POINTS PROVISIONS

Since the new iPhone 15 was recently released, I thought it would be a good time to compare the value you could get with your points by redeeming for Flights or redeeming for a new iPhone.  They both sound like great ideas right?  It would be nice to not have to spend any cash on either of these pricey items, but in this post I will illustrate why it could be a better idea to use your points on flights instead of a brand new iPhone as tempting as that may be. The lowest cost option for a new iPhone 15 Pro is $999.00 through the Apple website or any mobile carrier.   Chase is charging 99,000 Ultimate Rewards points to buy a new iPhone 15 Pro.  This is a redemption value of $0.01 per point.  Not bad, but you could probably do better. American Express is charging a whopping 164,003 Membership Rewards points for the same new iPhone 15 Pro.  This is a redemption value of $0.006 per point, which is obviously worse than redeeming through Chase. So, if you were to ...

1. First, set a goal for a destination you want to visit. 2. Figure out what Airlines fly to/from the airports you need to use.  For a quick check, you can look up the airports on Wikipedia and look for the “Airlines and Destinations” section.  This step helps minimize connections. 3. Learn about the Airline Alliances.  There are three major alliances, Oneworld, Skyteam, and Star Alliance with the airline members listed  here .  Most major airlines in the world are a member of one of these.  4. Learn which credit card points can transfer into each Airline mileage program.  The transfer partners for each credit card points program are listed  here . This is important because even if a particular credit card point doesn't transfer to the Airline you are hoping to fly, it may be a member of the same Airline Alliance of a credit card transfer partner airline. It’s usually possible to use the credit card transfer partner airline miles to book the fligh...