My controversial travel hacking opinion

Travel hacking is a great way to see the world while paying less, but it’s not one size fits all. A popular metric in the travel hacking community is cents per point (CPP) to calculate the value of your redemptions. The Points Guy has a great article summarizing the current value of a point or mile with different travel providers: read it here.

While I am all about data, cents per point is a metric that I don’t really care about. Will I check it occasionally? Sure, but it has never stopped me from booking travel to a place I want to go if the CPP value of my redemption is lower than the typical value of that point.

Let me explain. In January, my husband and I went to Hawaii for 8 nights. We flew from Chicago to Honolulu (using miles), stayed 3 nights in Waikiki (on points), then flew to the Big Island and stayed 2 nights in Hilo (with points), and then went to Maui and stayed 3 nights in Wailea (using points) before flying from Kahului to Chicago (on miles). We did pay for flights between the islands because they were less than $100 per person, and we paid for food, rental cars, and activities during our stay. For most of the redemptions, the value of our cents per point was actually lower than what a point or mile with that select provider is valued at. Using these points and miles, however, saved us over $6,000 dollars that we would not have been able to spend on one vacation.

Points and miles help me cover the cost of visiting places that I do not have the money for or would not feel comfortable paying the amount for. I can always earn more points, so I am okay with redeeming for a “lower” value if I enjoy the trip.

Do you agree or disagree with us?