific trip in mind.
Which credit card should you use to buy miles?
Most of these promotions are processed through Points.com rather than directly by the hotel or airline. So, you won't earn bonus rewards with most travel rewards cards.
As such, you'll want to use an everyday spending card that offers a solid return on non-bonus spending. Or, if you're working toward a minimum spending requirement to earn a welcome bonus, using that card may be the way to go.
Remember that you may incur foreign transaction fees on some cards when buying points or miles from a program abroad, so you may want to use one of the following cards:
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)
The main exception to this rule is American Airlines. The airline reportedly codes mileage purchases as airfare, so you may want to use a credit card that earns bonus miles on airfare for the highest return when buying AAdvantage miles.