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The travel industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. Thousands of , and hotel occupancy in the U.S. and abroad has . This has left airlines and hotel groups scrambling to find new income streams in order to secure fast cash. One of these is selling airline miles and hotel points with a discount or bonus — this gives the airline an immediate cash injection as travelers are essentially prepaying for future travel at a discount.
There are several good buy-miles deals going on right now; for example, IHG is and Air Canada is with a bonus for the first time. With miles this cheap, you can save money by purchasing miles and redeeming them for hotel award stays or flights you would've otherwise paid cash for. In the case of Aeroplan, a one-way business-class flight to Europe only costs $715 if you purchase at 1.3 cents per mile.
We'll walk you through all of the current airline mile and hotel point sales that we consider a good deal. But first, let's discuss whether or not buying miles during the is a good deal.
Should I buy points and miles now?
While these deals sound great on paper, there are a couple of things to consider before taking advantage of these sales.
The first is that . It's much better to earn points and miles for free through welcome bonuses. 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 points and miles. That said, we only recommend buying points or miles when you have an immediate plan to use them; otherwise, you're left open to devaluations.
But here's the thing: Now isn't the time to travel given the state of the coronavirus outbreak. This means that you're buying miles that you'll likely use for travel in late 2020 or early 2021. However, there's no guarantee that travel will be safe by this time, so make sure you understand the or hotel group you're buying miles from before you make the transaction.
In addition, many airlines and hotel groups are on rocky financial ground right now. We've already seen — when this happens, your depending on the outcome of the bankruptcy. To play it safe, only purchase points and miles from airlines and hotel companies that you think will make it through the coronavirus outbreak without filing for bankruptcy or otherwise going insolvent.
With that out of the way, here are the buy-points and miles promotions currently available, sorted by those ending first:
Air Canada is running a limited-time promotion where it's selling Aeroplan miles for 1 to 1.3 cents per point. The sale is running in three tiers, where the first 10 million points sold included a 110% bonus, the next 100 million at a 90% bonus, and anything beyond at a 65% bonus. The first two tiers have sold out, but you can still buy miles at 1.3 cents per mile, which is still 0.2 cents per mile lower than TPG's current valuation of 1.5 cents per mile.
One of the is for business-class flights to Europe. These tickets cost 55,000 one-way, meaning that a one-way ticket on United, SWISS or another Star Alliance carrier only costs $715 at the 1.3 cent per mile level. This is an excellent deal if you have an immediate redemption in mind for late 2020 or early 2021 and have faith in Air Canada making it through the coronavirus-fueled travel downturn.
Verdict: Good deal for those who want to book cheap business-class airfare on Star Alliance carriers.
British Airways is offering a 50% to 75% bonus on all Avios purchased through May 18. All members are eligible for the 50% bonus, while the 75% bonus is reserved for those with a . We've seen a 50% bonus on buying Avios in the past, but the 75% bonus is the most generous sale we've seen to date.
You'll incur if you use your Avios to book award tickets operated by British Airways, so we recommend . Some of our favorite British Airways partner redemptions include on American or Alaska, flights to Tokyo, and .
Verdict: Good value for travelers who plan on redeem Avios with .
is running a targeted promotion where it's selling miles at its best-ever rate of 60% bonus, though some members may be targeted for a 40% or 50% bonus. While that bonus rate doesn't sound as impressive as some of the other offers here, it can be an excellent deal if you use the miles for high-value first- or business-class award ticket. Alaska Mileage Plan has some , so you can redeem miles for top-tier products like , and . Even better, you can get a , so you can see two destinations without paying extra miles.
Verdict: Solid deal for those who know how to .
American Airlines AAdvantage is running a targeted promotion where it's offering up to 100,000 bonus AAdvantage miles on purchased miles. Depending on how many miles you buy, you can purchase miles for as little as 1.79 cents per mile. That's not quite as cheap as the best-ever rate of 1.6 cents each we saw in April 2020, but it's still a solid rate for those who for high-value AA and partner awards — some of our favorites include and . At just 1.79 cents per point, this sale is a good way to book them on the cheap.
Verdict: Good deal for those that for high-value redemptions.
is back with its best-ever 100% bonus, dropping the price of points to just 0.5 cents each — matching TPG's valuation. For now, IHG prices its hotels at the same rate for every day throughout the year. That means you can score incredible deals like a Times Square hotel for New Year's Eve for 50,000 points per night. At 0.5 cents per point, that's just $250 for a hotel in the center of it all. Plus, at this purchase rate, you can book Category 1 hotels for just $50 per night. I'd recommend checking the points rates for your upcoming trip(s) to see if you can purchase and redeem points for less than the cash cost of your hotel stay.
Verdict: Great deal for targeted .
Which credit card should you use?
Most of these buy-point/mile promotions are processed through Points.com rather than by the hotel or airline directly. Unfortunately, that means that you won't generally get bonus rewards with a card that has a travel category bonus. Some of the best cards that fit this bill include (2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 per year; then 1x, giving you a ) or (1.5% cash back/1.5x Ultimate Rewards points for a ). You can check out our guide to the for additional suggestions.
The only exception to this is buying Aeroplan miles. Air Canada charges all mileage purchases in Canadian dollars, so you'll want to use a card that both earns bonus points and doesn't charge . The Blue Business Plus and Chase Freedom Unlimited both charge foreign transaction fees, so I recommend purchasing Aeroplan miles with the which earns 2x miles per dollar spent on all purchases. You can then transfer to or toward travel purchases.
Editor's note: At TPG, our top priority is providing our readers with the information needed to make educated decisions about travel and rewards-earning strategy. This is not the best time to travel, domestically or internationally, as airlines have cut major parts of their route networks. But we are sharing this information to provide value for future travel once coronavirus concerns have subsided.
The travel industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. Thousands of , and hotel occupancy in the U.S. and abroad has . This has left airlines and hotel groups scrambling to find new income streams in order to secure fast cash. One of these is selling airline miles and hotel points with a discount or bonus — this gives the airline an immediate cash injection as travelers are essentially prepaying for future travel at a discount.
There are several good buy-miles deals going on right now; for example, IHG is and Air Canada is with a bonus for the first time. With miles this cheap, you can save money by purchasing miles and redeeming them for hotel award stays or flights you would've otherwise paid cash for. In the case of Aeroplan, a one-way business-class flight to Europe only costs $715 if you purchase at 1.3 cents per mile.
We'll walk you through all of the current airline mile and hotel point sales that we consider a good deal. But first, let's discuss whether or not buying miles during the is a good deal.
Should I buy points and miles now?
While these deals sound great on paper, there are a couple of things to consider before taking advantage of these sales.
The first is that . It's much better to earn points and miles for free through welcome bonuses. 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 points and miles. That said, we only recommend buying points or miles when you have an immediate plan to use them; otherwise, you're left open to devaluations.
But here's the thing: Now isn't the time to travel given the state of the coronavirus outbreak. This means that you're buying miles that you'll likely use for travel in late 2020 or early 2021. However, there's no guarantee that travel will be safe by this time, so make sure you understand the or hotel group you're buying miles from before you make the transaction.
In addition, many airlines and hotel groups are on rocky financial ground right now. We've already seen — when this happens, your depending on the outcome of the bankruptcy. To play it safe, only purchase points and miles from airlines and hotel companies that you think will make it through the coronavirus outbreak without filing for bankruptcy or otherwise going insolvent.
With that out of the way, here are the buy-points and miles promotions currently available, sorted by those ending first:
- Current promo: 65% to 100% bonus
- Purchase rate: 1.0 to 1.3 cents per mile (best ever)
- : 1.5 cents per mile
- Ending date: May 13
Air Canada is running a limited-time promotion where it's selling Aeroplan miles for 1 to 1.3 cents per point. The sale is running in three tiers, where the first 10 million points sold included a 110% bonus, the next 100 million at a 90% bonus, and anything beyond at a 65% bonus. The first two tiers have sold out, but you can still buy miles at 1.3 cents per mile, which is still 0.2 cents per mile lower than TPG's current valuation of 1.5 cents per mile.
One of the is for business-class flights to Europe. These tickets cost 55,000 one-way, meaning that a one-way ticket on United, SWISS or another Star Alliance carrier only costs $715 at the 1.3 cent per mile level. This is an excellent deal if you have an immediate redemption in mind for late 2020 or early 2021 and have faith in Air Canada making it through the coronavirus-fueled travel downturn.
Verdict: Good deal for those who want to book cheap business-class airfare on Star Alliance carriers.
- Current promo: 50% to 75% bonus
- Purchase rate: 1.58 to 1.84 cents per mile (best ever)
- : 1.5 cents per mile
- Ending date: May 18
British Airways is offering a 50% to 75% bonus on all Avios purchased through May 18. All members are eligible for the 50% bonus, while the 75% bonus is reserved for those with a . We've seen a 50% bonus on buying Avios in the past, but the 75% bonus is the most generous sale we've seen to date.
You'll incur if you use your Avios to book award tickets operated by British Airways, so we recommend . Some of our favorite British Airways partner redemptions include on American or Alaska, flights to Tokyo, and .
Verdict: Good value for travelers who plan on redeem Avios with .
- Current promo: up to 60% bonus
- Purchase rate: as low as 1.72 cents per mile (best ever)
- : 1.8 cents per mile
- Ending date: May 31
is running a targeted promotion where it's selling miles at its best-ever rate of 60% bonus, though some members may be targeted for a 40% or 50% bonus. While that bonus rate doesn't sound as impressive as some of the other offers here, it can be an excellent deal if you use the miles for high-value first- or business-class award ticket. Alaska Mileage Plan has some , so you can redeem miles for top-tier products like , and . Even better, you can get a , so you can see two destinations without paying extra miles.
Verdict: Solid deal for those who know how to .
- Current promo: up to 100,000 bonus miles and 3% off
- Purchase rate: 1.79 cents per mile (best-ever rate was 1.6 cents per mile)
- : 1.4 cents per mile
- Ending date: May 31
American Airlines AAdvantage is running a targeted promotion where it's offering up to 100,000 bonus AAdvantage miles on purchased miles. Depending on how many miles you buy, you can purchase miles for as little as 1.79 cents per mile. That's not quite as cheap as the best-ever rate of 1.6 cents each we saw in April 2020, but it's still a solid rate for those who for high-value AA and partner awards — some of our favorites include and . At just 1.79 cents per point, this sale is a good way to book them on the cheap.
Verdict: Good deal for those that for high-value redemptions.
- Current promo: 100% bonus
- Purchase rate: 0.5 cents per point (best ever)
- : 0.5 cents per point
- Ending date: June 15
is back with its best-ever 100% bonus, dropping the price of points to just 0.5 cents each — matching TPG's valuation. For now, IHG prices its hotels at the same rate for every day throughout the year. That means you can score incredible deals like a Times Square hotel for New Year's Eve for 50,000 points per night. At 0.5 cents per point, that's just $250 for a hotel in the center of it all. Plus, at this purchase rate, you can book Category 1 hotels for just $50 per night. I'd recommend checking the points rates for your upcoming trip(s) to see if you can purchase and redeem points for less than the cash cost of your hotel stay.
Verdict: Great deal for targeted .
Which credit card should you use?
Most of these buy-point/mile promotions are processed through Points.com rather than by the hotel or airline directly. Unfortunately, that means that you won't generally get bonus rewards with a card that has a travel category bonus. Some of the best cards that fit this bill include (2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 per year; then 1x, giving you a ) or (1.5% cash back/1.5x Ultimate Rewards points for a ). You can check out our guide to the for additional suggestions.
The only exception to this is buying Aeroplan miles. Air Canada charges all mileage purchases in Canadian dollars, so you'll want to use a card that both earns bonus points and doesn't charge . The Blue Business Plus and Chase Freedom Unlimited both charge foreign transaction fees, so I recommend purchasing Aeroplan miles with the which earns 2x miles per dollar spent on all purchases. You can then transfer to or toward travel purchases.
Editor's note: At TPG, our top priority is providing our readers with the information needed to make educated decisions about travel and rewards-earning strategy. This is not the best time to travel, domestically or internationally, as airlines have cut major parts of their route networks. But we are sharing this information to provide value for future travel once coronavirus concerns have subsided.