How Much Are Points Worth? (Quarter 3 2023)

Now that Quarter 3 of 2023 has arrived, it’s once again time to revisit our Points Valuations, which we update on a quarterly basis.

During the previous quarter, there was a moderate amount of movement in the loyalty landscape, and the changes that did occur are a mix of positive and negative.

During the previous quarter, BMO completed its acquisition of Air Miles. While there haven’t been any new developments or announcements from the program since, BMO has indicated that it wants to make some improvements.

CIBC has once again extended the ability to redeem Aventura points for 1.25 cents per point against all travel purchases. This time, the promotion was extended all the way to March 31, 2024. 

MBNA announced that it will be discontinuing its Alaska Airlines co-branded credit cards; however, it also made mention of MBNA Rewards points becoming transferable to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at a 1:1 ratio at some point in the future.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club reduced the cost of partner awards by a fair margin. It’s rare for a program to add value rather than take it away, especially since we’ve seen so many devaluations in the recent past.

United MileagePlus increased the cost of redemptions by around 30% across the board. What started as changes to transatlantic flights soon spread to the rest of the world, and the program became even less interesting than it was before.

Before we delve into the valuations, I should remind you that the focus of these valuations lies in the target redemption value of each points currency, rather than the acquisition cost that you might incur (which can vary significantly depending on how you prefer to earn points).

Air Miles

In March, BMO announced its intention to purchase Air Miles, as its previous owner was headed for bankruptcy. This move preserved the balances of Air Miles collectors, and saved the program from the brink of extinction.

BMO completed its acquisition of Air Miles in early June, at a cost of $160 million (USD). 

While there haven’t been any material changes to the loyalty program as of yet, there are some rumblings that BMO has plans to improve the program in the coming months.

Some of the planned improvements to the program include:

• An improved travel booking platform with better offers
• More ways for collectors to earn Air Miles
• New opportunities to earn and redeem Air Miles with Canadian brands
• Leveraging technology to make a better overall customer experience

We’re keeping our valuation of Air Miles steady this time around. While no material changes to the program have taken place, there appear to be changes coming in the future, and we’ll be sure to update the valuation accordingly when the time comes.

• Continued valuation: 10.5 cents/mile (CAD) 

CIBC Aventura

In December 2021, CIBC debuted the ability to redeem Aventura points at a value of 1.25 cents per point against any travel purchase. Previously, redeeming 8,000 Aventura points against travel purchases would net a $50 (CAD) credit, but that number was doubled to $100 (CAD) with this promotion.

Since then, CIBC has extended the promotion on an ongoing basis, and the latest extension was to March 31, 2024.

While it’s possible to get better value out of Aventura points by redeeming them for a flight with the Aventura Airline Rewards Chart, you’re limited in what you can do with them.

Being able to book travel as you wish and redeem your points at a heightened value is a much more flexible option, even with the requirement to apply points towards purchases while the transaction is still pending.

Otherwise, there haven’t been any material changes to the program as a whole, and for now, our valuation remains the same.

• Continued valuation: 1.25 cents/point (CAD) 

MBNA Rewards

One of the more exciting bits of news to come from the previous quarter was from MBNA.

Last fall, MBNA very quickly pulled the plug on accepting new applications for its Alaska Airlines co-branded credit cards. While it wasn’t possible to apply for a new card, existing cardholders continued to earn miles on purchases.

In June 2023, MBNA announced that it will discontinue the Alaska Airlines co-branded credit cards entirely, which made the prospect of earning Alaska miles in Canada very difficult.

In that same announcement, MBNA made mention that its own proprietary rewards program, MBNA Rewards, will be transferable to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at a 1:1 ratio at some point in the future. While it’s not 100% official yet, all indications point towards it being confirmed in the near future, as soon as an agreement is finalized.

This will certainly be an exciting development, as not only will MBNA Rewards become Canada’s newest transferable points currency, but the 5x earning rate on the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is set to be one of the more compelling category multipliers in the country.

We’ll keep the valuation of MBNA Rewards steady this time around; however, expect this number to change once the development takes place.

• Continued valuation: 1 cent per point (CAD)

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Ever since Qatar Airways joined the Avios family last year, Qatar Airways Privilege Club has become much more relevant in the loyalty landscape. 

While it’s not possible to directly earn Qatar Airways Avios in Canada, you can instantly transfer Avios from your British Airways Executive Club account to your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account. This means that earning British Airways Avios is essentially the same as earning Qatar Airways Avios.

When loyalty programs make changes to award pricing, it tends to be in an unfavourable direction. Qatar Airways Privilege Club bucked that trend in the previous quarter, by reducing the cost of bookings with partner airlines by up to 50%.

While booking Qatar Airways Qsuites and Qatar Airways First Class remain some of the best ways to redeem Avios, you’ll need to phone in to book flights with any airline aside from British Airways, Qatar Airways, or American Airlines. 

Hopefully, we’ll be able to book partner awards online in the near future, as this would take away a needlessly cumbersome step.

On the other hand, it’s great to see a program adding value rather than taking it away. Our valuation remains steady this time around.

• Continued valuation: 2 cents per point (CAD) / 1.5 cents per point (USD)

United MileagePlus

The latest culprit for devaluing its program is United MileagePlus.

In mid-May, United quietly devalued transatlantic awards on its MileagePlus program. At the time, it appeared that the hike had only affected flights between North America and Europe, and that the rest of the world was spared; however, the devaluation spread to the rest of the network by early June.

In general, the amount of points required for a redemption increased by 30% or more. That’s a pretty big jump, and the fact that it came without any warning whatsoever makes it even worse.

It’s worth noting that United MileagePlus wasn’t necessarily the best program to use for many awards to begin with, and that the devaluation only makes it less interesting.

In most cases, you’re better off using Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles to book flights with Star Alliance carriers. 

With the increased cost of redemptions in mind, we’ve lowered our valuation of United MileagePlus this time around.

• New valuation: 1.2 cents per mile (USD) / 1.6 cents per mile (CAD) ▼

Points Valuations, Quarter 3 2023

Here’s a summary of our Points Valuations for Quarter 3 of 2023. You can refer to the Points Valuations page for a full list with additional notes.

Conclusion

The second quarter of 2023 saw a handful of developments in the loyalty landscape, and it was a bit of a mixed bag this time around.

BMO completed its acquisition of Air Miles. While this preserves collectors’ account balances, there haven’t been any material changes to the program as of yet, although it’s expected that those will come in the near future.

CIBC once again extended its Aventura promotion, which lets members redeem points against any travel purchase at a value of 1.25 cents per point. This time, it was extended through to March 31, 2024.

MBNA Rewards have become a lot more interesting ever since it was announced that they’ll be transferable to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at a 1:1 ratio at some point in the future. While this change hasn’t been implemented yet, members are waiting with bated breath for confirmation. 

Qatar Airways Privilege Club reduced the number of Avios required to redeem for flights with partner airlines. While you’ll still need to phone in to book most partner airlines, at least the program is adding value, rather than taking it away.

United MileagePlus quietly and suddenly increased award pricing across the board by around 30%. The program wasn’t necessarily interesting to begin with, and it’s just become even less so with this development.

Remember, treat these numbers as merely a suggestion for reasonable target redemption values when deciding whether to redeem points or pay cash for your next trip.

Ultimately, the value derived from every redemption will be subjective to the individual traveller, and our valuations are designed to illustrate an average benchmark across the community to help inform your decision as you consider your next points redemption.