Buy bonus points and miles with these November promotions

Loyalty programs are a huge moneymaker for airlines and hotel companies because they support many revenue streams. One of these revenue streams is selling airline miles and hotel points directly to travelers.

Programs can get an immediate cash injection by selling points and miles as travelers prepay for future travel. However, as a traveler, keep in mind that 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 you 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 redemption.

We generally only recommend buying points or miles if you have an immediate use in mind. In that case, buying points and miles can save you thousands of dollars. However, we don’t recommend stockpiling your loyalty rewards, as programs frequently undergo unexpected devaluations.

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: A 10% to 35% discount
• Purchase rate: As low as 2.45 cents per mile
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 1.6 cents per mile
• End date: Unknown
• Buy AAdvantage miles

American Airlines AAdvantage is offering up to a 35% discount on miles, depending on how many you buy. You must purchase at least 6,000 miles to get the 10% discount, and the discount increases as you buy more miles. You’ll get the highest discount of 35% when you buy 150,000 miles, dropping the price to 2.45 cents per mile. This is significantly higher than TPG’s current valuation of American miles, but buying American miles for specific high-end awards could still make sense.

Air Canada Aeroplan

• Current promotion: Up to 30% discount
• Purchase rate: As low as about 1.76 cents per point
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 1.5 cents per point
• End date: Nov. 18, 2024
• Buy Aeroplan points

Air Canada Aeroplan is currently offering up to a 30% discount when you buy at least 100,000 points. If you buy at least 10,000 points, you’ll receive a 15% discount, and you’ll get a 20% discount when purchasing at least 20,000 points and a 25% discount when buying at least 80,000 points.

While the lowest purchasing rate you can receive is about 1.76 cents per point, this is still higher than TPG’s November valuation of 1.5 cents per point. This isn’t the best deal we’ve seen, but it could be worth topping off your Aeroplan account if you have a redemption in mind. Booking a business-class ticket, a stopover for 5,000 points or a round-trip economy ticket within North America are just a few ways to maximize your Aeroplan points.

JetBlue TrueBlue

• Current promotion: Up to 100% bonus points (targeted)
• Purchase rate: 1.61 cents per point
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 1.3 cents per point
• End date: Nov. 8, 2024
• Buy TrueBlue points

JetBlue TrueBlue is offering a 100% bonus promotion when you purchase at least 3,000 points. This bonus brings the cost per point down to a flat rate of 1.61 cents each, which is higher than TPG’s November valuation of 1.3 cents per point. This isn’t a terrible purchase rate, as TrueBlue points typically cost 3 cents apiece when you purchase them from the airline. If you have a JetBlue redemption in mind and are short a few points, this is a solid option.

Note that this offer may targeted, and some TrueBlue members may receive up to a 125% bonus.

Finnair Plus Avios

• Current promotion: Up to a 50% discount on Avios
• Purchase rate: About 1.12 cents per Avios
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 1.4 cents per Avios
• End date: Nov. 20, 2024
• Buy Finnair Plus Avios

Finnair Plus is currently offering up to a 50% discount when you purchase at least 75,000 Avios. Therefore, with the current maximum discount, you can purchase Avios for about as low as 1.12 cents. Since Finnair adopted Avios as its loyalty currency in 2024, you can transfer your Avios between the following programs at a 1:1 rate: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub and Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

Since TPG values Avios at 1.4 cents each, per our November 2024 valuations, this could be a great opportunity to snag a business-class ticket from the U.S. to Europe for less than $500. For example, Iberia Plus only charges 34,000 Avios (not including taxes and fees) for an off-peak business-class seat, meaning you could travel between select U.S. cities and European cities for a reasonable Avios rate. If you wanted to purchase 34,000 Avios with the current Finnair Plus promotion, you would receive a 40% discount, and you’d pay about $480. This is a great deal considering a business-class, one-way cash fare seat can cost you well over $2,000.

HawaiianMiles

• Current promotion: Up to 100% bonus miles
• Purchase rate: 1.27 cents per mile
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 1.2 cents per mile
• End date: Nov. 15, 2024
• Buy HawaiianMiles miles

Hawaiian Airlines is currently running a great promotion when you purchase HawaiianMiles. Members can receive up to a 100% bonus, lowering the purchase rate to 1.27 cents per mile. Though this is slightly above TPG’s November 2024 valuation of HawaiianMiles, which we value at 1.2 cents each, loyalty program members can transfer their Hawaiian miles to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at a 1:1 rate following the merger. Since TPG values Alaska miles at 1.4 cents per mile (per our November 2024 valuations), this is a solid purchasing rate to snag main cabin or even lie-flat business-class seats to Hawaii for less than $500.

United MileagePlus

• Current promotion: Up to 100% bonus miles
• Purchase rate: As low as 1.88 cents per mile
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 1.35 cents per mile
• End date: Nov. 21, 2024
• Buy MileagePlus miles

United MileagePlus is running an up to 100% bonus miles promotion. MileagePlus members can receive a 30% bonus when purchasing at least 5,000 miles, a 65% bonus when buying at least 20,000 miles and a 100% bonus when buying at least 40,000 miles. Note that your individual offer may be better or worse.

The 100% bonus would reduce the price to 1.88 cents per mile, considerably higher than TPG’s November 2024 valuation of 1.35 cents each for United miles. Therefore, unless you have a specific redemption in mind and want to top off your account balance, we wouldn’t recommend purchasing additional miles.

Promotions for buying hotel points

Choice Privileges

Choice’s “Fall special” sale on points is offering 50% bonus points when you purchase at least 8,000 Choice Privileges points. Since TPG’s November 2024 valuations peg Choice points at 0.6 cents each, this may be a good value if you’re looking to top off your balance for a specific redemption. However, it’s always best to compare the cash rate versus the points required per night.

For example, a one-night stay at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson in Flagstaff, Arizona, would cost around $109 for a February 2025 stay or 30,000 Choice points. With the discount, purchasing 20,000 points with a 10,000-point bonus (50% bonus points) would cost over $200. Therefore, buying Choice points for this stay would not be worth it, as you would actually save money by booking the stay with cash.

Hilton Honors

• Current promotion: 100% bonus points
• Purchase rate: As low as 0.5 cents per point
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 0.6 cents per point
• End date: Nov. 27, 2024
• Buy Hilton Honors points

Hilton Honors’ latest points-buying promotion is offering members a 100% bonus on the points you buy, meaning you get double the points for the same price. Offers may vary, but you generally must purchase at least 5,000 points to get the bonus. The maximum 100% bonus essentially halves the cost per point, which is now only 0.5 cents. This is a great deal considering TPG values Hilton points at 0.6 cents apiece, per our November 2024 valuations.

If you want to stock up on Hilton points or have a dreamy tropical Hilton destination in mind, now is the time to buy. Plus, you can now book Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties using Hilton Honors points.

IHG One Rewards (targeted)

• Current promotion: Up to 100% bonus points
• Purchase rate: As low as 0.5 cents per point
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 0.5 cents per point
• End date: Nov. 16, 2024
• Buy IHG One Rewards points

IHG One Rewards is currently running a targeted promotion for members to earn up to 100% bonus points. If you are targeted for up to 100% bonus points, this drops the purchasing rate to as low as 0.5 cents per points, which is right on target for TPG’s November 2024 valuation of IHG points.

Though we don’t recommend stocking up on IHG points without having a redemption in mind, if you’re already starting to plan your 2025 travels, this could be a great promotion to help save a bit of money. Check out our guide to how you can redeem IHG points for maximum value.

Marriott Bonvoy

• Current promotion: Up to a 45% bonus
• Purchase rate: As low as 0.86 cents per point
• TPG November 2024 valuation: 0.85 cents per point
• End date: Dec. 23, 2024
• Buy Mariott Bonvoy points

Marriott Bonvoy is offering another promotion to its members. From now through Dec. 23, Bonvoy members can receive 45% bonus points when purchasing at least 2,000 points. If you have access to this 45% bonus, you’ll pay as little as 0.86 cents per Bonvoy point — close to TPG’s November 2024 valuation of 0.85 cents per point. This could be a worthwhile offer if you’re eyeing one of the best Marriott all-inclusive resorts or Homes & Villas vacation rentals to book with points.

World of Hyatt

World of Hyatt, one of the most award-friendly hotel programs, is offering 25% bonus points, reducing the cost per point to 1.92 cents. This may seem like a good deal considering these points usually cost 2.4 cents each when you purchase them from the company, but it’s on the high side compared to TPG’s November 2024 valuation of 1.7 cents per Hyatt point. As a result, we wouldn’t recommend buying points now unless you need to top off your account for a redemption in the near future.

Which credit card should you use to buy points and 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. You’ll want to use an everyday spending card that offers a solid return on nonbonus spending.

The main exception to this rule is American Airlines. This 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.

Or, if you’re working toward a minimum spending requirement to earn a welcome bonus on a new card, 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:

Bottom line

Buying points and miles isn’t always a good idea, but it can make sense in some situations, especially if you can take advantage of a current promotion. In most cases, it’s best to have a specific redemption in mind before you consider paying for points and miles.