Buy bonus points and miles with these May promotions
Editor's Note
Loyalty programs are a huge moneymaker for airlines and hotel companies because they have many revenue streams. One of these revenue streams is selling airline miles and hotel points directly to travelers.
By selling points and miles, programs can get an immediate cash injection as travelers prepay for future travel. However, 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 I 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 award.
We generally only recommend buying points or miles if you have an immediate use in mind. Otherwise, you're left open to unexpected devaluations. However, if you have a specific hotel or destination in mind, buying points and miles can save you thousands of dollars.
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: Up to a 35% discount
- Purchase rate: As low as 2.45 cents per mile
- TPG valuation: 1.6 cents per mile
- End date: Unknown
- Link to buy miles
American Airlines AAdvantage is offering up to a 35% discount on miles. You'll get the highest discount when you buy 150,000 miles, dropping the price to 2.45 cents per mile. This is significantly higher than TPG's valuation of American miles, but buying American miles for specific high-end awards could still make sense.
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Current promotion: Up to 85% bonus points
- Purchase rate: About 1.38 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 1.5 cents per point
- End date: May 11
- Link to buy points
Aeroplan is currently offering up to 85% bonus points when purchasing at least 40,000 points, which cost 1,400 Canadian dollars (about $1,020). This makes the purchase rate as low as 1.38 cents per point, which is lower than TPG's valuation of 1.5 cents apiece. Therefore, if you're looking to book a getaway in 2024, this is a great promotion to top off your account to book a business-class ticket, a stopover for just 5,000 points or a round-trip economy ticket within North America.
If you want to maximize your Aeroplan points, be sure to check out our guide.
JetBlue TrueBlue
- Current promotion: 70% bonus points
- Purchase rate: As low as 1.48 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 1.35 cents per point
- End date: June 28
- Link to buy points
JetBlue is currently offering TrueBlue members 70% bonus points when purchasing a minimum of 6,000 points. Therefore, you get a purchase rate of 1.73 cents per point when purchasing the minimum amount of points to 14,000 points. When you purchase between 15,000 points to the maximum amount of 150,000 points, it drops the purchase rate to 1.48 cents per point. TPG values TrueBlue points at 1.35 cents per point; therefore, we don't recommend buying TrueBlue points unless you have a specific redemption in mind and need to top off your account. However, since JetBlue allows members to do Cash + Points redemptions, you don't necessarily need the full amount of points to snag a redemption.
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- Current promotion: Save 50%
- Purchase rate: As low as 1.5 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 1.35 cents per point
- End date: May 15
- Link to buy points
Southwest Rapid Rewards members can currently purchase points — with a minimum of 3,000 points — and save 50%. This would bring the purchase rate down to 1.5 cents per point. While this is still higher than TPG's valuation of 1.35 cents per point, it could be worth purchasing extra Southwest points if you have a specific redemption in mind and need to top off your account. Plus, Southwest now offers a Cash + Points redemption, which means you can book part of your flight with Rapid Rewards points and part with cash.
Avianca LifeMiles
- Current promotion: Up to 160% bonus miles (targeted)
- Purchase rate: As low as 1.32 cents per mile
- TPG valuation: 1.7 cents per mile
- End date: May 31
- Link to buy miles
Though we typically don't recommend purchasing miles, Avianca is offering a targeted bonus of up to 160% bonus miles, though you could be targeted for a higher bonus. This would bring the purchase rate to 1.32 cents per mile, which is well below TPG's valuation. Avianca is part of Star Alliance, which means you can redeem LifeMiles for flights with partners such as Lufthansa and United Airlines. This could be especially beneficial if you need to top off your LifeMiles account or are interested in purchasing a business- or first-class ticket.
Alaska Airlines MileagePlan
- Current promotion: Up to 60% bonus miles
- Purchase rate: As low as 1.72 cents per mile
- TPG valuation: 1.6 cents per mile
- End date: May 23
- Link to buy miles
Alaska MileagePlan members can currently purchase miles with up to a 60% bonus; you must purchase a minimum of 40,000 miles to get the highest bonus. This would bring the purchase rate to 1.72 cents per mile, which is slightly above TPG's valuation of 1.6 cents per mile. Since Alaska is part of the Oneworld alliance, this is a great promotion to stock up on miles and finally book those international business-class tickets you've been eyeing. For example, you could book a partner flight on Alaska's website traveling from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) in business class for 85,000 miles on Finnair. You can currently purchase 86,400 Alaska miles for $1,485. If you were to purchase the same Finnair fare at the cash price, it would cost $4,535. Therefore, by buying miles, you're saving more than $3,000.
Promotions for buying hotel points
Hilton Honors
- Current promotion: Up to a 100% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 0.5 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 0.6 cents per point
- End date: May 14
- Link to buy points
Hilton is currently offering a 100% bonus when you purchase at least 6,000 Hilton Honors points. This will give you a purchase rate of as low as 0.5 cents per point, below TPG's valuation of 0.6 cents per point. Therefore, if you want to stock up on Hilton points or have a dreamy tropical Hilton destination in mind, now is the time to buy.
IHG One Rewards
- Current promotion: 80% bonus
- Purchase rate: As low as 0.75 cents per point
- TPG valuation: 0.5 cents per point
- End date: June 8
- Link to buy points
IHG is currently offering 80% bonus points when you purchase at least 5,000 points. This will bring the purchase rate to as low as 0.75 cents per point. This is still higher than TPG's valuation of 0.5 cents apiece. If you are planning a trip and need to top off your IHG One Rewards account, using this promotion could help you save some money.
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.
As such, you'll want to use an everyday spending card that offers a solid return on non-bonus spending. Or, if you're working toward a minimum spending requirement to earn a welcome bonus, 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:
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)
The main exception to this rule is American Airlines. The 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.