Why a point is worth more on one card than another
Bilt Points are valued at 2.00¢ each and Hilton Honors at 0.40¢, about 5.0 to one. So the loudest multiplier is often not the card that earns the most.
Programs don't publish point values, so these come from outlets that model them from real award prices. Every figure is dated.
The short version
- Compare cards in dollars, never in points. Multiply the rate by what one point is worth; the result is what the purchase actually earns.
- Expect bank points to be worth more than hotel points. Points you can move to several airlines and hotels are valued at the best of them, so a smaller multiplier on a bank card often beats a large one on a hotel card.
- Value your points the way you actually redeem them. If you only ever take cash or a statement credit, use the cash floor in the table, not the headline value — the winning card can change.
- Put your own numbers in. Edit any value on Cardful's cheat sheet page and every ranking it shows you recomputes from it.
| Currency | WorthWhat one point or mile in this currency is worth, in cents: the median of the published valuations we read. Every ranking multiplies by it. | Cash floorWhat a point is worth if you simply cash it out as a statement credit or deposit, instead of transferring it to an airline or hotel. Blank or "no cash option" means there is no cash redemption worth naming. | Loudest rate in the catalogueThe biggest multiplier any card here pays in this currency, on whichever category it pays it. | Per $100 spentWhat that loudest rate earns per $100 spent, in dollars: the multiplier times what a point is worth. | ReadThe month of the oldest valuation behind this figure. "Not re-confirmed" means too few outlets have been read recently to call it current. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bilt Points
Points, Moves to airline and hotel programs
|
2.00¢ | No cash option | 3x
Bilt Mastercard |
$6.00 | 2026-09 |
|
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Points, Moves to airline and hotel programs
|
2.00¢ | 1.00¢ | 5x
Ink Business Cash |
$10.00 | 2026-09 |
|
Amex Membership Rewards
Points, Moves to airline and hotel programs
|
2.00¢ | 0.60¢ | 5x
Platinum Card |
$10.00 | 2026-09 |
|
Capital One Miles
Points, Moves to airline and hotel programs
|
1.80¢ | 0.50¢ | 2x
Venture X |
$3.60 | 2026-09 |
|
World of Hyatt
Hotel, Locked to one program
|
1.65¢ | No cash option | 2x
World of Hyatt |
$3.30 | 2026-09 |
|
Citi ThankYou Points
Points, Moves to airline and hotel programs
|
1.60¢ | 1.00¢ | 3x
Strata Premier |
$4.80 | 2026-09 |
|
Alaska Atmos Rewards
Airline, Locked to one program
|
1.55¢ | No cash option | 3x
Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite |
$4.65 | 2026-09 |
|
Wells Fargo Rewards
Points, Moves to airline and hotel programs
|
1.50¢ | 1.00¢ | 5x
Autograph Journey |
$7.50 | 2026-09 |
|
American AAdvantage
Airline, Locked to one program
|
1.45¢ | No cash option | 2x
AAdvantage Platinum Select |
$2.90 | 2026-09 |
|
Southwest Rapid Rewards
Airline, Locked to one program
|
1.30¢ | No cash option | 2x
Rapid Rewards Priority |
$2.60 | 2026-09 |
|
United MileagePlus
Airline, Locked to one program
|
1.20¢ | No cash option | 2x
United Explorer |
$2.40 | 2026-09 |
|
Delta SkyMiles
Airline, Locked to one program
|
1.20¢ | No cash option | 3x
Delta SkyMiles Platinum |
$3.60 | 2026-09 |
|
Cash Back
Cash back, A cent is a cent — nothing to value
|
1.00¢ | It is cash | 6%
Blue Cash Preferred |
$6.00 | Never dated |
|
Marriott Bonvoy
Hotel, Locked to one program
|
0.73¢ | No cash option | 4x
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful |
$2.92 | 2026-09 |
|
IHG One Rewards
Hotel, Locked to one program
|
0.60¢ | No cash option | 5x
IHG One Rewards Premier |
$3.00 | 2026-09 |
|
Hilton Honors
Hotel, Locked to one program
|
0.40¢ | No cash option | 7x
Hilton Honors Aspire |
$2.80 | 2026-09 |
A big multiplier is usually a cheap point
The two columns on the right are the ones worth reading together. A hotel program that values its own points low has to advertise a large number to look competitive, and a bank whose points transfer to airline programs does not. So the multiplier and the valuation move in opposite directions, and neither one on its own tells you what a purchase earns.
As written on the two cards, "7x on flights" and "3x on restaurants & bars and food delivery" are not comparable at all — they are prices quoted in two different currencies. Cardful multiplies each by what its own currency is worth first, which is the only step that puts them in the same unit.
What actually sets the number
Whether you can move it. Bilt Points, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Points and Wells Fargo Rewards transfer into airline and hotel programs, so their value is the best redemption available across all of those partners on any given day. A currency locked to one program is worth whatever that one program charges, and nothing more.
How the program prices an award. A program that charges a fixed number of points for a seat lets a point ride the cash price up. A program that prices awards off the cash fare pins its point near a fixed number of cents, permanently, however the fare moves.
What it is worth if you never redeem well. Five of these currencies can be taken as plain cash or a statement credit, and the floor can be a long way under the headline: Capital One Miles is valued at 1.80¢ and cashes out at 0.50¢. Bilt Points, World of Hyatt, Alaska Atmos Rewards, American AAdvantage, Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, Delta SkyMiles, Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards and Hilton Honors have no cash redemption worth naming at all — Cardful shows no floor for them rather than assuming a cent, which it did for a year and which told holders their points were worth money the program does not pay.
If you disagree with a figure, change it
These are published valuations, not verdicts. Somebody who only ever redeems for cash should set every transferable currency to its cash floor; somebody who reliably gets outsized value from one program should raise that one. Every one of these is editable on your wallet page, and every ranking Cardful shows you — the popup, the checkout overlay, the next-card suggestion — recomputes from your numbers.
A value you set is saved under your account and reaches the extension on its next sync. Like everything in your wallet, only your signed-in account can read it.
Point values: published industry valuations, most recently read 2026-09. We track The Points Guy, Upgraded Points, NerdWallet, Frequent Miler and AwardWallet. Every figure on this page is recomputed from that data when the site is built, so it cannot quietly disagree with what Cardful tells you at a checkout.