 TITLE: Vacationing With Points: When to Redeem Points and When to Pay Cash CONTENT: How Much Are Your Points Worth?\n-------------------------------\nThis is a tricky question because the value of points and miles—even the cash back kind—can vary depending on a lot of different factors. Pricing within the travel industry, including airfares and hotel rates, is also somewhat erratic for the time being due to COVID 19-related concerns and issues. So before redeeming any points or miles, be sure to price out your options to make sure you are getting enough value from them to make sense for your needs.\n1.  It depends on the charge. The value of your points might come down to the types of purchases for which you redeem them. For example, the miles you earn with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed for travel, either for a reservation you make directly through the Capital One travel site, or to \"erase\" a previous travel charge on your billing statement. But if you redeem your Capital One miles as cash back for another type of purchase, like a dinner out, you may only get half a cent per mile in value. Read up on the benefits of your specific loyalty program and make sure you are only redeeming points for the best possible value.\n2.  It depends on your credit card. Even points from the same loyalty program can have a different value based on which specific credit card you carry. Make sure you know the benefits of your particular product before redeeming any points you earn with it.\n3.  It depends on your destination. In terms of airline miles, your value can vary a lot depending on how you redeem them. For example, you might use 75,000 Delta SkyMiles for a one-way ticket from the U.S. to Europe that could cost upwards of $5,000, giving you a per-mile value of nearly 6.7 cents. On the other hand, your Delta SkyMiles would only be worth about 1.2 cents each if you redeemed 4,500 of them for a one-way flight between Los Angeles and San Francisco that would otherwise cost $53. So think about the ways you might want to use your miles and what redemptions are likely to reap the most value.\n4.  It depends on which hotels you book. Finally, the value of your hotel points will depend very much on the specific program in which you earn them. With World of Hyatt, for example, you can book award nights at many of the chain's high-end luxury hotels, such as the Park Hyatt New York, for 30,000 points each instead of paying rates that tend to run over $800. However, for a room at the Grand Wailea Maui, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, which is also often over $800 per night, you would need a whopping 95,000 Hilton Honors points (though reward rates can actually be much higher). So if you hope to use points with a specific hotel program, try making sample bookings and get a feel for how many points you will need for the destinations where you want to travel.\nOnce you get a sense of how many points or miles you're looking at redeeming for a specific trip, it's time to figure out whether doing so is worth it. END